By Lily Weinacht
Tori and Brayden Kunz of Milan, Kan., are growing up in the rodeo arena together, the brother and sister already accumulating 15 years of rodeoing in the KJRA between them. Their mom, Jennifer, will be serving as the KJRA secretary next year, and their dad, Shaun, is a team roper. It has taken little encouragement for Tori and Brayden to develop the same love for the sport.
Tori, 13, competes in barrel racing, pole bending, goat tying, breakaway roping, and ribbon roping as the runner. Though she competes in all events with equal enthusiasm, Tori especially loves the adrenaline rush of goat tying, which she won the average in at the 2015 KJRA finals. “I hate the feeling of losing, so I like to practice and I like to win,” Tori explains. “My parents help me a lot, and we also have a lot of rodeo friends that help. Amberley Snyder is my role model. I got to meet her at the NJHFR this summer. It was my first time at Nationals – I went in the ribbon roping – and the experience of being there helped me get motivated to qualify in more than one event next year.”
The Kunz family makes their home near Milan, Kan., where the only business is a pop machine, according to Brayden. In addition to Brayden, Tori has an older brother, Skyler (16), who is a team roper, and another younger brother, Colton (two). “I like being the only girl!” says Tori. “I told my mom that if I had a sister, she might be too girly, and I wouldn’t like that.” Tori is cowgirl and farmgirl to the core, and she and Brayden help take care of the family’s horses, dogs, cattle, chickens, goats, and donkey. “Mom calls us the Kunz family zoo,” Tori says with a laugh. “My breakaway and goat tying horse is Little Joe – he’s pretty short and everyone laughs about him, but I like him,” she says loyally. “We named him after Little Joe in Bonanza. My barrel and pole horse is Bo. I just started riding him this year, and he’s doing pretty well.”
An eighth grader at Conway Springs Middle School – where her mom is one of the teachers – Tori’s favorite subjects are science and English. She is equally as fascinated by dissecting a sheep heart as she is by journaling, but Tori also enjoys playing basketball, volleyball, and running track.
Like Tori, Brayden started rodeoing when he was four. Now ten, he competes in the KJRA in calf riding, barrel racing, pole bending, goat tying, and steer breakaway roping. He particularly likes calf riding, along with the highly satisfying feeling when his goat stays tied during goat tying. “My whole family has done rodeo and I don’t want to be the odd one of the family, and it’s the best sport on earth!” says Brayden. His rodeo idol is Trevor Brazile. “He’s the best of the best!” Brayden explains.
Brayden and Tori practice together often, and Brayden is currently petitioning his dad to put up lights in the arena so he can practice longer. The brother and sister also help each other feed their many animals. “My least favorite chore is feeding the horses, because they always nip at the grain,” says Brayden. He uses one of his dad’s roping horses, Chaney, for all his roping events, while he rides Sonny in the barrel racing, pole bending, and goat tying.
A fourth grader at Conway Springs Kyle Trueblood Elementary, Brayden’s favorite class is reading, especially reading adventure stories with plenty of action. He also plays basketball, and fullback and middle linebacker on his school’s football team, which is undefeated so far this year.
Brayden is the proud owner of two all-around saddles, won in the KJRA and HYRA, as well as a dozen buckles. Like Tori, his favorite rodeo was the KJRA finals, where he placed third in the goat tying. Brayden plans to add to his saddle collection and wants to start roping in the USTRC, and Tori is aiming for another qualification to the NJHFR, but they are ready to tackle any challenge down the rodeo trail.
