Galloping at a breakneck pace, sophomore Megan Miller headed to state for barrel racing after hours of hard work.

Miller competed in the state championship and made Nationals in Wyoming March 10. and 11.

“Last year in the last rodeo, I was in 11th place and they take the top 10 to state. During that weekend, I took first one day and like fourth the next and took eighth overall. It was a crazy weekend,” said Miller.

Megan’s mother, Lori Miller, has no clue where this passion came from.

“I was on the dance team and my husband played baseball,” commented Lori, “we wanted her to do something more traditional, something we were more familiar with, like gymnastics.”

Megan never really caught on to what her mother referred to as “traditional” sports. Instead, she wanted to pursue her passion of barrel racing.

She started at Tejas Rodeo and was competing by the time she was eight years old. Her and her horse Rumor are both turning 17 this year. Megan got Rumor when she was in first grade and the two have been competing together ever since.

“Tejas Rodeo was really instrumental,” said Lori. “We started there where we boarded her horse. They taught us everything we needed to know.”

After starting at Tejas, Megan continued on to take private lessons. Now she teaches herself.

All her hard work paid off when she found out she made top 10 at regionals (seventh) and qualified at the state competition when she made it in the top three.

State was held in Abilene, Texas, where RDF TV hosted the event and large businesses, like Whataburger, sponsored the event.

The High School Rodeo Circuit held the event, where 10 different regions sent their top athletes to compete to go to nationals. With around 150 kids per region, the competition is fierce to go to state. 

Most of her competitors are homeschooled and practice all day, every single day. Megan has to wait until the weekends most of the time since it takes too long to load and unload the trailer. Yet, she doesn’t let this discourage her. She continues to work hard and work towards winning the top spot.

“I try to practice two times a week compared to half of the other competitors who are homeschooled so they ride everyday,” said Megan.

With a schedule full of Pre-AP and AP courses, Megan juggles school and practice. She is also a part of Holly Leach’s Writer’s Guild.

“I do like to write and Ms. Leach is one of my favorite teachers,” said Megan.

Her goal is to eventually to compete in the American Rodeo and the National Rodeo Finals in Las Vegas.

“That’s the dream,” she said. “It takes lots of money to get there.”