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Right: Delilah Ruiz, 7, practices barrel racing on her horse, White Lightning. Left: Elvenee Dees on horseback May 9.
Left: R.J. Ruiz’s belt buckles, books and awards sit on display. He’s won 39 buckles, three saddles and many other horse tack prizes. Above: A saddle R.J. Ruiz won during a competition sits on his horse.
Learning more than rodeo As the sun drops lower and the arena lights begin flickering on, practice slowly blends into family time. The youngest children play feet from the arena gates while the adults move cattle through the chute for another run. Someone starts preparing food. Occasionally, music
“I was, like, leaning and the horse was walking then stopped. My dad came into the arena and picked me up,” she recalled matter- of-factly. Between them, the siblings have earned several dozen buckles, armfuls of ribbons and a saddle.
is one of the biggest reasons she embraced rodeo life for her children, even knowing how demanding it could become. “I honestly didn’t want my kids to rodeo at first, because I knew what went into it,” she said. “There’s crying and breakdowns and hard days.” But she also saw what the lifestyle gave
“I wasn’t too good then,” R.J. admitted with a grin. “But I won two buckles my first time.” For Delilah, rodeo started by watching her older brother practice. “I wanted to do it too,” she said. Her first memories involve carefully trotting through barrel patterns before eventually falling off her saddle.
drifts across the property. Family members settle into lawn chairs along the arena fence as riders continue practicing into the evening. Everyone contributes somehow. “One’s helping saddle, one’s helping move horses, one’s helping with cattle,” Alexis said. “Everybody’s part of the process.” For Phylliss, that sense of family connection
R.J. started roping around age 5 after spending years watching his grandfather and uncle compete. “I thought, ‘What if I try this out?’” he said. “And it turned out to be really fun.” His first buckle came on a brown horse named Little Man, the same horse Delilah would later learn on, too.
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InMaricopa.com | June 2026
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