THREE FORKS COWGIRL HEADING TO THE NATIONAL FINALS RODEO
Author: Matt Nelson
Matt Nelson
Tayla Moeykens is a barrel racer and has placed 10th out of 15 ladies selected to go to the National Finals Rodeo (NFR) in Las Vegas, from December 4th until December 13th. This is the first year she has placed high enough to go there. She and her parents live on the 4M Ranch just outside of Three Forks.
Tayla has been riding horses since she was 3 years old. Her mother, Deena, used to be a barrel racer herself. In 2024, Tayla graduated from Montana State University in Bozeman. During each of the four years that she attended MSU, she participated in the College National Finals Rodeo held in Casper, Wyoming. She won first place in the barrel racing competition in June after her Freshman year, and subsequently won 2nd her junior and senior years.
She is 23 now; after reaching her 18th birthday, she was eligible to ride in the Women’s Professional Rodeo Association (WPRA). “I started barrel racing because of my Mom. They pretty much brought me home from the hospital and put me on the horses. She always had me on some really good horses, which allowed me to build a good foundation and not create many bad habits. By the time I was three, I was actually going around the barrels by myself. From there, we went to the NRA Juniors. Once I got out of that, I went to the Women’s Division of the NRA. You have to be 18 before you can participate in the Pro Rodeo; we did all of these other cool events before I went into Pro Rodeo.”
Tayla has a 19-year-old Quarter Horse named Blue, which is the same horse she rode in the College National Finals Rodeo her Freshman year. She also has another horse named Lizard. This horse was born with his tongue sticking out; eventually, his tongue went back in, but the breeder had nicknamed him Lizard. The name stuck.
Each year, Tayla rides in about 80 rodeos, plus jackpots. She owns a third horse named Yeti. Each horse gets about 50 runs a year. They get as excited as Tayla does, running around the barrels. “They love it as much as we do!” From July 4th until the end of the rodeo season, they can do as many as 10 or 12 rodeos in a two-week period, but that’s not all of the time.
Among her favorite rodeos are those at Townsend and White Sulphur Springs. Townsend is in the NRA, while White Sulphur Springs is in the PRCA. Tayla has gone to the two places for several years, both as a Junior rider and as a Pro. Lizard got 2nd at White Sulphur Springs this year. Other favorites are Pendleton, Oregon, where she won first place on September 13th; Cheyenne Frontier Days, where she won 2nd; and at Hermiston, Oregon, which Tayla said has a really good rodeo. Plus, she likes Heber City, Utah, and all of the Texas rodeos, especially in Houston and San Antonio. Last year, she was 16th in the national competition to go to the National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas, disappointing, but still pleased that she placed that high.
Tayla closed out the interview with: “I want to give a big thanks to all the people who support me. By being a Bobcat, there are a lot of people in this area who support me, and there are a lot of other people who follow me and support me along the way. They don’t know how much that means to us. Sometimes it gets kind of lonely out on the road, so having somebody reach out to us or make comments on Facebook means a lot to us, knowing that we have a really big family back at home.”
After the interview, Tayla saddled up Lizard and rode around the practice area. She is a very delightful person to be around.
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PhotoCredit: Matt Nelson
Image 1 Caption: Tayla and Lizard
Photo Credit: Matt Nelson
Image 2 Caption: Barrel Racer Tayla is riding her horse Lizard at the 4M ranch in Three Forks
Photo Credit: Matt Nelson
