story by Terry Rhodes
Jolene started competing in the Rocky Mountain Pro Rodeo Association while still in her teens. It’s the only rodeo association that she belongs to and for good reason. “They are fun rodeos and I really like the people that put them on.”
Her event is barrel racing and says that it was her late mother, Billie, that taught her the most about barrel racing. “She didn’t compete much but she did give my all the good horses. She was really selfless. Both my parents have been a big influence to me. They have always supported me and have given me the best of everything.”
Her parents instilled a strong work ethic in Jolene that she carries into her daily life as well as the rodeo arena. “I ride my horses daily and I know what they are capable of doing. When you spend that much time with an animal you gain a confidence in them. I’m dedicated to riding and I enjoy it. I am fortunate that I have some nice horses and they help me to be confident.”
Her main competition horse is an 18-year-old mare. “Her name is Spice Girl and she’s pretty special.”
Staying in shape for competition is easy for Jolene. “I ride six horses everyday so that does keep me in pretty good shape. They’re my horses that I’m training for barrel racing. I have one; Max that is coming along real well and he’ll probably take over for Spice Girl some day.” She takes her time with her horses and believes in slow, steady growth and she looks for that small incremental gain. “I feel like small progress is always better than no progress.”
Jolene, 28 lives in the town that she grew up in, Gusher, Utah. She grew up in a rodeo family and was riding from the get-go. “They put me on a horse when I was 3 years old and I’ve been riding ever since. My mom was a barrel racer and my dad was a team roper. I started off competing in junior rodeo and then competed in high school and college rodeo.” Her events in college were barrel racing and goat tying.
She attended Utah State University on a rodeo scholarship and studied elementary education and early childhood education. “I work in early intervention so I work with kids that have developmental disabilities. I love my job and its super rewarding to work with the kids. I work 40 hours a week and then come home to ride horses.” Any leisure time is spent riding 4-wheeler atvs or doing some woodworking. “I build picture frames where I transpose pictures on the wood. I saw it on Pinterest and decided to try it and it has become a business for me. I also like to refinish old dressers and tables.”
Long term goals are to continue to barrel race and to make the Circuit Finals, and someday make the NFR. “I think Max and I could place in the WPRA, but for right now I’m staying in the RMPRA with Spice Girl.”
