Local Competitor Earns Entry to 'Big Show' of Junior Rodeo

Reece Stanley is a typical freshman girl of 14 at Sidney High School, if all 14-year-old girls spend their time training for rodeo events.

Stanley is just days away from entering the Jr National Finals Rodeo (JrNFR). It is an achievement that is the result of several achievements leading up to the December event. She qualified in barrel racing in April in Loveland, Colorado. The top four of the event are invited to the JrNFR in Las Vegas, Nevada. In June she competed in Lebenon, Tenn.

"She runs on the 12th, 14th and 16th (of December)," her grandmother Lezlee Andersen said.

The event will be televised on RFD Television.

She said Reece will be treated as a professional performer, including the opportunity to sign autographs.

Entering the contest is a costly venture, from the entry fee and cost of caring for her horse to the incidentals including an event jacket. She is going in part because of the support by the Sidney, Western Nebraska and Northeast Colorado community.

Reece is one of 120 riders who will compete in the National Finals Rodeo.

"This is the culmination of a lot of hard wrk by these kids, and they have all earned the right to compete in Las Vegas," said Kelly Kaminski, the event's organizer and a two-time world champion barrel racer in the Women's Professional Rodeo Association. "Each of these kids will be competing for over $130,000 in ash and prizes, and the chance to earn a qualifying spot in The American Semifinals next February in Fort Worth."

The JrNFR is for competitors 16 years of age and younger.

The rodeo life is something passed on through her blood, you might say. Her great-grandfather competed in several events, as did her grandmother, and her mother also competed in barrel racing. Reece has been actively involved in the rodeo sports since she was five years old. She started with barrels, goats and pole bending. She tried break away roping when she was older.

"I think I showed her her first horse and she was hooked," Lezlee Andersen said.

I tried break away roping. I enjoyed it, but not as much as barrels," Reece said. "My horse makes it fun for me."

She is the daughter of Kory Stanley and Jennifer Stanley.

Anyone who would still like to support Reece's trip to the JrNFR in Las Vegas can contact her grandmother, Lezlee Andersen, at 249-2684.