story by Lindsay King
The high of a job well done is what truly got Sydney Adamson from Cody, Nebraska hooked on rodeo and breakaway roping. “For about two years my family had to keep this one calf for me because it was the only one I would rope. But then we went to a jackpot in Valentine where I finally entered and when I got back to the trailer I just couldn’t wait for the next one,” said the 18-year-old with the trace of a smile in her voice at the fond memory. As the youngest of three – Lindsay, 25, and JT, 21 – Sydney is the self-proclaimed “shy one.” Her biggest fear was messing up and lingering in the shadows of her siblings. “I was always around it and so rodeo just fit. My siblings have always been the ones that pushed me actually.”
Their parents (Todd and Stacey) and grandparents comprised what Sydney calls “the best support system a girl could ever ask for.” Both sets of grandparents are past rodeo competitors and avid fans of their grandchildren. “We actually run a cow calf operation, so it is neat to tie it back. It makes sense that rodeo is our hobby because we are doing it every day. I am for sure blessed to have grown up where I did.” Because of this, the Adamson family is mostly affiliated with the roping events. However, Sydney is the oddball of the family as she regularly competes in barrels. “I grew up roping, so I love that of course, but I was the first one to take a liking to running barrels. I was blessed with good horses and mentors that took me in and helped me fulfill that interest. I love them both the same, I can’t really pick between the two.”
As a freshman at Laramie County Community College studying business and finance, Sydney keeps herself busy on the rodeo team. “College rodeo is definitely different, but it is fun to be in the various associations and environments.” This fall, Sydney won the long round in the breakaway at the Sheridan rodeo. Two weeks after the last fall rodeo, she went under the knife for a persistent shoulder injury. “I tore the labrum in my shoulder. It started in high school basketball and just got worse over time. It was a pretty big tear when we found it last summer, but I wanted to rope this fall before having surgery since I got a scholarship to rodeo up here.”
Her coach knew Sydney’s shoulder was delicate, but recognized her determination to continue competing before the impending surgery. “My coach was awesome about it, he wouldn’t let me rope more than two calves in practice, but he still had the confidence in me to compete even without a ton of practice time. Mentally, I just had to know I could still compete and had the ability to win as much as anybody else.” Sydney hopes to be running barrels at spring rodeos, but doesn’t plan to swing a rope until she is cleared by the physical therapist. “It is possible to reinjure it, so I am just taking it easy and working at strengthening it that way I can go hard this summer in the NSRA.”
Though she held her NSRA card throughout high school, she has not been able to truly compete in it the way she would like to, until this coming summer. “The competition is great, especially in the roping. This last summer I remember being 2.2 seconds and I placed fifth. I just remember thinking I have a ton of people to look up to in this association and so much talent to rope against. It is a fun environment to be in and there are so many new people that I never got to see because I was roping in the high school association.”
