Braylee Shepherd is a fun loving,talented rodeo athlete fromCentral Utah. She lives betweenLevan and Nephi with her family.They enjoy living without neighbors because they can be as loud as they want as long as they want. The thirteen-yearold eighth grader attends Juab Jr. High School, were her favorite class is physical education because it requires more action and less study. She plays on the basketball team, and if she weren't rodeoing she would play more ball.

Braylee is the second youngest and has three siblings. Her oldest brother, Bowdee, is twenty and the next, Tate, is seventeen. She has a younger sister, Zadee, who is a two-year-old cowgirl in training. Their parents, Marni and Kiley, are responsible for their western way of life, and the family spends most of their time around horses. Braylee's father, Kiley, is a horse trainer by profession, a passion the whole family shares. Being so involved in the horse industry made it natural for Braylee to start rodeoing.

She competes in barrel racing, pole bending, breakaway roping, goat tying, ribbon roping, and team roping. Her favorite event is the breakaway roping, because it forces her to have fun. The fast event helps her to focus on fun instead of overthinking her performance. Last year, Braylee was the Utah Junior High School Girl's All-Around Champion as well as the Breakaway Roping Champion. This year, despite maintaining her winner's mindset, hasn't gone as smoothly. After some evaluation, she determined to be consistent.Her favorite part of rodeo, outside of competing, is getting to have fun with her fellow competitors and family.

Braylee couldn't live without her horses, and it takes a whole crew of horses to keep her family busy. This year, she is riding Zee for the barrel racing, and the horse is her favorite because it is the fastest and the most fun. She uses a horse named Carmel for roping and another named Diamond for the goat tying. The biggest obstacle she has faced so far is the constant ups and downs of rodeo. "You cannot win all the time; you have to keep a positive mindset. Sometimes you must lose to learn and improve." She pushes through this challenge by trying harder every run and refusing to let mistakes pull her down.

Her greatest strength is her ability to reach out to people and make them feel included. She can be a little shy at times, but rodeo has helped her learn to step out of her comfort zone. Her father is her hero, and she appreciates all that he does for her. Thanks to his help and hard work, she has accomplished so much, and she wouldn't be where she is if it weren't for him. She lives by the motto, "pay your dues," because no one can or will put in the work for you. She recognizes that we learn from our mistakes and our trials give us wisdom. She doesn't let bad runs or mistakes drag her down but takes every opportunity to learn from them. This grit and determination is just on of the many lessons learned on the rodeo road.