Mersadie & Kamryn’s Story
As a competitive athlete, we always want to win. However, there will always be someone that’s faster, stronger or better than you. In my case, my dear friend Kamryn Duncan was that girl. My journey with this God fearing, beautiful, and smart blonde headed girl started in 2021 when I was rodeoing for Sam Houston State. She caught my eye from the beginning. Looking back now, I should’ve had the guts to just walk up to her and make friends but my ego wouldn’t let me. Little did I know she would become one of my biggest supporters, best friends and someone who will have my back until the wheels fall off. I was intrigued yet intimidated so I started to cheer for her and let her know I was watching when she went. We eventually started talking at the college rodeos and grew friendly with each other.
Fast forward to summer of 2022 I traveled to Iowa, Louisiana for a jackpot at the Kay’s place. I knew historically that the McNeese girls were the toughest and always won. So I knew I had to bring my A game. I ended up winning 1st & 3rd at the jackpot. Afterwords I get approached by Kam and Justin Browning, they invited me to stay and practice with them before the CNFR in just a few short weeks. I had just graduated with my bachelor’s degree and knew I wanted to continue with my masters but didn’t know where. Justin made sure I was settled in and said workouts are at 5am sharp and you better be there. That next day would be one of the hardest and most amazing days of learning I’ve ever had in my life. I knew then that those were my people and a place where I needed to be if I was going to get better. Looking back now, I grew more mentally and physically in my short time in Louisiana than I had in the last 21 years. And that was all thanks to our coach and his family along with Kam.
Through the next few years of my life, I practiced, prayed, laughed, and cried with Kamryn. She was the most amazing goat tyer I’d ever seen and an even better person. She was intentional every practice, worked harder than all of use combined, and pushed me to be the best I had ever been. She never made mistakes, she never let her emotions show, and had a purpose every time she stepped in the arena. I seriously would watch her make over a dozen 5 second runs in a row almost every single practice. And honestly, I was jealous at first. It took a lot for me to realize she was on my side the whole time. I could never understand how someone could be so happy for another girl like me that was her biggest competition, but that’s what makes her a true champion.
Training with a CNFR champion and a world class coach changed the game for me. Unfortunately, I was at the end of my college career when all this came about. However, I know that they are the reason I’m faster now at 27 years old than what I was when I was 18. I have no regrets in life, but if I could go back I would choose to meet Kamryn, Justin, and Angie as soon as I could.
Kamryn is the kind of person that leaves a mark on you that won’t go away. And for her to see me as who I was and love me unconditionally is something I will never forget.
I wanted to share Kamryn’s story to show young athletes what it takes to stay at the top. In this article you will find her upbringing and a few answers to questions we all want to know!
How a Champion is made: Kamryn’s Story
”I was born and raised in Watson, Louisiana. I played softball and rodeoed up until high school and then decided to fully commit to rodeo. In junior high and high school I had success in rodeo starting in 6th grade. I qualified for nationals 7 years in a row, won state three times, won nationals, and placed on the national level. I graduated high school in 2019 and went to McNeese State University which is about 3 hours from my hometown. While at McNeese I pursued a degree in education, and qualified for the College National Finals 5 consecutive years in a row. I won the Southern Region All Around title in 2021, reserve all around in 2024, and won the college finals in 2022 in the goat tying. While in college I won the Tie for the Crown, the Lariat Lynn Memorial jackpot, and multiple other titles. At McNeese I received a Bachelors degree in Elementary Education and a Masters degree in Curriculum and Instruction. I currently teach second grade at St. John Elementary School. I’m also the assistant goat tying coach at McNeese State University.”
A few questions for the legend:
1. How do you handle pressure when everything is on the line?
”Focus on what you can control. I focus on my ques and putting myself in those high pressure situations often.”
2. How do you recover mentally after a set back or failure?
”This is a process, first recognizing what the set back is/was, evaluate was it something I could’ve controlled? Did I do everything I could in the given situation? Try to minimize by living in the moment. If you focus too much on the setbacks/failures you will get stuck in them. Having a short memory, reflect, move on, and focus more on what you did well than what didn’t go your way.”
3. What does a typical training day look like for you?
A training day for me would start with some sort of workout. Usually a high intensity, since in our sport you need to be very quick and explosive I tried relating my workouts to my event. I would tie goats three times a week, usually on Monday focusing on groundwork, Wednesday focusing on horse work, and Thursday’s would be a day I would reinforce all that I had focused on during that week. Everyday I would take 15 minutes to just visualize. No distractions, just a quiet space where I could visualize myself making runs. This allowed me to take control of my mind.”
4. How did you stay motivated when progress feels slow?
”Setting clear goals with a road map of how I will accomplished these goals always helped me to stay motivated. You have to have a clear understanding of what you want and how you plan to get it. If you’re aiming for unrealistic goals for yourself you can easily become discouraged. When you have clear goals, you recognize there will be bumps but that doesn’t change your course.”
5. What was the turning point in your career?
“When thinking of a turning point in my career two things come to my mind. First, getting on a horse that I trusted and was a team with. The end of my freshman year I transitioned from the horse I rode in high school Freckles, to the horse I rode until the end of my college career TC. When I got TC I leveled up, I become more confident and consistent, having a horse you trust and are a team with changed the game for me. TC was a literal unicorn and after getting her I felt like no matter what situation I was in I was confident I could win. The next thing would be finding a program that I believed in and buying into it 100%, & that program for me would be what Justin Browning and Angie Browning have created at McNeese State University.”
6. Who has influenced you the most & why?
“Justin and Angie Browning, Both Justin and Angie for 5 years poured their blood, sweat, and tears into helping me become the best goat tyer and person I could be. They took time away from their own family to help me. Justin and Angie truly believed in me and made me believe in myself. They studied my runs, studied how I thought and were always finding ways to challenge me and support me. Both of them spent countless hours inside practice and outside of practice helping me perfect my mental game and my performance. It is hard to put into words what those two did for me, I am confident in saying without them I would not have become the goat tyer I was nor the person that I am. People like them are hard to come by and I thank God everyday I was able to have them as apart of my journey.”
7. What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learned from losing?
“A win or a loss does not define you, winning is rewarding and everyone wants to win but in reality you don’t remember every win or every loss, what you do remember are the people you build relationships with, the work you put in, & the memories you make.”
8. What’s one thing people don’t see behind your success?
“Becoming successful isn’t just earned in the arena or in the weight-room, success comes from the way you live your life. The diet you follow, the things you listen to, the people you hangout with, what you allow in will eventually flow out.”
9. How do you balance rodeo, family, and life?
“It can be difficult to balance rodeo, family, and life but I will say that I was very fortunate in this area. My family was always willing to travel to watch and support me, and in times when they couldn’t travel to see me or I couldn’t travel to see them we talked daily. I will also say that I always tried to be present whether I was at practice or spending time with family or studying for a test wherever I was or whatever I was doing I tried to be truly present in that moment, I tried to “be wherever my feet where”, living this way made each moment I was with family more meaningful, or when I was at practice I wasn’t thinking about school or outside life, although this can be challenging if you can find ways to be present you will find peace and your chances of becoming overwhelmed.”
10. If you could go back and give your younger self advice, what would it be?
“Whatever you choose to do, do it whole heartedly, fully buy in, and leave no stone unturned.”
Author: Mersadie Martin
