story by Ruth Nicolaus
Sophie Hruby has gone into business to fund her rodeo activity.
The Nebraska Junior High School Rodeo Association member, a resident of Hemingford, Neb., is in partnership with her brother Tyan as they raise bottle sheep and bottle calves.
She and her brother got a youth loan from the FSA office and, this spring, had 34 bottle sheep and 18 bottle calves. They are fed from a dump bucket, a big tub with nipples on it, hanging on the fence so the animals can reach it. They’ll keep them till the fall, when they’ve put on some weight, and then sell them.
To get lambs and calves fed before school, Sophie is up by 5:40 am each morning, so she and her brother can do an hour’s worth of chores. Then, after school, they’re home to do more chores before they go to the practice pen.
Sophie competes in the barrel racing, pole bending, goat tying, breakaway roping and light rifle competition. Of her events, the goats are her favorite, because she likes a challenge.
For the goat tying, she rides Rusty, a seventeen-year-old sorrel. Her mounts also include Jett, Goose, and JD.
She finished her eighth-grade year at Hemingford School, where algebra and P.E. were her favorite classes. She is good at the algebra, and P.E. was fun “because I have all my friends in that class,” she said. Zombie ball, a “never ending dodge ball game” is one of her favorites to play in P.E.
Her favorite meal her mom makes is chicken poppyseed casserole, washed down with a bottle of Dr. Pepper. Her favorite vegetable is celery, and her favorite fruit is Honeycrisp apples. For dessert, Sophie loves pie: strawberry, apple or coconut cream, made by her grandma. On Sunday nights, the Hruby’s meal is often sundaes, and Sophie prefers hers with strawberries, chocolate and caramel.
If she had $1 million to spend, she’d have an indoor arena built on her family’s place, with a living area.
For a pastime, Sophie plays guitar. She’s played for the last six years, and played Amazing Grace at her great-grandma’s funeral. She also competes in the Single Action Shooting Society (SASS) with her family. She’s a great shooter, and likes dressing up for the part.
She helps her parents, Tim and Stephanie, around the ranch with calving and feeding, and in the summer, tags along with her dad as he fixes windmills. “She’s pretty handy on a windmill,” her dad, Tim, said.
Sophie is driven, Tim said. “She likes to accomplish stuff. She’s tough, she’s responsible, and she’s really easy to coach because she wants to do better.”
She finished her junior high rodeo career first in the state in poles, second in goats, and third in the breakaway and the .22 rifle shoot. At the National Junior High School Finals Rodeo, she made the short go in the goat tying and rifle shooting, and finished fourth in the nation in the goat tying.
Sophie has a younger brother, Tyan, who is twelve, and a younger sister, Taya, who is ten.
When she grows up, she’d like to be a large animal veterinarian.