story by Lily Weinacht
Jr. Girl World Breakaway Roping Champion
Logan Wilson secured her second world title in the NLBRA last summer, going home to Louin, Mississippi, as the 2018 NLBRA Junior Girl World Champion Breakaway Roper. The 15-year-old was also crowned the 2018 NJHFR Girls World Goat Tying Champion a few weeks before the NLBFR. “Rodeo’s the only thing I’ve done my whole life since I was 5 years old, and it’s all I know,” says Logan, whose first NLBRA world title was the junior girls all-around in 2016. She started her rodeo career through Little Britches as a Little Wrangler, and competed with them the last 10 years. “It’s a really good association for the little kids to start out with, and there’s just a lot of family and friends.”
Logan wanted to rodeo after her older brother, Dean, started competing in Little Britches. He team ropes in the USTRC, while Logan also enjoys roping and is team roping at the Junior American in February. She competed in the NLBRA in all of the junior girls events, as well as competing in the MJHSRA in all the girls events. She qualified for the 2018 NJHFR in everything except team roping, and is currently leading the all-around standings in the MHSRA, tied for first in the goat tying, and sitting third in the breakaway roping. “Breakaway is very challenging, and you’ve got to stay on top of it. If you don’t practice you won’t do well at all,” explains Logan, who is focusing primarily on high school rodeo this year. “In goat tying, I like the adrenaline rush, and I love the get-off, and the practice to see how much faster you’re going to get every time.”
While practice is harder to fit in during the school year, Logan works just as hard in the arena since the summer brings farming. “My brother plants beans and corn, and my dad grows some corn for silage for the cows, and we run a lot of cattle. I like to run the tractor, and I’ll rake hay, but normally I stick to my horses since that’s a full-time job,” says Logan. Her best friend, Peyton Windham, also helps her with practice, and travels with Logan to many of her rodeos. “She’s a great friend and a really good supporter. My parents, Michelle and Dean, have helped me a lot, and my sister-in-law, Dakota, and my friends. They keep me going.”
Logan’s horses also keep her going, including Bump, her goat tying, pole bending, breakaway roping, and trail course horse. He started out as her brother’s heel horse, but since Dean is primarily a header, Logan took Bump over and trained him for all his other events. She also team ropes on Roanie, and runs barrels on Levi. If she’s not with her horses, Logan enjoys water skiing in the summer, as well as the occasional game of bowling with her family.
A freshman at Sylva-Bay High School, Logan likes her biology class and studying cells and genetics. “I like math and Algebra when I’m doing good in it,” she adds with a laugh. “I really want to college rodeo for sure, and maybe go professional after that. I would love to win the goat tying this year (in the MHSRA), and hopefully the breakaway and all-around. And I’d like to win rookie of the year and go to the (National High School) Finals.