CORTEZ – For the fans that fill up rodeo arena stands across the country every summer and fall, they get to bear witness to just a few-second snapshot of the competitors’ journeys. The athletes themselves know that their success in those opportunities originated from year-round dedication to their craft.
The Ute Mountain and Basin Rodeo teams pride themselves on that hard-nosed dedication to the sport, and they’ve built themselves quite a reputation as a result. The Ute Mountain and Basin teams are composed of youth riders from sixth-grade through high school in the Four Corners, with each group supporting a passionate group that’s taken the Colorado high school and junior high circuits by storm.
With the Colorado State Rodeo Association championships from late May in the books, seven different athletes from the two teams punched their tickets to their respective championships. From the Ute Mountain Rodeo team, high schoolers Kodi Mae Rima and Brileigh Gordanier join junior high rider Jayleigh Gordanier on the national level. Rima and Brileigh Gordanier took champion and reserve champion in pole bending, respectively, at the state championships to secure two of the coveted four places in Lincoln, Nebraska at the end of July.
Meanwhile, Jayleigh Gordanier took home reserve champion honors in both barrel racing and pole bending at the junior high state championships to advance in both events and return to the national stage.
In last year’s National Junior High Finals Rodeo (NJHFR) in pole bending – Jayleigh Gordanier and Rima posted an incredible showing for the Ute Mountain team, finishing third and 11th, respectively. Gordanier also added a top-30 run in barrel racing. While Jayleigh looks forward to another chance in both events at the National Junior High Finals Rodeo (June 21-27 in Guthrie, Oklahoma), Rima has moved up to the high school ranks, where she’ll take on the field of nearly 200 competitors in pole bending in the Sandhills Global Events Center in the Cornhusker State over the week of July 19-25.
“I remember meeting a whole bunch of new people – it’s like a rodeo family,” said Jayleigh Gordanier of her previous nationals foray. “There were a lot of really good new experiences.” She rode her 10-year-old horse Bling in both events, leading pole bending heading into the short round before taking her top-three final position.
Even with dealing with an early-season shoulder injury, Jayleigh was able to bounce back with enough time off over the winter “bucking hay” to get herself ready for a big-time spring. While the injury limited the rising M-CHS freshman’s ability to do breakaway and goat-tying, she persevered through her top two events to surge among the state leaders again.
“I stay off by myself,” said Gordanier regarding her pre-ride routine to help manage the nerves, “and that helps me focus a lot. Bling’s calm, but he’s got a lot of ‘try’ in him.”
Meanwhile, older sister Brileigh – a rising junior at M-CHS – is relishing the opportunity to take in her first nationals experience, “I’m excited but pretty nervous with the bright lights and amount of people,” said the Colorado pole bending reserve champ of her opportunity to compete in front of a televised audience on the Cowboy Channel.
After a slower fall season, Gordanier turned her racing up a notch in the spring, and climbed the state standings accordingly. “I started to really get my confidence back,” said Brileigh, who enjoyed getting pushed by another of the state’s elite within her own team. “Kodi Rima’s like family to me, and it’s great to make it to nationals with someone who I’ve rodeoed so much with since we were young.”
“We really put our heart into it,” Brileigh added, “so to go one-two with Kodi was really cool.” She recalls winning her first saddle on her 6-year-old horse Leo – a horse that she trained herself – and that victory really amped up her passion for the competitive side of the sport.
Gordanier credits the big support network, including Ute Mountain Rodeo team parent Nikole Young as well as her parents and grandparents to help her achieve her lofty heights.
For the Basin rodeo team, a quartet of riders look forward to their nationals pursuits – among them fellow pole bender Shylene Drumm from Durango, bareback rider Tucker Jacobson from Pagosa Springs, Cortez’s Kelby Oliver in team roping, and Olathe’s Brinnley Ellis in breakaway roping.
Jacobson – the 2026 Colorado bareback champ – took 29th in last year’s NHSFR in the event, while Drumm returns as a national qualifier in both pole bending and goat tying after taking third in goat tying and fourth in pole bending at the Colorado championships. Oliver continues his strong rodeo career as he continues to pile up national appearances in the roping events dating back to his junior high days, while Ellis capped her impressive season with a third-place state finish.
The balance of the Ute Mountain team was on full display throughout the season circuit – Rima earned fourth in rookie of the year standings and 12th in the all-around in her first year at the high school level. Brileigh Gordanier didn’t finish much behind Rima, taking 21st in the all-around as she looks forward to her NHSFR debut. The rodeo team based out of the Montezuma County Fairgrounds put their work in with weekly practices while traveling most weekends throughout the fall and spring seasons to develop their skills across the 14 different high school and junior high rodeo events.
Rising M-CHS senior Tanna Young finished in the top-35 in the state in goat tying, pole bending and team roping, Makena Cressler finished top-35 in pole bending, while on the boys side, Sage Tozer was top-35 in both tie-down and team roping, while Kason Bradshaw took on the bulls for the Ute Mountain squad. In the junior high ranks, Haygen Carlson finished 18th in the all-around to accompany Jayleigh Gordanier (7th) inside the top 20. Miray Young ended the season top-30 in team roping while Benny Gordanier took ninth in rifle.
With all of the excitement of the nationals rodeo still ahead, both the Ute Mountain and Basin rodeo teams have plenty to look forward to in the coming months when the new season starts. Along with returning plenty of their athletes for another year in the ring, Cortez will host their annual three-day high school rodeo over the weekend of Aug. 28-30 at the Montezuma County Fairgrounds to ignite the 2026-27 season.
