From Deseret News archives:
High school rodeo finals: Pace family comes prepared
They brought their rodeo groupies: Mom, Dad, a couple of starry-eyed younger siblings, some aunts, uncles, cousins and a pair of proud grandparents.
"Rodeo is definitely a family affair," said Rande Pace, Cortni and Collin's father. "That's why we love it. It's an excuse to spend a weekend together."
And they brought their sizable entourage of quarter horses: Tequila, Cindy, Zim, Mac, Zack and Quixote.
"If you want to be competitive, you've got to have good horses," said Rande Pace, who lives in Provo and farms in Lehi.
For Cortni and Collin Pace, who each qualified to compete in three different events at the Wasatch County Fairgrounds this week, being competitive means having a different, specially trained horse for each event. The two worked all year to accrue enough points to qualify for a chance at the state titles, so they certainly aren't taking any chances now.
Filling the gas tanks to lug six horses (sometimes nine, depending on how many events the children do) back and forth to rodeos can cost up to $500 a trip, said Janice Pace, Collin and Cortni's mother. But, for a largely horse-centric family like the Paces, it's worth it.
"Rodeo's what the kids want to do," she said. "It keeps them out of trouble."
Collin Pace, a soon-to-be-sophomore at Lehi High, teamed up with Tequila, a spirited palomino, to take down a calf in 17.6 seconds Wednesday morning in the tie-down roping competition.
It was a team effort, he said. Collin Pace roped the calf and Tequila put the brakes on hard to drag him down.
Seventeen seconds isn't Collin Pace's best time, but, he said, "That wasn't Tequila's fault. I messed up tying the calf's legs."
"Tequila and I work really good together," he said. "He's working the rope really good."
Tequila and Cortni Pace, on the other hand, don't get along so well. That's why the family brought Cindy, a steadier bay roan, for Cortni Pace's roping event breakaway roping.
Cortni Pace, who just graduated from Lehi High with a 3.9 grade point average, raised and trained Cindy herself. They know each other so well, Cindy can tell if her rider is nervous and gets "antsy."
If a horse is well trained in an event, Cortni Pace said, the rider doesn't have to worry about telling the animal what to do. The cowgirl only gets a few seconds to rope her sprinting calf, so cutting out extra work is imperative.
"It's really hard if you're not confident in your horse because you have to do your job and help them with their job," Cortni Pace said.
E-mail: estuart@desnews.com
Recent comments
Thanks for covering the High School Rodeo. This is a sport that...
Tammy Berry | June 12, 2008 at 12:39 p.m.
- Tiger opens with a 66 in Australia 1:18 a.m.
- Crash kills Utah County man 1:12 a.m.
- UCAT cheaper education option 1:12 a.m.
- Post office to be named for Rex Lee 1:11 a.m.
- Police probe synagogue vandalism 1:09 a.m.
- New charges added in fraud case 1:09 a.m.
- Mom takes plea deal in girl's beating 1:08 a.m.
- Drug trafficking operation busted 1:07 a.m.
- News yule writing contest starting up 12:59 a.m.
- Alpine District school honored 12:59 a.m.
- SLC council OKs gay rights policies
- Utah Jazz have a problem at point
- 'Love story' of crash victim ends
- BYU football recruit turning heads
- Alta's Ohai is Ms. Soccer 2009
- Prep football: Felt's Facts Week
- 12 Utes return to Texas
- Cougars' defensive hoops clinic
- Wyoming writer amazed by BYU
- Civilians help S.L. officer make arrest
- House passes health care bill
287 - SLC council OKs gay rights policies
246 - TCU showdown has big implications
193 - Senators want food tax restored
157 - Cougars crush hapless Cowboys
155 - Utah Jazz fall apart against Kings
131 - TCU 4th in AP poll; U. 16th, Y. 22nd
119 - S.L. vote pending on gay protections
109 - Pratt pleads not guilty to sex charges
101 - Letters: Strange breed in Utah
92
Utah State hoops coach Stew Morrill took a few minutes to talk about Weber
Beck, Hannity, and Limbaugh get the audience they deserve and vice versa. ...
I find the rule,very discriminitory. I am not gay, I don't understand what...
I understand we were outmanned last night. However, this effort was awful....
My advice to Jonathan is shoot it when they pass it to you as soon as you...
Maybe they should try drafting a shooting guard who can shoot from outside ....
The sad thing about it is that there are actually people out there that are...
Thank you TCU and BYU. Your wanting to beat Utah so bad has to drive you...
Play fes and koufos. Look to the future. It looks like we will have two...
Oh come on. Obama's a horrible president, but I couldn't care less which...
"We had the best soccer of any place in the state. There's no disputing...

