Hayden-based stock contractor Kaitlynn Wood (Hayes) will reach her dream of stepping onto the national stage when the bucking horses fly out of the chutes at the Junior National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas next month.

“It’s been one of my goals since I started to be out there on a national level,” said Wood, who will supply 12 bucking horse for the rough stock competition in the National Finals Rodeo junior edition at the Las Vegas Convention Center Dec. 4-13.

The junior championships are held at the same time that card-holding cowboys compete for World titles at the NFR.

Wood said her stock company will provide bucking horses for this year’s Junior National Finals Rodeo, which includes three classes of riders. Those include the junior division for riders ages 12-13, the senior division for riders ages 14-15 and the novice for riders 16-18.

“The most important part of (this event) is getting to be there for the kids that ride for us and represent us — just being there for them and getting to support them with good stock that they can go fill their dreams on,” Wood said.

To do that, she has to select horses that meet certain weight requirements for the junior and senior divisions where there are weight restrictions for the horses, as well as quality bucking stock for the novice division where the riders are on the verge of becoming PRCA cowboys.

“Since those kids are older and getting ready to go out into the real world, they kind of ask us to bring the cream of the crop for that,” Wood said of the older novice division. “We can give those kids a little bit more, and we can bring full-size horses because there’s no weight limit on the horses for that, but for the juniors and the seniors there are — and that’s kind of how we judge it.”

Wood is proud that a horse she got from the legendary stock contractor, Kirsten Vold, will be among the horses she is taking to Las Vegas this year. Vold recently sold her stock contracting business started by her father. And this is her final year in the Professional Cowboys Rodeo Association events.

“She passed that (horse) on to me, and now he gets to go on to continue his career in the saddle bronc riding, instead of the bareback riding, at the Junior National Finals Rodeo, which I think is huge, especially with it being Kirsten’s last year in the PRCA,” Kaitlynn said.

“I have a handful of horses that I got from her that weren’t exactly pro-truck caliber that she passed along to me. One of them was actually a horse that was, I think, in the 2016 or 2015 National Finals Rodeo,” Wood said.

She said the horse has gotten older, and a lot less rank, but it is perfect for high school riders, and this year’s Junior National Finals Rodeo will allow the horse to continue its career, and it is also a chance for Wood to honor a mentor.

Rodeo has been a part of Wood’s life for as long as she can remember. Her father, Don Hayes, founded Rocky Mountain Mini Broncs in 2009 and she took the reins of the stock contracting business in 2020. She runs that business along with her husband, Lane Wood as well at KH Bucking Horses.

Wood said her father took his horses to the Junior National Finals Rodeo about seven years ago, She said she is excited to return this year and build on what her father started.

“I think the quality of our stock is a big reason (we were selected),” Wood said. “It means a lot to me that that me and my husband have grown this so much more than when my dad had it, and that we’re able to do it on our own and not ride on his shirt-tail.”

Last year, Wood’s stock contracting business supplied bareback and saddle bronc horses and mini bulls to more than 30 rodeos in the Central Division which includes Colorado, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma and parts of Wyoming. Wood said it’s not unusual to have promising young cowboys drive from Texas for the opportunity to climb onto the back of a Rocky Mountain Mini Bronc.

A ranch just outside of Hayden is home to Rocky Mountain Mini Broncs and where the Woods keep more the 100 bucking horses and mini bulls that provide a starting point for young riders across the region.

As Wood and her husband Lane showed off their herd Thursday, the moment was not lost of her. She knows her best horses are on their way to Las Vegas for the Junior National Rodeo Finals and the chance for to step into the spotlight.

“They try to make the atmosphere just as exciting and as electric as the NFR, and they do a dang good job of it, especially getting the kids names out there recognizing them,” Wood said. “But it’s nerve-wracking for me too, because obviously I want everything to go perfect with my horses, so they don’t have to give a re-ride or something, but it’s super exciting, and it’s just amazing.”