Jenna Dallyn - CFR 2023

The 2023 Canadian Finals Rodeo will be Jenna Dallyn’s third qualification. This year she split the win at Rimbey, and placed consistently throughout the season. Dallyn is sitting second in the standings with $20,314.18 to her name, and is just $795.20 behind first position.

What is your background with horses? How did you get started roping?
I grew up with both my parents being involved in rodeo. We always lived on an acreage and had a few horses around. I did all the events in junior high and high school, and really didn’t start prioritizing my team roping and breakaway roping until 2020.

What is your main mounts reg name, bloodlines and does he/she have any quirks?
I had two main horses this year I used at the rodeos. Doc (DF Whiskeys TufNBusy) is a 7 year old gelding and Taxi ( Ceilios TinselTown) is an 11 year old gelding. They balance each other out well; Doc is more fired up and high maintenance, while Taxi is just an old soul and pretty easy going.

What is your horses story?
I just bought Taxi this year off my dad. He was started in the reigning and then was mainly a head/heel horse that had been jackpotted on his whole life. Dad was thinking of selling him but said he thought he might make a good breakaway horse. So I did some slow work on him in April, took him to a few small jackpots in May where I placed in the 2 and 3D, but I knew he was pretty talented. From there I was planning on going to the Cheyenne Frontier Days, and thought he would fit the set up pretty well. So I took him to Benalto (his first rodeo) in July and then went straight to Cheyenne from there. We are still figuring each other out, but it’s been pretty fun so far to have him on my team.

What is your go to saddle, pad and bit on your main mount? What do you like about them?
I have rode in a Teskey’s Patrick Smith rope saddle for the last few years and it seems to fit all my horses well. For a saddle pad I use a zone fleece pad by Classic Equine, and I have changed bits throughout the year but I am currently using a Kerry Kelley solid port bit. For ropes I have used the Rattler Striker 9.5 for the last few years.

What do you do to keep a sharp mental edge in the game of rodeo? How do you stay motivated throughout the season?
One thing that I learned from last year is the rodeo season is longer than it seems. We go to a lot of rodeos and there is so many opportunities to do good. So in that, I approached this year with a focus to be consistent and make my run. I tried my best not to let a single good or bad weekend affect the way I approach things. I know what I need to do keep my horses good, myself sharp, and my mind sharp with room to grow. Trusting myself this year made the biggest difference in my mental edge and it showed, I had less firsts this year, but placed double the amount of times I did last year.

Did you face any challenges this season? Tell us about them.
It was the first year for both my horses to go to rodeos full time so keeping them together consistently was probably the biggest challenge. I would say taking the time to saddle a few hours early, riding in the arena, sitting in the box, or going through the barrier before hand made a big difference even when I thought they probably didn’t need it.

Tell the readers something good that happened to you this season, other than placing at, or winning a rodeo.
I bought a new truck this spring. I drove the same old truck since I was 17 that had some dings in it, so to buy myself a new one was pretty sweet.

What is the best advice you’d give to readers, about horses, competing or life?
I would say always keep learning about your craft, and never expect to get to a place where you think you got it all figured out. Seeking knowledge and wisdom leads to so many opportunities and places that are irreplaceable.

What has been your most memorable run over the years, and what made it memorable for you?
This year I went to Cheyenne for the first time and I made it all the way to the semi finals, but my first run was probably the most memorable. Cheyenne has been on the bucket list for a while so to be able to go there and have some luck was pretty cool.

Who is your travelling partner, and what do you enjoy most about travelling with them?
I got to travel with multiple people this year which I enjoyed getting to be around different girls. I think every person I had travelled with agreed we needed to stop at Tim’s for breakfast lol.

Which of the other CFR Qualifiers horses would you swing a leg over if given the chance and why?
There are a few horses that I really like watching. I would have to say Teacher, Bradi Whitesides main mount, because he seems to be solid at every aspect in the run, but Bradi rides so good I know that’s part of the reason he looks easy. I would also have to say Shelby’s horses are fun to watch, as well as Makayla’s roan and Macy’s roan, there are so many!

What products can you or your horse not live without on the road?
For my horses I make sure I pack a bag of Hoffman’s and Equinity. For myself I mainly just need the basics and my rope bag.

I would like to thank my mom and dad for helping my out in the practice pen every night, my grandparents for all their support throughout the year and Riley for pushing me to be better everyday.

I also would like to thank my sponsors Classic Ropes and Rattler Ropes, they are also a sponsor of the Breakaway Roping at the CFR so huge appreciation for them!