BY JONOTHAN KANE
Kali Castle, a senior at Wood River High School carrying a 3.7 grade point average and a member of National Honor Society, loves horses. At WRHS, besides competing in rodeo, Kali is a member of the volleyball team and president of the Humanities Club.
Riding since she was a toddler, Kali’s first love is horses.
“They don’t judge you,” she said. “It doesn’t matter if you’re pretty or smart. It’s always been an escape and a way to deal with stress at school. I love animals and being around them and out in nature with them. They are just so different from humans in the way they interact and communicate.”
Kali’s father grew up on a farm and also had horses when he was young. It’s a family tradition.
“When I was little, we used to go on pack trips to lakes,” Kali said. “My earliest memory was at three, leading the packhorse while I was riding. I told my dad I didn’t need help and I was so proud that he let me do it.”
Kali’s family currently owns 10 horses, five of which are hers; four are for rodeo and one is her trail horse. In rodeo, she competes in five events––calf roping, steer roping, barrel racing, pole bending and goat tying.
“Calf roping, or breakaway roping, is when the calf comes out of the chute and you chase it and rope it around its neck,” Kali said. “In steer roping, you work with a partner as a team, with one person roping the head while the other ropes the feet. Pole bending is running your horse slalom through poles.”
But Kali excels at goat tying.
“I made it to state the last two years for that event,” she said. “I enjoy jumping off a horse while it’s running. With practice, you can get faster and faster each time.”
Kali started in rodeo at the tender age of 7.
“I loved horses and loved being around them all the time,” she said. “I started with barrel racing and pole bending because they were the simplest and had the most basic steps. You have to learn to sling a rope before you can start competing, so it wasn’t until I was 13 that I started roping.”
She competed at county fair rodeos and did well for a beginner. At 8 years old, she won her first barrel race.
“I was so excited that I bought a framed photo of me and it was the first time I won money, so I was pretty stoked,” she said. “Then I learned roping, which I picked up pretty quickly. You spend a lot of time working on the ground before you get on the horse. I was two places out of making it to state my first year. I was a little discouraged but I didn’t get all the technicalities down.”
Today, Kali competes in 12 rodeos a year.
“I’m just a competitive person,” she said. “But in this sport, you don’t go against an opponent. Instead, you are working with a 1500-pound animal who might be having a good day or a bad day.”
Editor’s Note: Anyone who would like to recommend a Blaine County School District student for The Weekly Sun’s “Student Spotlight” feature should contact Jonathan Kane at jkjonkane@gmail.com.