By Ruth Nicolaus
Jada Jensen is the vice-president of the Nebraska High School Rodeo Association, and a breakaway roper, team roper, barrel racer, and reined cow horse contestant.
The 17-year-old cowgirl, who lives ten miles south of Bingham, Neb. on the family ranch, loves her horses. The very first horse she purchased was Buster, when she was seven years old. Buster is twelve, “in his prime,” she says, and she uses him for breakaway and team roping. He was raised by her parents, and Jada paid a friend to start him and break him, then with her dad’s help she started him on the roping. Buster has been used for poles and goat tying as well: “We’ve been through it all,” she says, and she has a special connection with him. Last year, when she tried the reined cow horse, it was on Buster.
Her barrel horse is a sixteen-hand horse named Brother. Brother was raised by her grandparents, after his mother died. They have a picture of Brother, when he was a baby, standing on the porch of Grandma and Grandpa Jensen’s house; he followed Grandpa to the house after being bottle fed. “He’s my gentle giant,” Jada says.
Two other horses round out Jada’s herd. She occasionally breakaway ropes on Cactus, who her brother rides for a head horse, and she also rides her dad’s rope horse Squirrel, to give Buster a break.
Jada is a senior at Hyannis High School, where she confesses to be a “math geek.” She loves math class, and is taking nine college credits this year: a distance learning English class, an online college accounting class, and a dual credit math class. Her favorite teacher ever is Mrs. Cindy Keller, who retired from teaching last year. Mrs. Keller was Jada’s math and accounting teacher, and even though she’s retired, Jada still calls her for help with her accounting class.
She is the president of her school’s FFA chapter and is the top student in her class, with a 4.0 GPA. She is on the honor roll and is a member of the National Honor Society. Jada played volleyball and basketball for two years, till she tore her ACL in May of last year. She is also a member of the Sandhills Saddles and Spurs 4-H Club, where she shows horses, cattle, participates in the cookie jar contest, and used to sew and cook.
After high school, she plans on getting her prerequisites for pharmacy school out of the way in college, then going on to a college of pharmacy, possibly at the University of Wyoming. She may rodeo for the first two years of college, but after that will most likely dedicate her time to her schooling. She plans on being a pharmacist, but there’s a chance she might become an accountant.
She competed at the state finals all three years of her high school career, and went on to the National High School Finals this summer in the reined cow horse. That was a real experience. Her dad’s cousin, Jecca Ostrander, an accomplished contestant, gave her lots of advice and let Jada borrow her horse for Nationals. “It was really fun, and it was way worth it,” she says.
She has a younger brother, Cameron, who is a freshman in high school. This is the first and last year she and Cameron will high school rodeo together, and the best part for Jada is that he will get on top of the trailer to get the bales down; she’s scared of heights.
She is the daughter of J.C. and Jana Jensen.
