By Naiya Brown
Stacy Barker is the math teacher at Sequoia Falls Academy in Silverton, but she has other strong interests, as well as a second career in rodeo.
Barker, who grew up in Oregon City and graduated from Canby High, has been breakaway roping for 32 years and competing for 30 of them after initially enrolling at the University of Portland on a basketball scholarship.
What is breakaway roping?
“The calf is not tied or thrown during the event,” Barker said. “The rope the rider uses to catch the calf around the neck is tied to the saddle’s horn by a piece of nylon string. The roper must swing and then throw the rope in a loop around the calf’s neck…. the roper pulls her slack, drawing the loop up tight around the calf’s neck.”
Barker has competed on the pro-circuit rodeo trail and traveled throughout the Pacific Northwest. There have been years in which she has entered and competed in as many as 75 rodeos, including jackpot competitions in which winners split all or part of the entry fees collected from the participants, and belt buckles are awarded.
“I became interested in breakaway roping after college,” she said. “The breakaway event was making its debut in the regional rodeo associations. I was drawn to it because it was a quick, fast-paced event.”
Barker has been a teacher in the Silver Falls School District for 29 years and just finished her second year at Sequoia Falls, an alternative high school program. Barker believes working at roping and teaching have helped her grow.
“Being a school teacher has helped me become a good roping instructor,” she said. “To be a successful teacher, regardless of the subject, requires making connections with students and breaking down the concepts, then explaining those concepts by using language and examples that students can understand.”
Barker gives roping lessons at the end of the day at outdoor and indoor arenas on her property. There, she gives private breakaway lessons in groups of four or five, something she has done for the past 25 years. Private lessons in small groups allow for quality one-on-one instruction, she said.
Last year Barker gave a roping class at Sequoia Falls and taught the students to rope a dummy cow in the school’s parking lot on North Water Street. The new activity was one of the most popular classes.
Barker attributes her love of horses and the rodeo to her father, who used to compete in steer wrestling. He also instilled the passion in her brother, Mike, who competes in team roping events.
“My dad taught me to swing a rope at a very young age. I wanted to be the person helping my dad steer wrestle, and win,” she said. “It also taught me… how to work as a team, and what it took for a team to be successful.”
Editor’s note: Brown, a senior at Silverton High/Sequoia Falls Academy in the fall, worked as a reporting intern at Our Town this spring with support from an Oregon Youth Development Division Future Ready grant.
