Beau Peterson loves to rodeo. It’s her “absolute favorite thing to do in the world,” she says. The thirteen year old cowgirl who lives in Council Grove, Kan., and is a member of the Kansas Junior High School Rodeo Association, competes in the breakaway, goat tying, and ribbon roping, as a runner for Kian Pepper Brown. Breakaway is her favorite event.
For the breakaway, she rides a seven year old bay named Hustler. He’s sweet and curious, and always has to get his nose into whatever’s going on. For the goat tying, she rides a ten year old horse named P.W. who is antsy and excited all the time.
She is an eighth grade student at Council Grove Middle School. P.E. is her favorite class, and playing dodge ball is her preferred game. Reading, however, is not her favorite class. Her favorite teacher ever is her P.E. teacher, Mrs. Mahanay.
Beau plays basketball, is on her school’s honor roll, and is a member of the Neosho Valley 4-H Club, where she shows lambs and steers. In fifth grade, she had the grand champion bucket calf at the Morris Co. Fair, and has had reserve grand champion lamb two years in a row. Her dog Roxie was part of her 4-H dog project one year, where Roxie learned agility and obedience, and did well, winning reserve (and improving her manners at home).
Roxie, a red merle Australian shepherd, is very sweet, lovable, and spoiled (by Beau). She gets treats and gets to come into the house. “She gets the good life,” Beau says. In basketball, her team won the Flint Hills Junior League Championship and were undefeated all season!
Beau has qualified for the state junior high finals twice, and last year, made it to the National Junior High Finals in all three of her events. Nationals were “very exciting and fun,” and she made a lot of new friends that she hopes to see this summer at Nationals. She is also a member of the Heartland Youth Rodeo Association, where she won the breakaway this year and placed third in the goat tying. She has competed at the Rising Stars Calf Roping twice and at the Joe Beaver Junior Superstars Calf Roping last fall.
In the summers, Beau loves to tag along with her dad on the family ranch, the Hinchman Ranch, in the Flint Hills. She helps work cattle, feed, and ride, checking for sick cattle. When she grows up, she’d like to do something involved with horse therapy. Beau has an older sister, Michaela, who is a senior in high school. She is the daughter of Matt and Dustin Peterson.
