RANSOMVILLE — Brynn Lepsch led her horse, Gunner, out of the family barn and towards the paddock. It’s her routine every day, before and after school.
Lepsch guided Gunner in a clockwise motion around the barrel with a quick pull on the reins. The two have worked together since the spring in preparation to compete against the top barrel racers and pole benders in the country.
The 13-year old Ransomville resident and soon-to-be eighth-grader at Wilson Middle School is one of nine New Yorkers competing in the National Junior High Finals Rodeo from June 23-29 at the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines, Iowa. The adrenaline rush from barrel racing fueled Lepsch’s desire to compete in rodeos three years ago.
But competing in barrel racing wasn’t enough for Lepsch. In a three year span, Lepsch has also competed in goat-tying, pole bending, ribbon roping and breakaway roping, to continue expanding her craft.
“It gives you something else to do and something else to focus on,” Lepsch said. “So, you’re not stressing about one thing and you can just kind of forget about it and go to your next thing.”
The versatility has resulted in Lepsch collecting championship buckles, while competing in the Pennsylvania Junior High School Rodeo Association. Entering Monday, Lepsch has earned 14 championship buckles, including six over the PJHSRA season, which ran from September to November and then again from January to May.
Without a local rodeo circuit, Lepsch and her family travel to the competitions, with a trip to Pennsylvania roughly 10 hours round trip before returning late Sunday evenings before getting ready for school Monday.
On top of that, the Lepschs are spending more than $1,500 a month and at least $18,000 a year, when considering lessons, rent, animal feeding, gas money and veterinarian bills, nearly $7,000 more than the average cost in New York State. Her mother, Jaime, is a former barrel racer, and from her point of view, the price tag doesn’t exceed the hours Brynn spends on her own caring for her animals.
“As long as she’s having fun, learning and growing,” Jaime said. “That’s all that really matters.”
In the PJHSRA this season, Lepsch was the junior breakaway state and ribbon roping state finals champion after she earned the crown of pole bending state finals champion last year. But, along with gaining momentum with victories, Lepsch is heading to nationals now fully healthy.
Just 10 days before competing at last year’s nationals in Georgia, Lepsch broke her pelvis after her horse at the time, Rita, threw her against a fence inside the family barn. Though her doctors recommended she sit out, Lepsch returned to riding one week later and eventually competed at nationals.
On the national stage, Lepsch’s aggravated average of 35.02 seconds in barrel racing was 86th out of 159 competitors while her average of 49.69 is 91st in pole bending, an event in which she weaves in and out of six poles 21 feet apart. While it wasn’t the results she wanted, making the trip to Georgia still provided Lepsch to meet other young riders from across the country.
“It was definitely a lot of competition and there’s a lot of good people there,” Lepsch said. “So, you can’t always expect to do amazing but you just go through the experience and just have fun.”
To get ready for nationals, Lepsch tries to compete in as many events as possible. Along with competing in other competitions like Batavia and in Fredonia, Pennsylvania, Lepsch developed a trust in Gunner by practicing at the MK Quarter Horses in Wilson.
The farm is where Lepsch began taking lessons over four years ago. Today, Lepsch takes part in a rodeo practice on Tuesday nights, ranging from two to three hours, followed by roping practice for an hour.
Plus, Lepsch takes part in a horsemanship lesson for an hour to 90 minutes for one day a week. The lessons taught Lepsch how to properly ride the horse, including hand and leg placement and proper communication.
As a result, the extra practice has paid off between Lepsch and her horse. The trust has resulted in Lepsch’s confidence in all her events, including goat-tying and barrel racing, since competing in Georgia.
“Her confidence has really grown in the past year,” said Melissa Koser, Lepsch’s coach and owner of MK Quarter Horses. “And I think that just comes with kids getting older. … I remember the first day her and her two friends that started riding at the same time, their first lesson and we laugh about it… ‘Oh my gosh, remember this day it’s when you learn how to lope on a horse and now you girls are at a full out run and you’re competing and you’re doing great.’”
Lepsch is interested in competing in college rodeo, of the more than 100 United States colleges that sponsor a women’s rodeo team, none are in the northeast. But, with less than one week away, her focus is gearing up for nationals, while encouraging others to try.
“I say do it,” Lepsch said. “And, just have fun, if you’re going to do it.”