NSPRA member Kathy Clemons – Terry Rhodes
story by Terry Rhodes
The 2015 NSPRA regional rodeos are done and the SNFR is just around the corner. Las Vegas is preparing to once again host the event and the excitement is building to see who will claim World titles. Ribbon Roping event director Kathy Clemons is not making any predictions aside from it being a ‘Don’t Miss’ good time. Kathy is sitting in second place in the 60’s Ribbon Running so she is in striking distance of that elusive World Champion title. “There are a lot of tough competitors 60’s ribbons so it will be real competitive.”
Kathy says that Kent Mosher is one of her ribbon roping partners that has helped her get to the level that she is at now. This year Kathy has been teaming up with Curt Johnston on the roping side of the event. Running in different arenas can be challenging and Kathy has different pairs of shoes that she matches to the conditions at hand. “I wish I had some fast shoes. I have some shoes that I use for certain types of ground; I don’t want to twist an ankle.” Conditioning for Kathy is a big part of being ready to compete and consists of lots of lots of walking, planking, yoga and some weight lifting.
Kathy has been the event director for the past year and her functions are to insure that the ribbons are ready and tied on the calves and the correct calf is the chute for the team that is up. She has been in the Senior Pro organization for about nine years and enjoys the people that she has become friends with. Kathy, along with her husband, Bud, who is on the NSPRA executive board, get to just about all of the Senior Pro rodeos around the country. Her entry into Senior Pro rodeo wasn’t at all planned. “I didn’t know anything about this (Senior Pro Rodeo) and some friends, Jesse Marshall and his friend, Dorothy asked us to go along and give it try. Our first event was in Wendover, Nev. Bud and I were in the ribbon roping and Bud was in the calf roping. We’ve been going ever since.”
Kathy has been involved in rodeo and a variety of horse competitions since her high school days. “I did rodeo in high school and I’ve always been involved in horse events like barrel racing and pole bending. I’ve done hunter-jumper, dressage, trail, and currently I’m doing versatility ranch horse competitions. I like the versatility ranch horse events because they take everything that you would do on a ranch and put it into the arena and have it judged. There is cutting, reining, roping, trail, and conformation.”
Kathy and Bud make their home near Kersey, Colo. Kathy is now fully retired. “I used to work for the school district as a psychologist and school counselor, and I was a teacher.” Free time is spent doing some oil painting. “Because I go to so many rodeos, I paint a lot of rodeo and horse scenes.”
Goals for the future are to continue to rodeo in the NSPRA, compete in the versatile ranch horse competitions, and spend more time doing her artwork. “And, I would like to travel around the United States a little more.”
