Several Lincoln County contestants will compete in the International Finals Youth Rodeo that kicks off Sunday night at the Heart of Oklahoma Exposition Center in Shawnee.
Among them are Rylee Moore of Chandler, Kaylin McRae of Meeker and Kyndra Darphin of Carney.
Rylee is the 16-year-old daughter of Dallas Waters of Chandler and John Moore of Stillwater. She said she is home-schooled and will be a junior this fall.
Kaylin is the 16-yearold daughter of Matt and Kami McRae. She said she’ll be a senior this fall at Meeker High School.
Kyndra is the 17-yearold daughter of Lydia and Justin Darphin and will be a senior, attending Epic Charter School, she said.
Rylee said, “I’ve been rodeoing since I was 5 and I will compete in the breakaway roping at this year’s IFYR. This is the second time I’ve been in the IFYR.”
Kaylin noted, “I’ve competed in rodeos my whole life. This will be the third time I’ll be in the IFYR.”
She said she competes in the barrel racing and pole bending and has previously in the IFYR, but this year is entered only in the pole bending. She will compete on her horse “Cowgirl.”
Kyndra will compete in the breakaway roping on her horse “Grizzly.” She said, “I’ve been riding horses all of my life and I starting roping when I was 13.”
This will be her second IFYR. “I didn’t have very good luck last year, but I hope to do better this year,” Kyndra said.
Rylee said in last year’s IFYR she finished in the top 25 in breakaway roping.
She will compete on her horse Twister that she’s had for about 1½ years, she said.
What Rylee enjoys most about the IFYR, she says, “is getting to see all my friends while competing. I have a bunch of them out of state, and I only get to see them a couple times of year,” she added.
She mentioned she enjoys the vendors in the trade show, too.
“I like the set up of the rodeo. It runs so much faster with the three arenas and it runs smoothly. I plan to return next year,” Kylee said.
Kaylin said that in last year’s IFYR, “I was just short of making the short go in the barrels.”
She pointed out, “We’ve always had horses while I was growing up and when I was 4 or 5 I did little rodeos. Then in Junior High I did Junior Rodeo and once in high school I’ve been competing in high school rodeos.”
Kaylin stated she’s a member of the Oklahoma High School Rodeo Association.
Talking about the IFYR, Kaylin says, “I met a ton of new people and made friends. And the competition is really tough and I like tough competition.”
Kaylin commented, “I played softball at Meeker, but quit to rodeo. I rodeo all year round. I’m still seeking a championship,” she continued.
Kyndra said what she enjoys most about the IFYR is, “I really enjoy getting to see all my friends I made at the Little Britches rodeos.”
Kyndra is a member of the Oklahoma High School Rodeo Association and the Little Britches organization. She is competing in the Little Britches Finals this week at Guthrie, she said, which began last Saturday July 1 and concludes this Saturday the day before the IFYR begins on Sunday night.
She said she is competing in the breakaway roping there. “And I enjoy the friendly environment and everybody helping everybody. I’d say the IFYR competition is pretty tough.”
Rylee explained she is working for Steve Orth, a renowned horse trainer in Guthrie. “I help him by riding Futurity horses, keeping the horses in shape. I assist him at the barn and get to travel with him to assist him at the Futurities,” she said.
She will also complete in the World Championship Jr. Rodeo June 25-29 at the Lazy E in Guthrie and Rylee has qualified for the 2023 American Quarter Horse Youth Association World Show July 30-Aug. 6 in Oklahoma City.
After high school, Kaylin has her eyes on a college in Arizona where she plans to study to be a hygienist.
“I hope to further train Colts. I’m doing some of that now,” she said.
Future plans for Kyndra include attending college, rodeoing in college and later professionally. “After college I want to start my own business training horses,” she added.
She closed saying, “I just wish everybody competing at the IFYR good luck and safe travels.”