CORVALLIS — The sound of Cash Trexler's spurs echoed through the barn on his family's ranch in Corvallis Thursday.
The spurs on his boots are made from a file. The horse he was preparing was a horse bred from a broodmare.
It is a bold statement to say that everyone is born to do something. But it's no exaggeration to say that Trexler was born for rodeo.
You won't find a more reliable jockey than Trexler, the son of Kari and Reid Trexler.
“It takes a lot of time and effort to do this,” Cash said. “Rodeo is not something you can just get into. It took me a long time to get to where I am now.”
He currently ranks first in high school rodeos in Montana.
He bred both horses himself. The deer-haired Caddy is his heeler horse. He ropes his other partner, Casorena, by the calf.
“And the future is out there,” he said of the new addition from the family's broodmares.
Trexler's horsemanship didn't grow overnight. He was raised in a Western lifestyle and rode horses with his mother before his birth.
“We raised our children in a Western lifestyle,” said Kari Trexler, a former competitor in the sport with her husband Reid.
Cali and Reed competed at the collegiate level more than 20 years ago. Cali was a barrel racer and competed in goat tying and roping, while Reed did everything from roping to bull riding, even at the national level.
His younger brother Cole also competed in college.
Trexler is at the top of the Montana high school rankings as a team roper. He performs best when he holds the rope with one hand and the reins with the other.
“Montana has a lot of good ropers,” he said. “It’s very competitive every weekend.”
He said his name respectfully.
“We have Weston Hasel from Lewistown and AJ Swanson from Huntley Projects,” he listed. “Mitch Detton (Great Falls), Blaise Boric (Belgrade), and Paten Brar from Glendive…”
He knows what can happen on any given week at a high school rodeo. But winning rodeo titles isn't the end of the story. It's a way of life. It's fun to show off well.
He has been participating in matches since middle school and has competed at a high level. His favorite rodeo memory was competing in the Junior National Finals Rodeo in his seventh grade and winning the reserve championship. and rodeoing with his brother Cole.
“It was fun to rodeo on the same team as my brother,” he said.
He held state titles in breakaway roping throughout his junior high school years and won the all-around state championship in eighth grade.
Rodeo was a source of pride, and it earned him a full scholarship to compete at New Mexico Junior College in Hobbs, New Mexico. This region produces some of the best cowboys who compete on a national level.
He plans to study equine science and ranch management.
“I’m just excited to continue competing in rodeos and doing what I love,” Trexler said.
Trexler will compete in the Montana High School Rodeo Finals June 3-8 in Kalispell. From there, Montana's best athletes will compete in the National High School Rodeo Finals in Rock Springs, Wyoming.
Trexler earned her high school degree online from James Madison High School.
He is now focused on the future ahead of the June match. And if you need to find him, he'll be at the ranch.