BUILDING BLOCKS Billingsley Wins Oakdale Rodeo, Biggest Win of Her Career By Allie Bohus W PRA member Kaylee Billingsley of Phoenix, Arizona, has followed in the footsteps of her family’s rodeo legacy.
Her mother, Leigh Ann (Henson) Billingsley is a WPRA Gold Card Holder and won the 2006 WPRA world titles in the all-around and breakaway roping. Her father, Eric Billingsley, competed at the collegiate level in saddle bronc riding and now team ropes in the PRCA. Her grandfather, Chuck Henson fought bulls at the NFR from 1967-1971 and is in the ProRodeo Hall of Fame. Billingsley’s great grandmother Margie (Henson) Greenough and great-aunt, Alice (Greenough) Orr, rode bucking horses in the wild west shows. Kaylee started riding horses, ‘in the womb’ and has been horseback ever since. She entered her first junior rodeo at age 5 and
Kaylee Billingsley’s stopped the clock in 2.6 seconds to win the Oakdale (CA) Saddle Hores Club rodeo. She earned $2,632 marking her biggest ProRodeo win to date. Photo by Stuart Hagan
competed throughout the ranks of junior rodeo, junior high rodeo (a two-time Finals qualifier), high school rodeo (at two-time Finals qualifier), collegiate rodeo and amateur rodeo before joining the WPRA as a junior member in 2008. The all-around cowgirl has competed in all the events over the years: breakaway roping, barrel racing, goat tying, pole bending, team roping. She has even picked up at college rodeo practices. To round out her family’s involvement in the sport, Billingsley’s uncle and aunt (Jerry and Nancy Jane Dorenkamp) own Salt River Rodeo Company based out of Wilcox, Arizona, and she has flanked bucking horses and bulls for them at PRCA rodeos. Her diverse rodeo background has given her a lot of experience at both ends of the arena. Her favorite event is breakaway roping. “I like the speed; I like being able to not have to think about something, just use my muscle memory and everything connects… I like the horsemanship aspect too… You got to have a good horse under you. You can rope the best but if you don’t have a good horse under you, you’re not going to be a winner (in all aspects of rodeo actually),” she said. Strong horsepower certainly worked in Billingsley’s favor when she roped her calf at the Oakdale (CA) Saddle Club Rodeo. Billingsley had not competed there previously, so she didn’t have any expectations. She was 15th out and got to see a handful of girls out before her run. “I was anticipating getting my start and going… My calf was a medium plus calf and I utilized him. I was kind of in shock right after I ran, I was like ‘wow, I was just a 2.6. All the girls ahead of me were
roping 4’s,” she said proudly. Her 2.6 second run won the rodeo, but Kendal Pierson and Tiffany Schieck were hot on her heels turning in 2.7 and 2.8 second runs respectively and rounding out the top three. Billingsley’s win at Oakdale earned her $2,632 and is her biggest ProRodeo win to date. “I went to a Joe Beaver clinic the beginning of this year and he said, ‘all these girls going down the road will win at a handful of rodeos, but if you place at all of them, you’re going to win at the end of the year.’ That has been my goal, take your first smart shot and let the chips fall where they may,” she said. “I had a good calf and took my first good shot, and it worked out.” Billingsley’s plans for the rest of the 2023 season include entering a handful of the larger rodeos like Cheyenne, Reno and Pendleton (‘bucket list’ rodeos), but primarily circuit rodeoing and trying to dominate there. “I believe in taking steps [to be successful]. You have to be successful at your high school rodeos, then at your college level, then the amateur then at the pros,” noted Billingsley. “I tried to skip a step when I got out of college and wasn’t very profitable. “I think it was the first or second year that a lot of the pro rodeos had breakaway. I went out and rodeoed all summer by myself. I think I won $100, and I think I entered 40 rodeos that year. I needed to go back home and hit the amateur circuit. I did that and did well and that gave me the confidence to get back to the pros.” She is hoping the big check at Oakdale is the beginning of many more for her in 2023.
22 WPRA NEWS MAY 2023
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