Students
Claire Aronson
Claire Aronson is a Sophomore Natural Horsemanship student from Buffalo, Minnesota. She is an involved member of the Horseman’s club and spends most of her time working horses. She has only been around horses for 5 years but has made huge improvements and has recently fallen in love with cow work. She hopes to use her degree to train cow horses and become an equine dental technician. This is Claire’s first year in sales prep and she is riding RSR MRS BLUE SANDY from the Roaring Springs Ranch.
Dylan Brenny
Dylan Brenny is a Junior Natural Horsemanship student and this is his 3rd year in the sales prep class. Coming from Monticello Minnesota, he loves to hunt ducks, fish, and rope. Dylan also enjoys building leather projects and has donated prizes for the colt challenge. He is the President of the Horseman’s club ad the Vice President of Young Farmers and Ranchers. He placed 2nd in his first year in the competition and has won buckles in ranch sorting and colt starting challenges back in Minnesota. He has goals to continue training horses for the public, show at the Snaffle Bit Futurity, and raise and train performance horses. Dylan is riding MANNY SMARTS from R Lazy 6 Quarter Horses and SETUMUP BADGER JC donated by Jacob Christenson.
Wrenna Cooke
Wrenna Cooke is a Junior from Harper, Oregon. She is a Natural Horsemanship major and is a member of the Horseman’s Club and Chi Alpha. She enjoys hunting – especially ducks, fishing, camping, and exploring the mountains of Montana horseback. She hopes to continue training horses and make user friendly ranch prospects. Wrenna is riding DAKOTA COWBOY POKEY donated by Jacob Christenson and WEAVERS CASH TIME donated by Weaver Quarter Horses.
Keelyn Hall
Keelyn Hall is another familiar face around the colt sale as this is her 3rd year. She is a senior Natural Horsemanship student from Filer, Idaho. She won the Most Enthusiastic award a few years ago. She is also the secretary of the Young Farmers and Ranchers club and a member of the Horseman’s club. Keelyn is an incredibly talented artist and painter. She hopes to continue her art and make nice ranch horses. This year she is riding WEAVERS IMA BIT CAT donated by Weaver Quarter Horses.
Arden Henshaw
Arden Henshaw is a senior Natural Horsemanship student from Templeton, Massachusetts. Arden enjoys dog training, sunset dog walks, and finding hills to sit on top of. Arden’s goals are to become a performance horse trainer and colt starter and own and run a training facility. Arden has spent lots of time driving horses across the country and has competed in a International soccer tournament. This year Arden is riding DOCS LOOKN GOOD donated by Holland Quarter Horses.
Paige Hoyle
Paige Hoyle is from Middleton, Idaho. This is her second year as a Natural Horsemanship student and her first year in sales prep. She is a member of the Horseman’s club and enjoys swing dancing, riding, and being outside. She hopes to make a career out of training high-quality horses. Paige is riding DOUBLE EASY donated by Harrington and Hirschy Quarter Horses.
Stella Knoop
Stella Knoop is a Junior from Memphis, Tennessee. She is a Natural Horsemanship student and the Horseman’s Club Treasurer. Stella spends most of her time roping and doing leather work. She is a huge dinosaur fan and has a pet snake. Stella has competed in two Extreme Mustang Makeovers and won the Sportsmanship award at the Beaverhead County Wild Horse Race this year. This is Stella’s 2nd year in the sales prep class, and she is riding MRI DANDY DERBY DOC donated by the Mahlstedt Ranch
Ellie Justus
Ellie Justus is from Monroe, Washington and is a 3rd year Natural Horsemanship student. She is the President of Chi Alpha and is a member of the Horseman’s club. She enjoys anything outdoors whether that’s riding, hunting, or fishing. She leads worships for church and Chi Alpha and is learning to play the guitar. She has even gotten the opportunity to teach English to kids in Cambodia. She says her accomplishments include coming to Western and learning to train colts. Ellie hopes to train solid horses and possibly start showing as well as continuing her ministry work. Ellie is riding SLD BLUE MTN HIGH from the Roaring Springs Ranch.
Hayleigh Lewis
Hayleigh Lewis is from Las Vegas and is a Senior this year. She is pursuing degrees in Biology and Natural Horsemanship. Hayleigh’s favorite thing is frolicking in the mountains, including hiking, fishing, and especially packing mules in the Bob Marshall. She has also been a competitive cheerleader and even cheered for Western. She hopes to go to vet school and become an equine vet. Hayleigh is riding _____________ from Harrington and Hirschy Quarter Horses and this is her second year in the sales prep class.
Sami Malsam
Sami Malsam is from Chinook, Montana. She is a sophomore working towards an AAS in Business. She participates in intramural volleyball and the Horseman’s club and enjoys cooking, roping, and ranching. She has competed in breakaway, poles, and barrels and proud of training her personal horse in the breakaway. She also loves working on her family’s cattle ranch. Sami hopes to make a living in equine chiropractic, farrier work, and ranching. This is her first year in the sales prep class and she is riding RSR ROAN BAR PEPTO from Roaring Springs Ranch.
