According to Wellston freshman Audrey Fish, roping is all about the adrenaline.
“You just have to let your body do the work because it knows how to do it, and you can’t think,” she explained while curled up in one of the small chairs of her mother’s classroom at Wellston Elementary School.
Audrey has been roping since she was about five years old, when she won her first dummy roping saddle, according to her mother, Jessica Fish. The 15-year-old now competes in breakaway roping.
She said that she tries to get out into the arena every day when the weather permits but makes sure to rope a dummy every day.
“It’s all about timing,” she said.
Audrey is one of several Lincoln County youths who are bound for Las Vegas to compete in the Vegas Tuffest Jr. World Championship. She’s one of over 1,000 entries from 29 different states, including four provinces in Canada, that will compete, according to the rodeo’s press release.
She said that she’s excited about the competition and she’s not really nervous… yet. She knows that it’ll be different and isn’t that fond of big cities. But either way, Audrey said she thinks it’ll be a fun experience. And she’s competed in large competitions before - she previously went to the National Junior High Finals in Perry, Georgia.
“I don’t know how big this one’s going to be because I’ve never been, but it was really big,” she said. “I just hope to get a really good experience there and I hope I come out with the win.”
When she gets into the arena, Audrey said she goes through the same saying.
“I say, keep my elbow up, use my whole arm, and put it in my pocket,” she said. “That usually does it.”
Something that could be just a bit harder this time around as Audrey is competing while injured. Her mother said that she tore her UCL ligament in her arm.
“She can still rope, but it’s not ideal,” Jessica said. “We can get through Vegas and probably going to come home and have surgery.”
Even though she has her arm in a brace, Audrey didn’t seem too worried about the injury or the surgery, saying she was told it was like taking a really good nap.
However, it does mean that she’s had to put basketball - one of the other activities that Audrey is part of at Wellston High School on hold. She also plays softball and is involved in FFA.
However, roping is admittedly Audrey’s thing with the amount of rodeos that she regularly competes in. It helps that she has a special connection with her horse, Studless.
“Her great-uncle… he gave her the horse as a colt, and her and her dad broke it,” Jessica said. “They’ve trained it and they’ve done everything.”
Audrey said that Studless is so special to her.
“Me and him just click right away and I’m honestly so grateful for him,” she said.
The Vegas Tuffest Jr. World Championship kicked off on Wednesday, Dec. 6 and runs through Dec. 13. Other competitors from Lincoln County include Marley Miller, Dilynn Schafer, and Rylee Moore from Chandler, as well as Kendra Darfin from Carney.