story by Whitley Reder
Piper Cordes (17) is the SDHSRA 2023 Champion Barrel Racer, qualifying for the National High School Finals Rodeo in Gillette, Wyoming.
The Cordes family is built on a foundation of perseverance and unwavering faith. The family of six live on a three-generational ranch in the badlands territory of Wall, South Dakota. Piper is the second of four children, with her brothers Kipp (18), Gatlin (14), and her sister Sutton (11). The kids keep busy year-round with rodeo, volleyball, wrestling, football, and gymnastics. The children are raised with a strong work ethic by their parents, Paige and Spencer, who prioritize responsibilities. Paige qualified for nationals in the barrel racing all four year of her high school career. Spencer had success outside of high school and is now teaching his children the art of roping and horsemanship. “I owe everything to my parents,” Piper said. You will not see the Cordes family practicing in their arena at home until they have their work done for the day. “Rodeo is a team sport, one sibling will be opening the chute, one kid is pushing calves, and the other lining calves. Sometimes you get the laughing and the yelling and the arguing but those are the things that I will miss the most when the kids are grown and gone,” Paige said.
Nationals was right around the corner when Piper, 16-years-old at the time, suffered a horse riding accident. She and her brother Kipp were moving bulls when her horse spooked, causing her to hit her head. She was life-flighted to Rapid City, South Dakota, where she spent two days in the hospital. She suffered a severe head concussion. To avoid any further head injuries, she made the decision it was a good time to end her goat tying career. Paige explained that Piper always conditions her horses out in the pasture and rarely in the arena. Paige and Spencer tried to keep her off for 3-weeks but it was difficult with Nationals coming up so they made her ride in the arena. “She just got on and was good to go,” Paige said, “we’re so blessed it was nothing worse.”
“The main thing I’ve done as a parent is teach my kids to go to God first in everything,” Paige said. No matter how hectic and busy ranching, sports, and daily life may be for the Cordes family, they make sure to attend youth group and church each week. Paige and Spencer make sure the kids know in order to get to one level to the next you need to put in the time and it shines bright watching the Cordes kids compete. “All of the wins don’t come overnight, that mental preparation of each sport helps the other,” Paige said.
Piper is an all-around cowgirl, competing in all of the women’s events in high school. The big grey underneath Piper in the barrel racing is her 8-year-old, Fiesta. He’s a calm horse but gets a fire under him, “it gives me the motivation and adrenaline” before they make a run, Piper said. Fiesta was born and raised on the family ranch. He’s an embryo out of Lisa Lockhart’s now proven Rosa (Fiestas Gotta Gun x Rosas Cantina CC). A Wall, South Dakota, native Emilee Pauley started Fiesta on the barrel pattern when he was 4-years-old. Piper took over the reins and started his successful rodeo career when he was 5-years-old. “You learn a lot about rodeoing on young horses because it’s not always going to be easy and you won’t always have a perfect run,” Piper said.
Success in the arena is not new to this cowgirl. She started her rodeo career competing in 4-H rodeos and the SDJHRA. She qualified in barrel racing and pole bending for the NJHFR as a 6th grader in 2018 and a 7th grader in 2019. She won the junior girls breakaway in 2018 during the South Dakota State 4-H Finals in Ft. Pierre, South Dakota. This was an unexpected win for her, “that’s what really kickstarted my competitive spot for rodeo,” Piper said.
Over time, her goals have gotten bigger and better. She achieved her first goal of making a clean run and roping her first calf when she was a young girl. She qualified for the NHSFR in barrel racing her freshman, sophomore, and now junior year. She achieved her goal, making it to the short go her sophomore year. “Making it to the short go last year gave me a lot of confidence, this year I’m going to improve that goal,” Piper said. On the way to Gillette, Wyoming, for the NHSFR, Piper will undoubtedly have her go-to rodeo trail snack of vitamin water and jalapeno chips; “the vitamin water makes up for the chips,” Piper said.
