Gracelyn Hortin hails from the small town of Wanship, Utah. The quiettown is a tightly knit communitywhere everyone knows everything.They gather around each other for support and are quick to lend an ear or a hand. This humble, hardworking, reliable atmosphere is refl ected in Gracelyn, an up and coming rodeo athlete. Gracelyn is an eighth grader at North Summit Middle School. She enjoys her science classes but is particularly fond of the animal science and agricultural classes. She is an active student, playing on both the basketball and volleyball teams.

The fourteen year old is the youngest in her family with two older brothers, Chason and Kendon. Their parents, Christaand Lyle, have raised them around horses and they have all rode from a very young age. Gracelyn's grandfather, Lou, helps them with all their rodeo related endeavors.Together the family enjoys trail rides and camping trips in the lush mountains of Summit County.

Gracelyn started competing with her horses at a young age. She started with horse 4-H Shows and the county rodeo queen contest. She now rides in local Junior rodeos along with being a competitive member of the Utah Junior High School Rodeo Association. She competes in barrel racing, pole bending, breakaway roping, and ribbon roping. Her favorite event is barrel racing, due in part to her bond with her horse and their ability to put together a clean, fast run. She bought thehorse, Sparky, two years ago and the two have been steadily improving. She has two roping horses, Mesa and Princess, as well as a rein cow horse. That mare, Aspen, is her favorite because of her talent and skill.Gracelyn enjoys riding the smooth and athletic horse in the practice pen and will likely compete in the reined cow horse when she's in high school.

Gracelyn loves the rodeo environment and looks forward to spending time with her friends from all over the state after the rodeo is over. The Heber Jr High Rodeo is one of her favorites, and she always seems to qualify for state at their beautiful rodeo grounds. This year, Gracelyn hopes to make a good showing at the state fi nals, and possibly fi nish high enough to compete at the National Junior High School Finals Rodeo in June. Rodeo has taught her that even though not everything can go exactly as planned, if you work hard your practice will pay off. Last August, Gracelyn broke her pelvis and couldn't ride for two months.The huge set back was hard on her, but she gathered her strength and came back fi ghting.She has learned to take lessons in her stride and not let the negatives go more than skin deep. Instead of getting angry, she reevaluates, adjusts her aim, sets a new goal,and tries again. Like all rodeo athletes, she knows that "a goal without a plan is just a wish." While wishes rarely come true, goal are often achieved.