story by Lindsay Humphrey
As a first-time qualifier for the Junior World Finals, Morgan Beckstrom made the trek from Spanish Fork, Utah, with limited expectations. It’s safe to say she far exceeded those when she walked away as the champion overall barrel racer for the event and had to find a way to haul a horse trailer back home. “I was just going in thinking that I wanted to make some clean runs,” said the 16-year-old Spanish Fork High School sophomore. “I wasn’t planning to do near as well as I did, so I was really surprised.” It all started in the first round when Morgan was just sticking to her goal of keeping all three barrels upright. She did that and placed second. This ultimately set the tone for her next two runs.
“I was a little more nervous in my second run because I had a chance at making the short go if I kept all my barrels up again. I ran a 13.8 and placed second again.” As soon as Morgan was done with her short go run, she finally took a breath again. She laid down another 13.8, but this time it was good enough for first place. “We were keeping track of the times to try and figure out who was going to win the average. We were almost sure it was me, but we weren’t certain until they announced it. I was really excited and proud of how well my horse [Slingshot] had taken everything and done for me.”
Bred and owned by Morgan’s grandparents – Mark and Linda Jarvis – Slingshot Lane has been with the family since birth. “My aunt Marcie trained her and took her to the futurities when she was younger. Then my sister [Gracie, 18] used her in high school for about a year before I got her.” Morgan ran Slingshot at some junior high rodeos, but it was her first year of high school rodeo that the pair came into their own. “We won state together last year. And then right after that we competed at the Colorado Classic where we got a check for $36,000. I was on cloud nine at that point.” Their time at nationals didn’t follow this pattern of success, but perhaps it was instrumental in preparing the team for their time in Vegas.
“I’ve always seen a ton of my friends do it [KKP events] and wanted to try it too. My parents [Mike and Jodie] said I needed to wait until I got a little bit older. I finally got to run at the qualifier last year and placed second at it. I was really excited to qualify.” Watching from the sidelines for the past two years got Morgan excited for her inaugural trip to this national competition. Morgan’s been preparing for this event subconsciously ever since she first started riding Slingshot. “I used to run poles too, but then I decided I needed to focus solely on barrels when I started riding Slingshot. The horse I had before her me taught me how to ride well, but she was just an average barrel horse. Slingshot has shown me a lot and made me an even better rider.”
On several occasions Morgan’s been told that Slingshot looks hard to ride. Morgan’s gotten so used to her small pocket and other quirks that she doesn’t find the 9-year-old mare difficult to jockey. “Sometimes I have to push her really hard because she can shut down early, but she’s getting better at that. She did really well in Vegas though. She acted like an old rodeo horse.” As Morgan looks forward to the 2022 season, she has some lofty goals to hit. “Right now, I’m leading the barrels in high school rodeo, so I’d like to keep that spot through state and then defend my title there. Of course, we’re hoping to go to nationals and have some better runs there also.” It shouldn’t be surprising that Morgan is planning to compete in a 2022 KKP event to qualify for Vegas again.
