story by Lily Weinacht
Kamryn Prouty from Pomona, Kan., has been competing in rodeo for the last five years, and now that she is older, the 13 year old has especially come to appreciate the sport and the effort it takes to put on a successful rodeo. Though she had just one season with the KJRA in 2015 before aging out, the association gave her and the horses she is training the experience they needed. “I had some new horses that I wanted to try out, and the KJRA was a good association to step into,” says Kamryn, who is also a member of the NLBRA. “It was a lot of fun, and I had a very good KJRA finals. Throughout the year, I had missed two rodeos, so I had to have a good finals to finish well. My best event was goat tying – I jumped a bunch of places and finished third for the year!”
In addition to goat tying, Kamryn competes in breakaway roping, pole bending, and barrel racing, and she occasionally volunteers to run ribbons in the ribbon roping. “Breakaway is my favorite,” Kamryn explains. “Getting started was a little rough with my horses, but now I’ve become successful with that event.” She adds, “My dad grew up with horses, so rodeo is in the family, and it’s a blast! Everyone in the rodeo world is nice, and if you’re new to an association, they make sure you’re welcomed and that you want to come back. The KJRA is very good at that.”
Kamryn’s motivation to rodeo comes from her passion for the sport, but she is also driven by her role models. “I look up to my dad because he never gives up and he does whatever it takes to make me a better person. He never wants anyone to fail. I look up to Amberley Snyder for the same reasons – when she sets her mind to something, she does it. Nothing puts her down. I got to meet her at The American last year, and she was at the NLBRA finals where we took pictures and I got to talk to her.”
In addition to competing in rodeo, Kamryn and her family started the Southeast Kansas Little Britches franchise in 2014. “When you start your own franchise, you find out how much work goes into rodeos, and I love it!” says Kamryn, who also competes in trail in the NLBRA. “I like rodeoing with people I know around here, rather than going to other states. We sometimes rodeo in Arkansas in the winter, but we mostly do Garden City rodeos.”
The Prouty family is all involved in rodeo. Kamryn’s sister, Kylee (18) competes in rodeo, as does their step-sister, Haydan (eight), while their step-sister, Jenna (12), sings the national anthem for their franchise rodeos. Their dad, Kevin, and step-mom, Marcy, are dedicated rodeo coaches and chauffeurs. The Prouty family is made complete by their two dogs, numerous barn cats, and nine horses, which include Kamryn’s rodeo horses, Paint and Flash.
An avid student at West Franklin High School, Kamryn is a freshman this year. She especially enjoys geometry, as well as playing basketball on her school’s team, the West Franklin Falcons. She prefers to spend the remainder of her time with her family. “We’ll do things outside together, or we’ll watch The Voice, but mainly I like having dinner together and talking about how the day went,” says Kamryn.
Her current rodeo goals include going to the NLBFR in breakaway in the top three next summer, as well as running eights or nines in goat tying. “Some of my future goals are to possibly become a dental hygienist so I can have a job and rodeo,” Kamryn concludes, “but I mainly want to be successful in rodeo and get on a rodeo team in college!”
