Craig Daily Press

Craig — Riding a 2,000-pound bull, racing around barrels on a horse trying not to fall off and lassoing a speeding calf in less than 10 seconds.

To many who witness these rodeo events, it could seem to be a nearly impossible task.

But, for the Vernon family, it comes naturally.

“We all grew up on a ranch,” said Janice Edwards, mother of Troy, Taylor and Trent Vernon. “My father rode bulls, and all the kids have been riding horses their whole lives. We’re just a rodeo family, I guess.”

Troy — a Moffat County High School junior — and Taylor — an MCHS sophomore — are heading to the rodeo state championships beginning June 11 in Lamar.

This is the first trip for the Vernons to the state finals.

Each said they are nervous now, but when the events begin, nerves fly out the window.

“You can’t think about the nerves,” Taylor said. “That’s how you make mistakes. Nerves cause mistakes.”

Troy agreed.

“Of course you get nervous at the beginning,” he said. “But when you’re strapped on that bull, those nerves turn into adrenaline.”

Edwards made the trip three times in the mid 1980s as part of the MCHS rodeo squad.

Now, she attends as a mother and spectator.

“I probably get more nervous for them than they do,” Edwards said. “They take the sport way more serious than I do, and I was never as focused as they are.”

Troy and Taylor said they’ve been focused all year.

Taylor heads to Lamar currently sitting in the 12th position in girls barrel racing.

Troy is in fifth place in bull riding.

The top four finishers in each discipline advance to the National High School Rodeo Finals beginning July 21 in Farmington, N.M.

Taylor is 20 points out of the fourth and final position, but believes advancing to nationals isn’t out of reach.

“I know the competition,” Taylor said. “I think I can catch them, I just have to be consistent.”

Taylor has been consistently in the money all year long.

High school rodeo is the only sport where competitors earn cash as prizes.

Taylor has hauled in more of the green than the rest of the MCHS team combined.

“I’m not in it for the money,” she said. “I’m in it for the fun.”

Troy is two points behind the fourth-spot in bull riding.

“I can advance” to nationals, he said. “It’s all about drawing a good bull. You do good or bad depending on the bull you ride.”

Trent is 10 years old, so he won’t be making the trip as a competitor, but he’s already won his share of titles.

The youngest Vernon cowboy is the Little Britches Rodeo two-time defending world champion in flag racing and defending champion in pole bending.

He said he owes his success to his older siblings.

“They help me with everything,” he said. “Troy never won a (world) title in Little Britches, so I wanted to win it for him.”

Winning rodeo titles, Troy and Taylor said, doesn’t come easy.

Each remembers when things didn’t go well.

The family laughed as thoughts of mistakes galloped through their minds.

“When we were in Golden this year, I fell off my horse rounding the very first barrel,” Taylor said, her face bright red. “I got up and got out of there as fast as I could, I was so embarrassed. I’m still trying to forget about that.”

Troy couldn’t put a finger on his worst spill.

“I’ve been hurt so many times,” he said. “I couldn’t say which was the worst.”

The Vernons have 10 horses on their ranch. Some are used for rodeo, others — according to Edwards — are just “hay burners.”

“They’re old and just stand around eating all the hay,” she said.

Troy has bulls — several real and one mechanical — at home to help him practice.

Taylor said she owes her skills to her mother.

“Without my mom I probably wouldn’t be doing” rodeo, she said. “Without rodeo, I’d probably be some city kid.”

John Vandelinder can be reached at 875-1793, or jvandelinder@craigdailypress.com