ROCK SPRINGS —Local rodeo star Makenzi Scott, 18, will be competing in the Fort Worth, Texas, Junior American Rodeo in pole bending during the first week in March.

Last summer Scott, from Rock Springs, posted the third best time ever in pole bending for a high schooler, at 19.461 seconds around the six poles twice. Scott said she will also try to qualify for the Fort Worth barrel racing competition as well.

In pole bending, the poles are set 21 feet apart and the first pole is 21 feet from the starting timer.

The Fort Worth Junior American Rodeo is far from being a capstone event for Makenzi Scott, however. Starting next fall, she will be competing as a member of the University of Wyoming Rodeo Team. Scott wasn’t sure yet when the UW rodeo season will get underway, but she said in a recent interview that if the team follows the same schedule as a year ago, the Cowboy/Cowgirl rodeo team might be getting competition started the second weekend in September. There is also a spring college rodeo season.

Fort Worth Qualifying

Notwithstanding Scott’s near-record performance in pole bending last summer, it was still necessary for her to qualify for the Junior American Rodeo competition in Fort Worth. “I qualified at a preliminary competition in Gillette,” Scott explained. Approximately 250 competitors will be at the Fort Worth Junior American Rodeo, coming from all parts of the United States. Thus, Scott will have a good opportunity to measure her skills against other top young rodeo competitors nationwide.

Scott earned the opportunity to qualify for the Junior American Rodeo by consistently finishing at or near the top of the standings in county fair rodeos and other rodeos during the course of the year, such as the monthly Wild West Outlaws Gymkhanas at the Sweetwater Events Complex.

Moreover, a disciplined regimen of practice also helps. “I ride for three hours a day except on Wednesdays or when traveling,” Scott said. “I have 10 horses altogether, but Cat’s Raspberry Beret, she’s definitely the golden child.” Her favorite horse’s name is a combination, half from the sire and half from the dam.

Future Plans

Scott said she has been competing in rodeo events for about seven years now, primarily in barrel racing and pole bending. “But no goat-tying,” she added. After college, Scott said she plans to become a financial analyst, like her dad, Ryan Scott. But beyond that, she plans to breed barrel racing horses for sale.

“I’m concentrating mainly on working with mares,” Scott explained. “Stud horses (ungelded male horses) can be kind of hard to manage.”

Makenzi Scott has one sibling, a younger sister, Liana, 8. “We’re 10 years apart,” Scott said. Currently, Liana is more interested in team sports such as basketball and soccer. Liana does have her own horse to ride, a 26-year-old appaloosa named Trace. “I’m trying to get her interested in competing (in rodeo),” Makenzi said regarding her sister.

Working With Youth

Currently, Makenzi spends part of her day at Rock Springs High School and another part at Western Wyoming Community College while readying herself for UW. Multi-talented, Scott also helps mentor students at Eastside Elementary School down the street from RSHS. Scott explained that she works one- on-one with students at Eastside on Wednesdays, possibly switching to Thursdays, as part of the Fire Law Leadership Academy program at RSHS.

Some tutoring may be involved with what Scott and other high school students in the FLLA program do at Eastside, but the primary objective is to mentor kids who want to talk about whatever is on their minds.

“It’s once a week,” Scott said of her mentoring duties. “I talk to these kids. It gives the kids someone to talk to.”

Plenty of Parental Support

For certain, Makenzi Scott could not have succeeded in rodeo to the extent that she has without support from her parents, who are behind her all the way. They particularly support Makenzi’s willingness to share what she knows about rodeo with younger participants who look up to her for help and guidance.

“Nicole (Makenzi’s mom) and I are proud of Makenzi and excited to watch her compete at the Junior American and for Makenzi to continue her rodeo career at U-W. While Makenzi competes we want her to learn from her success and her failures. I see little kids at the rodeos asking Makenzi for advice. Makenzi listens to them and helps them out from her experiences; that is what it’s all about,” Ryan Scott said. “As you improve and learn, you then take your knowledge and help someone else get better. We hope Makenzi wins at these competitions but more importantly what does Makenzi learn through the journey about herself and how can she use the knowledge or skill to better others.”

Growing up with rodeo hasn’t always been an easy road for Makenzi. While others youngsters participated in rodeo for a couple of years or so and then dropped out of the sport, Makenzi kept steadily at it during her teenage years to the point where she is now usually among the top winners at the rodeo events that she enters around Wyoming or wherever.

“Makenzi’s persistence and dedication as well as her passion for horses is beyond anything I have ever seen before,” Nicole Scott said. “There have been a lot of tears and disappointments along the way but this is what built her character.”

Onward and upward.