Meet the Member Peyton Compton

Holding a long-term dream of becoming one of America’s top bull riders someday, 7-year-old Peyton Compton, is geared with a rope and a smile for his debut season in the muttin bustin. Entering the PeeWee age division, Peyton became a JrSRA member only five rodeos ago and has registered a 2-3 four-second season record. “He just loves it. He has made the whistle twice and won second place at his last rodeo, and all he wanted up to this point, was to see his name in Rodeo News,” said mom, Donna.
Having obtained one of his goals, Peyton continues to push forth toward his second goal of making the JrSRA Finals. “He always says that he really wants to make the final go-round, so that he can ride more than once at a single rodeo,” Donna said. Practicing on a miniature horse, which Donna says is the closest thing that they have to a sheep at home, and equipped with his theme song “Rodeo” by Garth Brooks, Peyton feels that he is ready for the next level and looks forward to moving on to steer riding. “We have to play the song over and over…and over, going to every rodeo. It has become Peyton’s song and seems to get him pumped up,” Donna describes. “We’ll have to see how this season goes, but I’m sure that Peyton will progress to each level of riding quickly.”
Outside of the “bulls and blood, dust and mud”, Peyton extends his competition to barrel racing at other events, including the National Barrel Horse Association (NBHA). In this, he joins in a family affair, where mom and dad (Johnathan) are both competitors and even met at a sanctioned event. “I have been barrel racing my whole life and his daddy, along with running barrels, is a farrier. So, rodeo and its surrounding events are not foreign to us,” Donna said. In addition, Peyton’s older brother (Colt, 11) runs barrels in NBHA, but does not currently rodeo. “Colt is a member of a traveling basketball team at the moment, but looks forward to joining the JrSRA next year,” Donna said. When the time comes for Colt to unite with his younger brother in the organization, the sibling pair will keep their parents busy as Peyton’s campaign will keep going on the roughstock end of the arena and Colt’s tactics lean toward roping. Until that time, Peyton will continue down the trail of his dream they call rodeo through boots, chaps and cowboy hats.