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Slingshot speed: Spanish Fork’s Morgan Beckstrom’s connection with her horse leads to barrel-racing success

By Jared Lloyd - | Jun 10, 2022
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South Utah County cowgirl Morgan Beckstrom competes in the barrel racing during the third day of the Utah State High School Rodeo finals at the Wasatch County Fairground in Heber on Thursday, June 9, 2022.
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South Utah County cowboy Jason Betancourt scrambles away from a bull during the third day of the Utah State High School Rodeo finals at the Wasatch County Fairground in Heber on Thursday, June 9, 2022.
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South Utah County cowgirl Morgan Beckstrom competes in the barrel racing during the third day of the Utah State High School Rodeo finals at the Wasatch County Fairground in Heber on Thursday, June 9, 2022.
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South Utah County cowboys Bridger Crandall and Kesler Riding compete in the team roping during the third day of the Utah State High School Rodeo finals at the Wasatch County Fairground in Heber on Thursday, June 9, 2022.
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Wasatch cowboy Dane Haas competes in the steer wrestling during the third day of the Utah State High School Rodeo finals at the Wasatch County Fairground in Heber on Thursday, June 9, 2022.
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Lehi cowgirl Peyton Bennett competes in the breakaway roping during the third day of the Utah State High School Rodeo finals at the Wasatch County Fairground in Heber on Thursday, June 9, 2022.
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South Utah County cowgirl Oaklee Giles competes in the barrel racing during the third day of the Utah State High School Rodeo finals at the Wasatch County Fairground in Heber on Thursday, June 9, 2022.
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South Utah County cowboy Brit Bradford competes in the tiedown roping during the third day of the Utah State High School Rodeo finals at the Wasatch County Fairground in Heber on Thursday, June 9, 2022.
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Wasatch cowboy Peter Haas competes in the steer wrestling during the third day of the Utah State High School Rodeo finals at the Wasatch County Fairground in Heber on Thursday, June 9, 2022.
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South Utah County cowgirl Grace Kalmar has her horse fall down while competing in the pole bending during the third day of the Utah State High School Rodeo finals at the Wasatch County Fairground in Heber on Thursday, June 9, 2022.
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South Utah County cowboy Jason Betancourt gets bucked off by a bull during the third day of the Utah State High School Rodeo finals at the Wasatch County Fairground in Heber on Thursday, June 9, 2022.
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Lehi cowgirl Peyton Anderson checks her time while competing in the goat tying during the third day of the Utah State High School Rodeo finals at the Wasatch County Fairground in Heber on Thursday, June 9, 2022.
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South Utah County cowgirl Madison Thomas competes in the pole bending during the third day of the Utah State High School Rodeo finals at the Wasatch County Fairground in Heber on Thursday, June 9, 2022.
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Emery cowboy Byron Christiansen competes in the saddle bronc riding during the third day of the Utah State High School Rodeo finals at the Wasatch County Fairground in Heber on Thursday, June 9, 2022.
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A cowgirl carries the American flag around the arena during the third day of the Utah State High School Rodeo finals at the Wasatch County Fairground in Heber on Thursday, June 9, 2022.

There is something appropriate about riding a horse named Slingshot in barrel racing, since the goal is for the horse and rider to “slingshot” around the three barrels and back across the line as fast as possible.

Spanish Fork cowgirl Morgan Beckstrom and Slingshot proved once again that they are about as good as it gets at doing that during Friday morning’s fifth performance at the 2022 Utah High School Rodeo Finals at the Wasatch County Fairgrounds in Heber.

“Since I won the round on Monday, I knew I needed to keep all my barrels up to be good in the average and go to the short-go,” Beckstrom said. “I came in and took a deep breath, but I was super-nervous.”

That anxiety for the South Utah County cowgirl increased as Slingshot started the run.

“She was hauling toward that first barrel and I was like, holy crap, I hope she turns it,” Beckstrom said. “But she turned it, then I was going to the second and she turned it great. Then it was around the third and running home. I turned around and saw the time — and it was just amazing.”

The duo had rocketed around the course in 15.800 seconds, more than three-tenths of a second faster than the second-place finisher, South Utah County teammate Oakley Giles. By comparison, Giles was just one-thousandth of a second faster than South Utah County’s Saydee Davis (16.169-16.170), who ended up third.

Beckstrom, who will be a junior at Spanish Fork High School this fall, was quick to give all the credit to her talented horse.

“Slingshot won it,” Beckstrom said. “She’s won a lot.”

Cowboys and cowgirls always have special bonds with their horses, but Beckstrom and Slingshot have deeper ties than most since they have been together for all of the horse’s nine years of life.

“It’s really fun,” Beckstrom said. “It’s good to say that she’s been with us all of our lives. My aunt trained her and went on her, then my sister took her to some of her high school rodeos. And then I took her on and she’s just been going ever since.”

While fitting, the name had nothing to do with the ability the horse would eventually display at getting around the barrels.

“When she was born, we were trying to find a name for her,” Beckstrom said. “We looked at her head and it was like she had like a slingshot on her forehead. We were like, OK, let’s just call her Slingshot.”

Beckstrom and Slingshot won the state title in 2021 and came into the finals with the best score in the state during the regular season.

She has been pushed by her South Utah County teammates all year as Davis and teammate Maklee Larsen were tied for second, while Giles was sixth.

“We have a tough club,” Beckstrom said. “There are a lot of good girls. They are all good competitors, but we are all really good friends. It’s never like we’re going against each other. It’s pretty much like we’re always cheering for each other. It’s always fun when they come out and they have a good run.”

Beckstrom said being with all the family and friends at the state finals are some of the things she enjoys, but she loves being on her horse.

“Running Slingshot, she is just really fun to run,” Beckstrom said. “I’m really glad that I get to run her.”

In addition to the barrel racing success, South Utah County also featured the duo that won the team roping on Friday morning in Bridger Crandall and Kesler Riding (8.36 seconds).

The last day of the 2022 state rodeo finals will feature the short-go performance on Saturday afternoon, starting at 3 p.m. at the Wasatch County Fairgrounds in Heber.

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