above: NSRA member, BoDelle Mueller – Peter Hammer
story by Lily Weinacht
BoDelle Mueller purchased her first card with the NSRA as a freshman in high school, and 11 years later, the roper from Sutherland, Neb., continues to back into the roping box. “I have two sisters (Brandi and Brittney), and we followed our dad around to jackpots and ropings and rodeos our whole life. He taught us to rope, and I competed in some jackpots, but I was usually that kid with the longest time,” BoDelle, now 26, says with a laugh. “I really took rodeo seriously when I was a freshman, and that year, I joined the high school association, the NSRA, and the M-SRA.”
Today, BoDelle competes in breakaway roping and the mixed team roping, heading for her dad, Marvin Mueller. “I travel with my dad, and Brandi will be going with us again this year, so it’s great family time, and I enjoy my friends and the committees. Rodeo is something I never want to trade out, and until the day I don’t want to pick up a rope, it’s my happy place. When you go to the arena, all your worries disappear.” The arena has been the Mueller family gathering place for many years, and BoDelle frequently makes the short drive from Sutherland to her family’s ranch near the Nebraska Sandhills. “My dad has been my coach since I first started, and even when I was rodeoing in college, I could talk to him on the phone and he’d still know how to help me. If no one else is around, he still runs the chute for me. My mom, Janet, is a hero in my eyes as well,” BoDelle adds. “She put her roping on the back burner to help us girls and run chutes. Although, she wouldn’t put lights in the arena so we could practice later – she wanted to go to bed!” BoDelle recalls with a chuckle. “Rodeo has always been a huge family thing for us.”
BoDelle is serving her second year as one of two NSRA women’s timed event directors, a role which involves attending meetings, helping plan and run the NSRA finals, and answering all questions related to roping and barrels. Outside the arena, BoDelle is a high school special education teacher for Sutherland Public School, where she also coaches the junior high and high school basketball teams. The Sutherland Sailors’ season ended mid-February before going on to sub-districts. The remainder of BoDelle’s time is spent finishing her master’s degree with University of Nebraska at Kearney. “I’m currently taking online classes, and I hope to be finished by May of 2017,” says BoDelle. “I think as a teacher, it’s important to get further education all the time.”
If she’s not with her schoolbooks, BoDelle has an ever expanding to-read list to work on. “I’m a huge bookworm – if it’s a book, I’ll read it,” she explains. “I also go out to the ranch to help my dad, and I catch up with my friends I seem to not have when basketball season comes around. Some of my friends have also started getting into hunting with me and my family.”
With the close of basketball season, BoDelle trades hoops for horses, which include her gray breakaway mare, HB, and her mount in the team roping, a red roan named Crackers. “I couldn’t do anything without those two,” says BoDelle. “Crackers is coming along more than I ever dreamed, and they’re the ones that make rodeo a possibility. My goal every year is to win the saddle, which I haven’t done yet, but just improving and staying healthy – and keeping my horses healthy – is my goal. I’ve set my target for winning the saddle, and hopefully I can reach it!”
