story by Riata Cummings
Taylie Adams is a breakaway roper and team roper in the Utah High School Rodeo Association. She is a senior this year and is heeling for Evan Boase. Taylie’s rodeo horse is an 18-year-old grey gelding named Scooby, and the two have been partners since Taylie started competing. She is also training a colt, named Corona, to become a breakaway horse. So far, Taylie has qualified for the state finals rodeo three times and competed at the Silver State International Rodeo last year. This year, her goal is to win or be in the top five at every rodeo and to make the short go-round at state finals.
Taylie attends South Sevier High School, and this year she is enjoying her veterinary technician class. She is a member of the FFA chapter, and she enjoys showing and judging livestock all over the state. After graduation, she hopes to attend college and study equine therapy or veterinary medicine. Taylie’s parents are Jamie and Travis Adams, and she has a little brother named Traegan. The family enjoys going to rodeos and livestock shows and hunting together.
Taylie’s father, aunts and uncles all competed in rodeo, but Taylie was mainly a dancer for many years. “Five years ago, after my last recital, I told my dad I wanted to rodeo instead of dance. So, here I am.” She now practices nearly every day, riding her horses around the mountains near her home in Annabella, Utah, or riding to her grandfather’s arena to rope.
Taylie loves that rodeo gives her a chance to, “meet new friends and spend time with family, cousins and grandparents.” This spring, when all high school rodeos were canceled because of the pandemic, was a hard time for her. “I practiced every day, but I didn’t get to see my rodeo friends or finish out my junior season. It really is such a big part of my life that I felt empty for a while.”
She lives by the saying, “Don’t wish for it, work for it.” The quote makes her “want to push forward and work harder.” One of Taylie’s greatest strengths is her “feisty attitude. I am determined to win, and I work for it. I don’t care what they think about me, I just go after it.”
One of Taylie’s heroes is her father. “I want to be as good as he is. He is talented and hard working. One day I want to work as hard as he does.” Taylie would like to thank her dad and mom, her grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins for supporting her rodeo dreams. She would also like to thank her horse and four-legged partner for carrying her through the challenges and victories of rodeo.
