Living out the family business, junior Linda Bailey rides horses every day and competes in rodeos.

“I like the competition of rodeos. I like how instead of comparing myself to other people, I better myself from improving on previous runs I’ve made,” she said.

Her father first put her on a horse when she was 2-weeks-old and sat up by herself on a horse when she was 2-years-old. She started competing when she was about 5-years-old and once she was eligible for high school rodeo, she started competing in goat tying and barrel racing when she was in the ninth grade.

She said her father inspired her to start competing in rodeos because he did it when he was a kid and his father was also a professional horse trainer. Her father works from home as a horse and mule trainer for four years with his business, The Wild Bunch Horse and Mule Company. She said her mother does the business part of the company like handling money of the customers, contacting them, advertising and organizing. She also teaches the customers how to lead and saddle the horse.

“My dad is the ultimate cowboy, and he encourages me to get out there and practice, but really both my parents are a big part of this cause they tell me to practice and they pay the bills and haul me to the rodeos,” she said.

When she goes to high school rodeos the entry fees range from $100 to $200 and the local ones range from $15 to $20 per run.

She was given a horse from a family friend named Bella who is 9-years-old and her family owns 20 other horses. She said she usually brings her dad’s horse, Noname, to the competition because he is a faster and stronger horse than the others.

She practices every day after school, on the weekend at an arena in Malvern to give her horse a more competitive side. To train herself and the horses, she has to ride the horse out in the open and make sure they don’t spook easily. The horse she takes to competition, she has to ride her for three miles a day. She also helps with the customer’s horses, so she makes sure they get used to the saddle and build up the horse’s endurance. She said that she takes her competition horse trotting which is the best way to build strength. She rides her horses and trains every day in the summer.

She also has to clean, feed and stall the horses. In the summer, she gives them a bath scrubbing them with soap about once a week and hoses them off after she rides them. In the winter, she said that she can’t give them baths because it is too cold. If they want to try to keep them clean and warm she wraps the horse in a blanket. She feeds him or her a scoop and a half of feed once in the morning and once in the afternoon, and every horse gets as much hay as they want. She has to clean the horse’s stalls everyday then she puts them in there at the end of the day, but if she doesn’t ride them then they are put in the pasture.

She said she invests a lot of her time into horseback riding not only for herself, but also for her love of horses.

“To me riding is not a different thing to do, but it’s what I grew up doing. It’s not something I do, it’s who I am,” she said.

Another student competes in a different sport.

Racing down the dirt track, senior Dustin Barnes spends his free time dirt bike racing.

“I’ve always just loved speed and crazy sports, and I loved this one right when I saw it,” he said.

He was first introduced to dirt biking by seeing it on TV with one of his friends and he’s loved it ever since.

He said he started dirt biking and competing when he was 8-years-old, so he has been doing it for 10 years now.

As a dirt biker, he is not on a specific team but he is sponsored by Baxley’s Motorcycle Parts and he travels with them. He said he got sponsored because he had good results from previous races. When they wanted to sponsor him, they sent forums and emails asking him to join, and gave him riding gear like gloves, goggles, boots, jerseys, pants and helmets. They also gave him parts for his bike like exhaust suspension, graphics, tires and oil.

“I was super stoked to be a part of their teams and all the awesome gear they gave me,” he said.

There are four classes in dirt bike riding: Beginner, C class, B class and then Pro. He just recently found out he moved up to the Pro class.

“I was so pumped when I found out I was in pro but scared at the same time because there are a lot of fast people,” he said.

His races are held mainly Texas, but he has also traveled to Tennessee, Oklahoma, Illinois, Mississippi, Missouri, Alabama and Louisiana.

He has to train by going to the gym to lift weights and run and also by mountain biking. He said that he rides anywhere he can find a track to practice on. He usually practices about three times a week.

A general dirt bike race is about $400 and the bigger races are about $800 to $1000 and the national bike races ranges around $1000 or more.

He said he doesn’t only love the speed of the sport, but the feeling he gets when he rides.

“The best thing is the adrenaline rush you get, the excitement of the sport, all the people you meet and how intense the sport gets with all the bar banging, the speed and the huge jumps,” he said.