POCATELLO − Arbon Valley native and senior Katelyn Evans sits atop her horse as the crowd watches.
The gun fires and the calf sprints away. She and her horse converge. Lasso in hand, she ropes the calf clean around the neck. It may only last a few seconds, but in those seconds the crowd, the pressure and the stakes of the moment disappear, and the love of rodeo takes center stage.
Evans has had a storied rodeo career. Competing in the Idaho High School Rodeo Association since seventh grade, she has delivered at every stage.
She won the breakaway event at state finals in eighth grade and was named All-Around Cowgirl. As a freshman she placed second overall at districts and earned the Rookie of the Year buckle at state. Her sophomore year she was crowned All-Around Cowgirl at districts for the second time and won the pole bending event at state, earning the ceremonial championship saddle.
Her junior year she claimed the District All-Around Cowgirl title for the third consecutive year and advanced to nationals in Lincoln, Nebraska. She also holds a full-ride scholarship to continue her rodeo career at New Mexico State University.
But it almost never happened.
“Our family’s done it all throughout the years, and I got into it a little my sixth grade year,” Evans said. “My junior high year I wasn’t super into it, and then something just sparked and kicked me through it.”
That spark ignited everything that followed. At American Falls High School, Evans has represented District 4 at the Idaho State Rodeo Finals in five events, but her best two are breakaway roping and pole bending and she has the hardware to prove it.
In her sophomore season in 2024, she won a state championship in pole bending, earning the ceremonial championship saddle in the process, before advancing to the National Finals in Rock Springs, Wyoming.
Her junior year she went back, this time in her main event, breakaway roping. She finished in the top four and punched her ticket to Lincoln, Nebraska.
In Lincoln, she put her name on the map. Her time of 2.67 seconds in the breakaway earned her seventh in the country.
Now entering her senior year, her final week representing her state, community and hometown, Evans wants this last rodeo to be memorable on and off the competition grounds.
“It’s my senior year, so I’m here to just have as much fun as I can, hang out with friends, and just enjoy it as much as possible,” Evans said.
Even with all her success, Evans is still chasing one more title, a state championship in the breakaway.
“I want to win a state championship in the breakaway. I have nothing to lose, so might as well go for it,” she said.
Evans is a versatile competitor who competes in multiple events and will showcase her talent all over the rodeo scene this week, with the rodeo running from Friday, June 6, through Saturday, June 13, at the Bannock County Event Center in Pocatello.
On Saturday, Evans hopes to be among those headed back to Lincoln for nationals, where the pressure is at its highest and where the hard work of competitors like Evans is put to the ultimate test.
“At nationals, the pressure’s a lot higher, and you’ve got to figure out how to block everything out so you can just focus on yourself,” Evans said.
Now as she embarks on her final week of high school rodeo, all the hours, all the training, all the highs and lows behind her, Evans reflects on what the sport truly means to her.
“Rodeo means a lot more than just rodeo,” Evans said. “You have a rodeo family that you built, they support you, they’re there for you all the time, whether it’s recording your runs, taking notes, or pushing your calf. I’ve built so many lifelong friends that I could never find anywhere else.”