The Carr family – Katie and Rob and their daughters, Kasey, Lexi, and Leah – jumped boots first into rodeo six years ago. What was originally a trial run turned into a lifestyle, and now all three of the Carr sisters from Jackson, Wyo., are competing in the NLBRA.
Katie, who is now a member of the NLBRA Board of Directors, grew up showing hunter jumper horses and competing on the equestrian team for the University of Wyoming. Rob was raised on a ranch, but neither of them had experience with rodeo. “Kayse (Winkle) Mahoney, a breakaway roper from Arizona, came and lived with us about five years ago and taught us about the rodeo circuit,” says Katie. “She got us into NLBRA and showed us the ropes. Little Britches took us under their wing, and we were blessed with the right people like, Beckey Mahoney, who taught us what we needed to know.”
Nine-year-old Kasey went from not knowing what flag racing was to qualifying in the event for the NLBFR. She has competed in the finals four times, now competing in the junior girls in barrel racing, pole bending, goat tying, ribbon roping, breakaway roping, and trail course. She won the short-go of the 2015 NLBFR in pole bending, but trail course is her favorite. “I like it, because I trained my horse, Turbo, for trail, and we’re doing so good together. It’s so much fun!” Kasey explains. “Horses make me want to keep rodeoing. I feel like I’m free on a horse. I’d like to win the NLBFR and the NHSFR. And when I grow up, I want to compete in the NFR and be like Kayse Mahoney and Kaytlyn Miller.”
Lexi, six, competes in all four Little Wrangler events, though flag racing happens to be her favorite. “My horse, Susie Q, runs fast, and I helped train her,” she says. Riding her horses fast always gives her a thrill, and since competing in the 2015 NLBFR, Lexi’s next goal is to qualify for the finals in Oklahoma and win either a saddle or buckle.
Five-year-old Leah just joined Little Britches this fall, competing in barrel racing, pole bending, and goat untying. She shares her horse, B2 Bomber, with her sisters, and particularly enjoys jumping off him in the goat tying. Leah won her first buckle last summer after winning the barrels and poles in the Teton Barrel Racing Association. In addition to competing, Leah loves seeing her many friends from Little Britches. “It’s important to have friends,” she explains.
When it comes to sharing horses, the Carr sisters and their dad are swift in tacking up. Since both Lexi and Leah share B2 Bomber and they often compete one after the other, their dad is ready and waiting with the next saddle. Kasey also hopes to compete with Lexi in the ribbon roping in a few years. “We’ll have one year to be junior girls together, and I really hope that we can rope together,” she says. “We have races down the driveway to see who’s faster.”
The Carr family travels extensively through Colorado, Utah, South Dakota, and Montana to compete in Little Britches, providing the Carr sisters with friends all over the west. “We do lots of hours in the car, so we sleep and watch movies – and play the alphabet game,” says Kasey. She admits that she’ll miss competing in Pueblo after being there for four years, but she and her sisters are equally excited to be going to the Lazy E in Guthrie, Okla., this summer. Another of Kasey’s favorite memories is helping Sydnee and Annie Christensen with cleaning out horse trailers each year at the NLBFR. The family’s travels also took them to Las Vegas this year for the WNFR, where Kasey volunteered to work the Hope Counts booth. “I brought awareness to a lot of people, and most of them donated,” she says.
When they’re not travelling, Kasey and Lexi go to school at Jackson Hole Classical Academy, and Leah is in preschool. Kasey is a fourth grader, and she’s especially fond of science and history, while Lexi, a first grader, is partial to doing homework. Leah, on the other hand, prefers coloring. When they’re home from school, the girls are off to play in the snow, but they also enjoy skiing with their family in Teton Village.
Rodeo, however, is one thing that each sister loves, and they are unanimous in their goal of rodeoing with Little Britches until they age out. “Little Britches wants to do well by the membership and the kids,” says Katie. “The association was instrumental in getting us into rodeo, and I think that if we hadn’t gone with the NLBRA, we wouldn’t be where we are today!”
