Area youths to participate in national rodeo competition

By Shari Friedel

The Grant Tribune-Sentinel

Two area youths, Marisa Wykert of rural Grant, and Colby Holm of Wallace have earned a spot in national rodeo competition to be held in Perry, Ga., starting this weekend, Sunday, June 18 and concluding on Saturday, June 24.

Both are members of the Nebraska Junior High Rodeo Association, which includes participants throughout the state in 5th-8th grades.

Marisa Wykert

Marisa is living the dream of many young girls—a country life with horses and rodeo events. This year, her first year of competition, she returned with several impressive belt buckle awards.

Marisa lives in rural Grant with a horse-loving,competitive family including parents Kraig and Jessica,who both rodeoed as youth and in college and still participate on occasion, along with older brother Jackson, who also competes. Marisa doesn’t remember ever not riding horses, having started as a baby, her parents holding her on the saddle in front of them on their family rides.

Of the family’s 14 quarter horses, Marisa usually chooses three for competition— Quincy, 12, Tuesday, 14, and 18-year-old Pepsi. She has a special love for Quincy, who she uses for barrel-racing. 

Quincy was purchased from a family friend who originally asked the Wykerts to help sell her, but the family fell in love with her sweet nature and athletic ability, and decided to buy her themselves. They affectionately call her “little pig” since she always seems to find a mud hole to roll in.

Rodeo participants are selected for national competition by accumulating points throughout the season, with the top four scorers chosen to advance. 

As the event’s top scorer, Marisa qualified in barrels, and was one of the final four in ribbon roping with her partner, Trey Blackmore of Chambers, Neb. In that event, the roper ropes a calf, dismounts and holds the calf while their partner takes a ribbon off the calf’s tail and runs back across the finish line with it.

Her partner, Trey, is from a fellow rodeo family who has competed with the Wykerts for several generations.

Adding to her honors, Marisa garnered the 2023 Girls Rookie of the Year, an award given to first year competitors who accumulate the most points in all of their events combined. Since the beginning of the year, Marisa was determined to bring that award home.

Marisa’s success is no accident—she spends several hours every day training, drilling and exercising the horses, even when school is in session.

Colby Holm

Thirteen-year-old Colby, the son of Brian and Cassie Holm of Wallace, will also be attending nationals in Georgia in his favorite event: chute dogging.

Chute dogging, as explained by his mom Cassie, is the kids’ version of steer wrestling—the difference between the youth and adult event is that the participant is not on horseback in the youth division.  

Colby also comes from a ranching and rodeo family, whose members enjoy roping, and steer wrestling. Colby also participates in team roping, and has been involved in rodeos since the age of six. When not competing, Colby is a farm and ranch kid, said Cassie. He likes to help any way he can. He owns his own cows and says that calving season is his favorite time of year.

Participating in six rodeos this year, Colby’s best chute dogging time was about 2.6 to 2.8 seconds, said Cassie.

The Holms have an arena on their property, where Colby and his friends like to practice their craft. 

The whole family, including his parents and 11-year-old brother, will be in Georgia to cheer for Colby at nationals, where they hope he will have a good time and just enjoy the experience.