BY KRIS BLANKMAN

Cinch Penrod

Meet Cinch Penrod: it is a fitting name for an exceptional young cowboy. Cinch is a 14-year-old ninth grader at Wahlquist Junior High School. He enjoys math, science, and P.E. Other than enjoying golf and bowling on the side, this young man is all cowboy!

Cinch is a member of District 9 of the Idaho High School Rodeo Association, where he competes in breakaway, goats, team roping, and ribbon roping. He had a momentous year last year and ended up winning the team roping and the breakaway at the Idaho State Finals. He also won the Reserve All Around Champion and Rookie of the Year awards!

He qualified for the National Junior High School Finals Rodeo in Perry, Georgia, this past June in all four events. Cinch won the Reserve National Champion title in breakaway. He says his best and hardest experience so far has been nationals. There was considerable pressure, but he learned much and was successful.

As he starts high school rodeo this fall, he will compete in team roping as a heeler, his favorite, in District 9, and focus on making it to the National High School Finals next year. Cinch has big goals, and one of them is to push himself as far as he can go and “be the best that there is.”

Along with rodeo, this young man loves to ride and rope whenever possible. He is training some young rope horses and hopes to turn that into a career in the future.

Laney Parker

I have the pleasure of introducing you to a charming, young, all-around cowgirl, Laney Parker. She is a Sophomore at Fremont High School, where she is a member of the FFA. She loves Ag Business and Ag Science and states that the FFA classes are her favorite.

She has been involved in competitive dance and cheer for 12 years. During that period, she performed in The Nutcracker five times. As she got older, she had to choose between dance and rodeo, and although she loves to dance, rodeo won.

She expressed her love of the western lifestyle with me, sharing that it is a family tradition. She said it has taught her to work hard and focus on her goals. Laney hopes to keep the tradition alive and plans to raise her kids in the same lifestyle and would like to compete in Pro Rodeo as an adult.

She is a member of the Champion Makers 4H club where she shows market hogs. She is also a member of District 9 of the Idaho High School Rodeo Association. She competes in barrels, poles, goat tying, breakaway roping, and team roping. She tells me that goat tying is her favorite event. She loves rodeo and the time she gets to spend with family and friends. She says, this year, she wants to have fun and meet new people. Laney is the 2022 Utah Youth Rodeo Association All-Around Cowgirl. She has set her sights on making it to the National Finals this year in Gillette, Wyoming. Judging from her past accomplishments, I have no doubt her dreams will become a reality.