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LaFAYETTE — Chambers Academy student Allyson Noles is competing in two major rodeo events this month. She will be in the week-long International Youth Rodeo in Shawnee, Oklahoma starting this Sunday, July 11 and continuing through Friday, July 16. The cowgirl events include barrel racing, pole bending, breakaway roping and goat tying. For the guys there’s team roping, tie-down roping, steer wrestling, bull riding, saddle bronc riding and bareback riding.

Ashlee, who’s 15, will be a sophomore at Chambers this fall. She has been barrel racing since she was five.

Like athletes in any other sport, girls who do well in barrel racing are dedicated to be the best they can be. They work out a lot to stay in top physical condition, and they work out almost every day on a favorite horse in a rodeo arena. Allyson’s favorite ride is a 13-year-old quarter horse. His name is Demopolis, but she calls him “Mop” for short. Allyson and Mop practice barrel racing almost every day at the Chambers County Rodeo Arena in LaFayette.

Competing in youth rodeos isn’t just for Ashlee. It’s more of a family affair. She goes to competitive events with her identical twin cousins Colton and Wyatt Allen of Dadeville. They will be competing in team roping and calf roping at the big event in Oklahoma and at a follow-up event in Nebraska.

Allyson is the daughter of Andy and Ashlee Noles of LaFayette. They are very supportive of her as a barrel racer. Her mom will be traveling with her and her two cousins.

Once the Oklahoma competition ends, Ashlee, her mom and her cousins will drive north to Lincoln, Nebraska and another major youth rodeo competition, The National High School Finals will be taking place the week of July 18-24 at the Lancaster Event Center in Lincoln.

The competition is sanctioned under the National High School Rodeo Association (NHSRA), founded by Texas educator Claude Mullins

There will be 1,700 athletes from 43 U.S. states, five Canadian provinces, Mexico, Australia and New Zealand. This will be the largest number of contestants of any rodeo in the world. To be in this event, Allyson and her cousins have made it big time at a very young age. Prize money will be going to the top winners in each event.

Scheduled events include bull riding, bareback riding, saddle bronc riding, tie-down roping, breakaway roping, steer wrestling, goat tying, pole bending, barrel racing, boys cutting, girls cutting, reined cow horse, a queen contest, trap shooting and a light rifle event.

“I love barrel racing,” Allyson said. “I do it every day I can. I work out every day to stay in shape, and I love practicing with Mop at the Chambers County Arena.”

The rodeo will be broadcast on the Cowboy channel.