Family First, Rodeo Always: How We Make It All Work
- afenner
- Jul 23
- 2 min read
The world likes to tell us we have to choose — family or career, motherhood or ambition, kids or .....
But out here, we do things differently.
At Rad Rodeo, we believe you can have both — if you’re willing to build a life where rodeo and family don’t compete… they coexist.
And sure, it’s messy. It’s chaotic. It takes grit, grace, a very detailed calendar, and of course sacrifice.
But it’s worth it.
The Family is the Team
Every person in our household plays a role:
Kids feed and water.
Dad works and helps out everywhere he can.
Mom manages the schedule, the outfits, and the sanity.
Nobody’s on the sidelines. We all ride. We all work. We all cheer. And when one of us wins — we all win.
The Arena is the Classroom
We’ve learned more about life from a dusty warm-up pen than any textbook ever taught:
How to take feedback.
How to lose with grace.
How to work through nerves, failure, and fear.
And most importantly — how to do it all as a family.
We Don’t “Balance” — We Blend
People always ask, “How do you balance it all?”
We don’t.
We blend.
A kid does school work in the truck.
A parent takes a business call from the trailer.
Dinner is "Rodeo Road Food" and eaten between events.
And yes, sometimes it feels like too much. But we remind ourselves: this is the life we chose — and we love it.
Letting the Kids Take the Lead
Our job isn’t to make rodeo easy for our kids — it’s to teach them how to handle the hard.
To pack their own gear.
To work and warmup their own horses.
To lose with their heads up and win with humility.
We’re not just building champions — we’re building character.
Final Thoughts
At Rad Rodeo, we don’t separate family from rodeo. We run it as a family.
Because at the end of the day, it’s not about buckles or titles — it’s about the moments you can’t buy and the bond you can’t fake.
We’re in this together — boots, barrels, jackpots, and all.
--
Ann-Marie Fenner
Ranch Manager, Breeder, Rodeo Mom
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