Cowgirl celebration: Salem Hills senior Grace Kalmar starts birthday with winning breakaway roping run
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- South Utah County cowgirl Grace Kalmar competes in the breakaway roping during the first performance of the 2022 Utah High School Rodeo finals at the Wasatch County Fairgrounds in Heber on Wednesday, June 8, 2022.
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- South Utah County cowgirl Grace Kalmar smiles after competing in the breakaway roping during the first performance of the 2022 Utah High School Rodeo finals at the Wasatch County Fairgrounds in Heber on Wednesday, June 8, 2022.
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- South Utah County cowboy Cooper Jones competes in the bull riding during the first performance of the 2022 Utah High School Rodeo finals at the Wasatch County Fairgrounds in Heber on Wednesday, June 8, 2022.
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- South Utah County cowboy Cooper Jones walks out of the arena after riding a bull during the first performance of the 2022 Utah High School Rodeo finals at the Wasatch County Fairgrounds in Heber on Wednesday, June 8, 2022.
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- South Utah County cowboy Colton Dymock competes in the steer wrestling during the first performance of the 2022 Utah High School Rodeo finals at the Wasatch County Fairgrounds in Heber on Wednesday, June 8, 2022.
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- Lehi cowgirl Peyton Bennett competes in the barrel racing during the first performance of the 2022 Utah High School Rodeo finals at the Wasatch County Fairgrounds in Heber on Wednesday, June 8, 2022.
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- The South Utah County team of Swade Olsen and Preston Olsen compete in the team roping during the first performance of the 2022 Utah High School Rodeo finals at the Wasatch County Fairgrounds in Heber on Wednesday, June 8, 2022.
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- South Utah County cowgirl Taylee Ackerman competes in the breakaway roping during the first performance of the 2022 Utah High School Rodeo finals at the Wasatch County Fairgrounds in Heber on Wednesday, June 8, 2022.
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- South Utah County cowboy Colton Dymock competes in the steer wrestling during the first performance of the 2022 Utah High School Rodeo finals at the Wasatch County Fairgrounds in Heber on Wednesday, June 8, 2022.
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- Wasatch cowgirl Halee Wilson competes in the barrel racing during the first performance of the 2022 Utah High School Rodeo finals at the Wasatch County Fairgrounds in Heber on Wednesday, June 8, 2022.
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- A cowgirl stumbles while competing in the goat tying competition during the first performance of the 2022 Utah High School Rodeo finals at the Wasatch County Fairgrounds in Heber on Wednesday, June 8, 2022.
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- South Utah County cowboy Hazen Bennett competes in the tiedown roping during the first performance of the 2022 Utah High School Rodeo finals at the Wasatch County Fairgrounds in Heber on Wednesday, June 8, 2022.
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- Wasatch cowboy Tag Kelly competes in the steer wrestling during the first performance of the 2022 Utah High School Rodeo finals at the Wasatch County Fairgrounds in Heber on Wednesday, June 8, 2022.
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- Statler Wright of West Millard competes in the saddle bronc riding during the first performance of the 2022 Utah High School Rodeo finals at the Wasatch County Fairgrounds in Heber on Wednesday, June 8, 2022.
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- South Utah County team ropers Grace Kalmar (right) and Hinckley Morley compete during the first performance of the 2022 Utah High School Rodeo finals at the Wasatch County Fairgrounds in Heber on Wednesday, June 8, 2022.
Many teenagers dream of celebrating their 17th birthdays with parties or going on dates.
Salem Hills cowgirl Grace Kalmar, however, isn’t one of them.
She started her birthday Wednesday morning on the back of a horse, competing in the sport she loves.
“I love rodeo,” Kalmar said with a grin. “I would rather do that than anything else. It’s my life.”
The soon-to-be Skyhawk senior — who competes for the South Utah County rodeo club and lives in West Mountain — was rewarded with a fantastic start in her first event, the breakaway roping competition.
She exploded out of the gate with rope spinning and lassoed the calf in just 2.36 seconds during the first performance of the 2022 Utah High School Rodeo Association state finals at the Wasatch County Fairgrounds in Heber, which was the fastest time of the morning.
“The main thing, especially when I rope, is that I need to clear my head and get in my zone,” Kalmar said. “I’ve been getting coached by Traci Cumbie and she has helped me tremendously with my mental game, helping me make sure I’m in my zone and ready to compete.”
She also couldn’t say enough about her horse, Squirt.
“We got him two or three years ago,” Kalmar said. “He is actually my first one is actually my first real breakaway horse that I’ve ever had. He’s got an attitude, but I’ve learned that the ones that are the best usually have an attitude.”
She said that the actual run that won the performance was mostly a blur.
“I can remember I knew what I needed to do, and I just got it done and didn’t let anything stop me,” Kalmar said. “It felt so good. I can’t help but smile, just thinking about it.”
That winning run was just the beginning of a busy week for Kalmar, who also qualified for state in the team roping and the pole bending competitions (as well as competing during the year in barrel racing.
She said she loves the roping events the most but said she “can’t decide between the team roping and breakaway roping.”
Kalmar did have the most success in the breakaway on Wednesday, since things didn’t go quite as well in the team roping. She and her partner, Hinckley Morley (also a South Utah County rodeo club member), couldn’t quite get their steer roped and ended up with no score.
While getting a win was a great way to start, she said that won’t put any pressure on her.
“My goal is to just do my best,” Kalmar said. “My best is more than good enough.”
She said her favorite part of the high school rodeo finals is the chance to show what she can do.
“The best part is just feeling my work come together,” Kalmar said. “I also like hanging out with my friends, having a good time and enjoying the moments.”
In addition to Kalmar, other cowboys and cowgirls from the area also got to enjoy some winning performances in the first performance.
The most dramatic might have been Spanish Fork’s Cooper Jacobs (who will also be a senior this fall and is Kalmar’s teammate on the South Utah County club), who gave everything he had in the bull riding.
Jacobs got whipped around by a bull named Evil Ways, but hung on until one last buck sent him flying at around the same time that the buzzer sounded. He had to wait to see what the judges said.
“It’s scary,” Jacobs said. “You don’t know if you made it or not.”
But it was determined he had stayed on for the requisite eight seconds and got credit for completing his ride. His 70-point score was the third-best of the performance but he still got to enjoy getting the job done.
He grinned when asked to describe what it is like to ride a bull.
“It’s like hanging on to a tornado,” Jacobs said. “I don’t know how else to describe it. It’s an adrenaline rush.”
He said he has been riding bulls since he was five years old, so he is accustomed to both the thrills and the dangers. He said there is nothing like sitting on the bull right before the chute door is pulled.
“It’s awesome,” Jacobs said. “It gets you going for sure.”
Other winners on Wednesday morning included South Utah County’s Colton Dymock winning the steer wrestling with a time of 7.33 seconds, while Wasatch’s Kesten Peterson won the team roping with West Desert’s Bubba Johnson in a time of 7.55 seconds.
The state rodeo finals will have morning and evening performances on Thursday and Friday as well before the short-go performance on Saturday afternoon wraps up the competition.
All of the action will take place at the Wasatch County Fairgrounds in Heber.
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