The Big Sandy Mountaineer -

Up front, I know nothing about horses, so when I heard one of our own had a horse competing in the Superbowl of Rodeos, the National Finals Rodeos, I just had to get a story. Laci Keller Christenson said, "it's like your kid playing football on Lambeau Field in Green Bay. The NFR is the world's biggest stage for the rodeo."

Tenley Epperson daughter of Harvey and Demrece Keller, graduated from Big Sandy High School in 2012. She was on the rodeo team for the Montana State Bobcats for four years and graduated college with a Bachelor's Degree in Nursing. This is her story. And the story of her horse, Promise Me Fame Guys, aka Levee, making it big in barrel racing.

Tenley said, "For as long as I can remember, I have loved horses. When I was too little to ride by myself, my mom tied me behind her saddle, and we would chase cows. I loved the horses but was scared of the cows, so that I would cover my eyes mist of the ride. I was incredibly blessed that my parents put me on amazing horses at a young age, which taught me how to ride and be a horsewoman. They get all the credit for helping me understand how to ride and bringing me into the sport. My parents led me through the barrel pattern and other riding events at o-mok-sees and junior rodeos. I started riding alone without their help at four years old, and the rest is history."

"Promise Me Fame Guys, aka Levee, was a really fun horse to train on the pattern. He was a natural mover and placed his feet correctly early on. He was the type that you would show him something once or twice, and he took to it very fast. I got on him the fall of his two-year-old year once I got him back from the colt starter. We went on a couple of hunting rides and did cow work before he was turned out all winter. (My dad gets all the praise for loving these equine athletes as much as I do and being willing to feed them all winter while I live in Billings and work as an RN in the ICU at Billings Clinic and be a momma to my two-year-old son. My husband and I are also expecting a little cowgirl to join us in May!) Back to Levee- I brought him back to Billings as a three-year-old and started pattering him on the barrels. I could even take him, haul him to local jackpots, and start the seasoning process. By the fall of his three-year-old year, he was loping a nice barrel pattern. He got the winter off, and as a four-year-old, I continued to add speed and haul him to more barrel races."

"By the fall of his four-year-old year (2020), I was too pregnant to continue with him. Luckily he was at a solid enough point in which he could go on with another jockey to have success when entered. He went on to have an awesome futurity spring with Samantha Flannery, winning 100k at just a handful of races. I got a message from Lisa Lockhart in April regarding her interest, and we made it happen. Lisa got Levee in May when he was 5 years old (2021). Lisa took him to a few rodeos but really took her time getting to know him so they could become a team. All of her time paid off as Lisa and Levee ended the 2022 WPRA season 4th in the world. They were the second-highest money earner in barrel racing at the 2022 NFR."

"Levee is a beautiful grey gelding born on the Keller Sandy Creek Ranch in 2016. He has a fun personality! After crossing the hump of the "spooky young horse" phase, he really became a people horse. He always wants scratches and loves. When he was in my training, he was amazing to ride but pretty annoying on the ground. He was spooked by everything and did a bunch of "dumb colt stuff." He even spooked from the barrels until he was four. It seemed like the more speed we added, the less he spooked. He now looks very similar to his momma, "Abby," and is drop-dead gorgeous."

"Levee is branded with my great-great grandfather's brand, which is currently 112 years old. George Keller was the first owner of the Lazy DY brand, and I am lucky enough to be the 5th generation to use it!"

"I plan to have some very closely related offspring to Levee in the future and train young horses as my schedule allows. Of course, being a mom is the most important thing to me now."