Rush Hour at the Rodeo
Mandy Rush saddles up for the Colorado Stampede
by Rita-Lyn Sanders, Director of Marketing and Communication
In support of our Grand Valley rodeo athletes, Grand Valley Power is sponsoring barrel racing at the Colorado Stampede, Friday through Sunday, May 23 to 25, at the Mesa County Fairgrounds. The rodeo is a PRCA-sanctioned event. Get tickets online: coloradostampederodeo.com.
GRAND JUNCTION, COLO. - (May 1, 2025) Mandy Rush remembers circling the barrels on her pony. “I just held on,” she said with a grin. At three years old she had become a barrel racer, participating in Little Britches Rodeo events. Her parents — Glen and Becky Younger — were rodeo veterans themselves. They packed up their gear, horses, and Mandy’s two siblings, and ventured across Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, and Nevada to encourage the kids to compete.
The family moved cattle on horseback in their ranching life, and Glen and Becky wanted their horses to be used for other means as well. The couple also had a desire to instill a work ethic in their children and give them something to look forward to.
It didn’t take much to persuade Mandy.
She got the “horse bug” sitting astride her pony as a toddler. When Mandy turned five, her mom put Mandy on the back of her horse. At eight, Mandy started roping, throwing practice loops at a dummy stuck in a bale of hay. As her core grew stronger and her riding more skilled, she practiced roping a calf sled pulled behind a 4-wheeler. By the age of 12 she brought home the Little Britches national championship title in barrel racing.
In her teen years, Mandy’s rodeo participation continued while she attended Fruita Monument High School. At 17 she won a Little Britches breakaway roping championship.
Growing up in Grand Junction, Mandy shared her parents’ enthusiasm for rodeo competition. Her dad is a champion bull rider, and her mom is a barrel racer. When she went to college at Colorado State University, Mandy still competed in rodeo events.
But when she returned to Grand Junction in 2002, the hometown rodeo she watched her mom compete in — the Colorado Stampede — had hung up its hat.
Mandy married Kyle Rush in 2003, and they have a son, Eli. Kyle, a team roper and assistant principal at Central High School, and Mandy continue to rodeo. “Rodeo is prevalent enough in western Colorado that it can continue across generations,” she said.
The Colorado Stampede dusted off its boots in 2024 and is back this year for Memorial Day weekend. Mountain States contestants in the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association heralded it as the “Most Improved Rodeo.” Mandy, a Grand Valley Power member, is excited to participate in the Stampede; her family will be there to cheer her on. “It’s great for the community and wonderful for those of us who are local competitors to have a hometown rodeo again,” she said.
Mandy has been riding Ivory, her breakaway horse, for two years, and is preparing to ride her in the Stampede. The nine-year-old mare “Has a sassy personality but she’s all business,” Mandy said. “She knows her job. Does it better than I do. It’s hard to know who is the boss ... probably Ivory.” Of course, this begs the question, do you still feel like that three-year-old, just hanging on? Her answer? A resounding, “Yes!”