Vivian Mayers
Vivian Mayers is our reigning Colt Challenge Champion. She is a Senior from Montrose, Minnesota pursuing a degree in Natural Horsemanship. Vivian is the Catholic Campus Ministry’s president and is a member of the Horseman’s club. She is heavily involved in 4-H is a 4-H state ambassador, teaches horsemanship clinics, and is a Certified Massage Therapist. She hopes to use her degree to continue teaching clinics, run an equine bodywork company, and be a 4-h state coordinator. Vivian is riding _______________ from the Hollenbeck Ranch.
Grace Miller
Grace Miller is from Nehalem, Oregon and this is her 2nd year in the Natural Horsemanship program. She is a member of the Horseman’s club and loves to play volleyball and hang out with her friends. Grace is also a talented singer and has even performed at Disney World, Windsor Castle, and several other European countries. She even owns her own clothing company called Three Peak Ranch. She hopes to eventually breed, raise, and train her own barrel horses. This is Grace’s first colt to ever start and she is riding GOLD PICADILLO donated by the Erb Ranch.
Bailey Mills
Bailey Mills is from Port Townsend, Washington and is a sophomore Natural Horsemanship student. She is the Vice President of the Horseman’s club and a member of the Young Farmers and Ranchers club. Bailey and her sister, Ruby, grew up on a fishing boat in Alaska. She enjoys hiking, sailing, skiing, swimming, and plays guitar. She has also competed in dressage and earned a USDF Bronze Medal. Bailey says that her career goal is to make versatile and well-rounded horses ready to excel in any career. She makes it a goal to constantly improve and learn something from every horse she rides. This is her second year in sales prep and this year she is riding RUF RAVEN from the Erb Ranch.
Ruby Mills
Ruby Mills is a sophomore form Washington and is pursuing a degree in Ecology. She and her sister, Bailey, grew up on a fishing boat in Alaska and are now riding together in this class. She has also travelled all over the western U.S. riding horses in multiple disciplines. Ruby is a member of Young Farmers and Ranchers club and Horseman’s club. She spends most of her time outside, riding horses, and enjoys leatherworking. Ruby hopes to make a living on the back of a horse and building saddles for the working cowboys and girls. This is her first year in sales prep and she is riding DYNAS EASY PET donated by Harrington and Hirschy Quarter Horses.
Ellie Pierson
Ellie Pierson grew up in LaCrosse, Washington and is a sophomore Natural Horsemanship student. She is a member of the Horseman’s club and enjoys snowboarding, photography, sewing, and obviously, riding horses. She wants to find something that she really enjoys and make a living out of it. This is her first year in sales prep and she is riding RSR MISS VALENTINE donated by Roaring Springs Ranch.
Elisa Roden
Elisa Roden is from Lima, Montana and is a sophomore Natural Horsemanship student. She is very involved on campus in Horseman’s club, Chi Alpha, Young Farmers and Ranchers, and Farm Bureau. She loves raising and showing turkeys. She has had a lot of success showing horses in 4-H at the state and national level. She also enjoys hunting, fishing, and trapping. Elisa hopes to use her degree to become a mounted patrol officer. This is her first year in sales prep and she is riding MS BLUE PESOS donated by the Erb Ranch.
Schyler Ross
Schyler Ross is from Las Vegas, Nevada and is a senior. She is getting a degree in Natural Horsemanship as well as minors in Farm and Ranch Management and Glassblowing. She spends her time making stained glass, photography, trail riding, and spending time with her dog. She was a competitive dancer for 11 years and even got to dance with Britney Spears. She is a certified equine massage therapist and is in the process of becoming a certified vet tech. She also hopes to continue training and working with horses. This is her first year in sales prep and is riding _____________ donated by the Hollenbeck Ranch.
Brooklynn Voigt
Brooklynn Voigt is a Junior from Idaho Falls, Idaho. She is pursuing degree in Natural Horsemanship and Business Administration. She spends a lot of time horseback whether it’s barrel racing, showjumping, or trick riding. She is clearly an adrenaline junky as she also races cars. In her free time she enjoys reading, writing, climbing, and fly fishing. Brooklynn has multiple barrel racing and showjumping wins along with performing at multiple rodeos trick riding. She was 2nd in last year’s colt competition and this year she is riding DOCS BRAGIN ON ME and SACO GIRLIE, both donated by Holland Quarter Horses.
Merrill Wrenn
Merrill Wrenn is from Poestenkill, New York and is a Senior in the Natural Horsemanship and Farm and Ranch Management programs. She loves traveling, being outside, reading, and spends her summers as a white water rafting guide in Maine. She also raises puppies for Guiding Eyes for the blind. Merrill hopes to become and ag teacher and horsemanship instructor. This is her first year in sales prep and she is riding _________ donated by Greg Goggins.