story by Lindsay King
Competing at the Keith Ward Arena play days in high school is what brought Travis and Sarah Burgett of Van Buren, Arkansas, together originally. Today, they still compete together but now have the added benefit of bringing their daughters, Gracyn, 12, and Lillie, 5, along with them. “Our oldest daughter runs in the junior barrels in the ARA. I wish the ACRA and CRRA did that also, then she could have the chance to make the finals with us. It provides a great rodeo future for the little ones,” Sarah said. Members of the ACRA for the last five years, Sarah and Travis find their proudest moments are spent on the sidelines. “We watched Gracyn run my barrel mare Texas one night. She had never swung a leg over her before that night. We both ended up winning money that night,” she added.
Travis is the president and owner of Precision Metal Works, Inc. and Sarah runs the office. They sell, install, repair and maintain industrial spiral freezers in addition to working on a lot of food-grade stainless equipment. “Most of our work is for food manufacturing companies such as Nestle, Tyson and OK Foods. We can make pretty much anything out of metal,” Travis said. Flexibility in their work schedule allows the Burgetts time to rodeo almost every weekend and sometimes during the work week. They have set the goal of winning both the barrel racing and steer wrestling at the same rodeo, a feat that has evaded their grasp to date.
Travis Burgett – Sarah Burgett
Travis is also working towards becoming the IPRA Rookie of the Year at the IFR in January. This season has proven a time of growth for Sarah as she did not pull a check until late June. “I have been hard on myself this year. A lot of winning a rodeo is overcoming the mind game. You have to trust yourself and your horse. You have to be able to ride to win at the end of the day,” Sarah said. Just last year Travis filled his PRCA permit to begin reaching for his professional dreams as a bull dogger. And Sarah recently won enough at the Rodeo of the Ozarks for her WPRA card. “Every barrel racer’s dream is to run at the NFR. June Holeman is my role model because she has never given up on her dreams and obviously believes that age is just a number. At the rate I am going, I may be 70 before I ever make the NFR, so she gives me hope,” Sarah joked.
As Travis climbs the ranks of professional rodeo, he keeps Luke Branquinho in the back of his mind. “Even though he is a multi-time world champion, it has never affected his personality. He is the same, down-to-earth person and never turns away a fan who wants a picture or an autograph,” Travis explained. Whenever Sarah gets the chance, she enjoys taking photos at rodeos. When she retires one day, she plans to spend more time developing her skill. Until then, she is still the official family paparazzi.
Sarah Burgett in Springdale, AR, June 2018 – Out Dash’em Photos
In late July, the Burgetts made the long drive to Cheyenne, where Travis took on the Daddy of Em All. “This rodeo was an amazing, unforgettable experience. It’s a 30-foot hand-pulled barrier; running fresh, untouched cattle. Until you run in Cheyenne, you will never understand what its like to run that fast to catch cattle,” Travis said. Blessed to travel down the rodeo road with family in the cab and reliable friends at the ready, Travis and Sarah are thankful for the opportunity to teach their girls life lessons first hand. “I love that our kids are growing up in this environment. They are learning that it takes hard work and responsibility to have these animals and be able to rodeo. Not only that, but they are also learning that being dependable and reliable are important qualities in life.”
