story by Ruth Nicolaus
Reece Stanley is loving her final year of competition in the Nebraska High School Rodeo Association.
The Sidney, Neb. cowgirl is taking online classes for high school and college credit, being mentored by a National Finals Rodeo barrel racer, enjoying her younger sister’s sports activities, and doing a bit of online shopping when she has a minute to spare.
A senior in high school, her school gave its students the option of studying online because of COVID-19, so Reece took that choice. She only needs one high school class to graduate (government), and is taking nine college credits this fall. When she goes to college, she hopes to have one semester of college completed through her high school learning.
She’s been doing a lot of writing for the college classes and has grown to enjoy it. It wasn’t easy at the start. “The first semester, it was horrible,” she remembers. “It took a while to adapt, then it got easier.” English is her favorite subject, but science is not, “probably because it never came easy to me.”
A barrel racer, Reece rides an seventeen year-old horse named Wrench purchased by her grandma for $800, as a ranch horse. Reece’s mom barrel raced on him, and when her primary mount was injured in junior high, she turned to Wrench. Even though Wrench is seventeen years old, he doesn’t act his age, she said. “Everything scares him. He acts fresh all the time.”
He also has a goofy personality, she said. When she ponies horses with him, he has to be ahead of them, and he prances everywhere he goes. Wrench also loves water. “I can’t keep him out of the tank. He climbs in with his front legs and stands there. You have to fill the tanks three times a day because they’re almost always empty.”
The big bay is good at running in muddy arena conditions and in sand, which is helpful in western Nebraska, since many arenas are deep sand.
Reece spent a week in Texas learning from NFR qualifier Stevi Hillman. She had the chance to watch Stevi in action at the 2017 NFR, when she attended two rounds. She loves to watch the NFR, and wishes barrels were first, so she didn’t have to stay awake so long for them. She’s headed to this year’s NFR in Arlington, Texas, with a friend, and has tickets for one performance.
She and her younger sister Rheagan, who is sixteen, are very close, and Reece goes to many of Rheagan’s activities, which include volleyball, basketball and track. They used to not get along, but in Rheagan’s eighth grade year, they became better friends. With the passing of their older brother, Coltan, last November, they’ve leaned on each other hard. “In this last year,” Reece said, “I’ve learned that when you’re going through bad times, not many people stick around. So having a sister that’s always been there has been pretty cool.”
Reece loves to shop, mostly online, and her weakness is jeans and turquoise jewelry. She plans to do some good shopping when in Texas for the NFR.
She competed at the state high school finals rodeo the past three years, finishing in the top dozen all three years.
She is the daughter of Jennifer Stanley and Korey Stanley.
