BANCROFT — Inspired by the spirited competition of roping dummies with her siblings as a child, Hayden Corta of Bancroft has been on the fast track to rodeo stardom as she nears her collegiate future.

When other families were going on vacations, Corta and her family were attending rodeos together, immersing her in the culture and providing a stage for her to learn skills that would help her in her future.

During her high school rodeo career, Corta earned early success as a freshman by winning the state championship in pole bending.

Since that time, Corta has put a considerable amount of practice and effort into becoming the District 8 All-Around Cowgirl for the past three years.

“We rodeo in the fall and spring,” said Corta, a 17-year-old student at Idaho Inspire Online Academy. “Over the course of that time, whichever person out of the whole district, one girl and one boy, has the most points and overall wins in the All-Around. How you do that is you get points in multiple events. I do five events — barrels, poles, team roping, breakaway and goat tying. Getting points in all of those (events) really pushes you ahead to go for the All-Around.”

Corta had to endure hardship and overcome substantial hinderances on the road to rodeo success when she broke her arm two summers ago on the precipice of the fall rodeo season.

“I just learned how to rope differently with the cast and change how I did things so that I would be able to compete with it,” Corta said. “I did end up competing for the fall season with my cast on and then ended up winning the All-Around still, which was a pretty big accomplishment for me.”

Triumph in the face of such difficult adversity is no small feat, especially considering that Corta’s broken arm was on the side of her dominant hand. Her resiliency extended to how she approached training for rodeo as well, when she decided to use some of her roping winnings to purchase a horse named Roanie.

Normally, horses will already be broken in and have received some form of obedience training from their owners. For Corta, she decided to spend a few years breaking in her horse and establishing a connection that would bind the pair together.

Corta’s own competitive nature, spurred by sibling rivalry and a desire to “be first in everything,” helped her accomplish much over her high school career and rely on her personal strengths. Corta also praised what she calls “the rodeo community.”

“What I love about rodeo is it’s an individual sport,” Corta said. “It’s very unique in that way, but it’s also very unique in how many variables there are. Not only is it just you, but there’s also the horse, there’s the cattle, livestock, and you’re depending on the people on the ground to help. Something interesting about rodeo is it’s such a community, like a real family. I think that’s a bit different than other sports. Rodeo family will help you no matter what.”

Corta will soon be attending the College of Southern Idaho in Twin Falls on a full-ride rodeo scholarship under the tutelage of Steve Birnie, CSI’s rodeo coach. Corta also has plans on getting her associate degree in health science while she attends college.

Corta has aspirations to compete at a high level in college rodeo.

“I just love the competitive aspect of it,” Corta said. “It’s been my craft and my passion for a long time. I love being able to work at it all the time. I’m super grateful for my family. There’s no way I could have done it by myself (regarding) any of the things I’ve accomplished or anything that I do because it takes a village. And I’ve certainly got those people in my corner.”