A young barrel racer isn’t going to let a 13-hour drive get in the way of competing in her hometown rodeo.
Seventeen-year-old Honora Jackson-Roe and her 11-year-old horse Daisy will compete in the Canadian High School Rodeo Finals in Verden, MB and then they will skedaddle home to compete in the Millarville Rodeo on Aug. 5.
“I will be in Verden, Thursday, Friday and Saturday and then we are driving home to be in Millarville for the rodeo,” she said. “I had to do the same thing last year, but I wouldn’t miss it for the world. I love my hometown rodeo.
“My dad (Gerald) loves to come to the rodeos, so I will let him do most of the driving.”
Jackson-Roe, who graduated from Strathcona-Tweedsmuir School in June, has practically grown up with the Millarville Rodeo, which will celebrate its 16th anniversary when the chutes open from Aug. 3-5.
Jackson-Roe currently sits 10th in the Foothills Cowboy Association (FCA) standings — the final hole to make it to the association’s final in Red Deer in the fall.
Jackson, who won the FCA Junior championship in 2009, admitted there’s more pressure on the Senior circuit — even when she’s turning the barrels at her hometown rodeo.
“I would say it is different (on the senior circuit),” Jackson-Roe said. “This is my second year going senior and Millarville is still a lot of fun, but it is much more competitive… It is still great to compete in front of all your friends and family.”
She’s handled the pressure well at Millarville.
She finished fourth last year at her hometown rodeo in what was her rookie year on the senior circuit.
“Daisy ran really well last year even though she was tired,” Jackson-Roe said. “We made the trip back from Verden last year too.”
Jackson-Roe had a successful high school season in her graduating year. She finished third in the high school rodeo regular season and was third in the provincial high school rodeo final at Ponoka in June.
She finished 36th in the National High School Rodeo finals in Wyoming on June 15-21 where she competed against close to 180 barrel racers from the U.S., Canada and Australia.
Her goal for this year is to make the top 10 in the FCA and earn a trip to its finals.
She will have to do well at rodeos like Millarville before Aug. 22. That’s the date she heads to Huntsville, Texas to attend Sam Houston University, where she will also barrel race.
“I am going to miss two of the bigger FCA rodeos, Cochrane and Nanton because of school,” she said.
“I have to be at Sam Houston but if I do make the finals, I would definitely comeback to compete.”
She’s already thinking of rodeo past the FCA. The so-called amateur circuit has been where rodeo stars like Tyler Thomson and Sam Kelts learned the ropes before turning pro.
Jackson-Roe is taking the steps to turning pro. She has a semi-pro card with the Canadian Professional Rodeo Association and she competed at the Medicine Hat Rodeo last week.
“I went there and some of the ladies I was racing against, I have a poster of them on my walls,” she said with a laugh. “Lindsay Sears was in the slack with me and she was just amazing.”
She does have one regret about turning pro.
“I won’t be able to run in my hometown rodeo,” she said.
The Millarville Rodeo is Aug. 3-5. The Friday performance is at 6:30 p.m., while Saturday is 2 p.m. and Sunday the action gets underway at 1 p.m. There is a dance on Saturday night at 8 p.m. featuring the music of Joe Hikk.
For more information about the Millarville Rodeo go to www.millarvilleracetrack.com
