Team Cavender’s Merrin Frost

Merrin Frost lives ten miles south of Lawrence, Kansas, in Baldwin City. She has always had horses, chickens, dogs, and all the animals that come with living in the country. Both of her parents, Richard and Kasey, work in pharmaceutical sales. “Mom takes me and my sister (Kyan) everywhere since she works from home,” said the graduating senior from Baldwin High School. “There are close to 100 graduating with me.” Out of that graduating class, she is the only one that competes in rodeo. Her older sister, Macey, 22, plays college basketball and her younger brother, Kreyton, 14, is a linebacker on the football team.
Merrin competes in barrel racing and pole bending, part of the Missouri State High School Rodeo Association. “I did it my whole life, my mom and grandmother and aunt, so it’s a tradition for us.” She has been part of the Cavender’s team for four years now. “I met them at Nationals my freshman year, in 2020. I’ve been able to go to the Summit every year, and we meet new people every year. It’s fun to learn about the family and do the photo shoots. We meet rodeo kids from all over.” She appreciates the time Cavender’s has spent to make each member of the team feel important. “As a sponsor patch, it’s good to know the family behind the business.”
Her focus is on barrel racing and she’s riding an awesome horse named Cash. “He’s made me a bunch of cash. I’ve been running him since 7th grade. I ran him my first time at Nationals, and he made the short go. We’ve stuck with each other since then. He’s my best friend – he’s awesome.” He’s 15 now, and her back up horse is Superman.
When she graduates, she’s going to Northeastern Junior College. She’s thinking about pursuing athletic training and may end up as a physical therapist. “I’ve always wanted to be a physical therapist – I’ve had to go for different things in sports and I think it’s cool to see how to fix the body in different ways. You can accomplish anything you put your mind to – dream big.”