Riding to the National Rodeo

Since she was 3 years old, Maysan Lee has been riding.

Now, for the second-straight year, she hopes to see all her time pay off in Lebanon, Tennessee, when she takes her teammate Petey down for the National Junior High Rodeo Finals.

The WACO eighth-grader and her horse will be competing in the barrel race at the event as a part of the Iowa rodeo team, and Lee is hoping the bond between the pair shows through.

?We have a tight bond,? Lee said. ?I?ve had (Petey) for two years now, and in the first three months I had him, he won me three belt buckles in four weekends. I figured out that I have to trust him and sit down when I?m supposed to and he?ll turn for me.?

That bond can be seen in the horse?s interaction with Maysan, as she describes him as more than a pet.

?He follows me around everywhere,? Lee said. ?I could be in the pasture cleaning out the water or giving him hay, and he talks and neighs at me all the time. Right when I open the gate, he?s right there running and talking.?

Maysan credits her father for helping her get started riding at such a young age.

?My dad started roping and he?s always ridden,? Lee said. ?He?s always been around horses, then he put me in the saddle and it took off from there. I rode with him all the time before I could balance myself out, and started riding on my own at the age of 3 and took off from there.?

Barrel racing consists of rounding three barrels placed in a cloverleaf pattern. The horse and its rider will head to its right out of the gate, do a right-turn loop around the first barrel and cross to the second barrel, where it will loop to the third barrel, posted farthest away from the start and finish.

After a left turn around that barrel, the team will go into a dead sprint for the finish.

Lee, who competed at nationals last year, said that having that previous experience is going to be a nice boost for the 2016 competition.

?Last year I didn?t know what it was going to be,? Lee said. ?I had heard about it, but I had never been, so I was really nervous. That really affected my game inside the arena. I?m a lot more confident (this year), and I know my horse a lot better. We have more runs under our belt. We?ve grown together and we are getting better each time.?

Seasonal rodeo events keep Lee busy throughout the year, spending weekends to make long trips, which could entail driving up to seven hours one direction to get to the rodeos.

Those long trips can be extra taxing on the horse, but Maysan said that Petey is a fan of traveling.

?Typically, when we go on a long route, we?ll take him out and walk him a few times to keep him not so stiff,? Lee said. ?We have traveling wraps, and we have a new horse trailer where we can keep his hay. He love to travel. When we get the trailer, he?s usually jumping in and ready to go every time.?

As far as preparation for the event, Lee said they set up their own personal arena; however, she doesn?t want to overwork Petey by practicing too often with the barrels.

?I have an arena at my house, but I don?t like working him in there all the time,? Lee said. ?He knows his job and he might get overwhelmed. I do a lot of trotting down the road, and then sometimes we?ll practice with barrels, but not too often.?

Regardless of how the pair compete at the event, Maysan said she is looking forward to seeing all her rodeo friends at the event.

?We have so much fun,? Lee said. ?I feel like these are our vacations every weekend we go, and everyone gets along, so no matter who?s competing, you are all rooting for them. Everyone is cheering for everybody else.?

Competition will begin next week, with two preliminary rounds, followed by a finals round.