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2006 WPRA SOUTHEASTERN CIRCUIT CHAMPION

CARRIE (TEMKOVITS) THOMPSON

Written by Lisa Grantham  aka: Run2wyn

             Charlie and Becky Temkovits of Brandon, Mississippi named their daughter Carrie 31 years ago.  Santa brought Carrie her first horse when she was 8 years old.  Carrie rode in local open shows and AQHA shows with halter and pleasure horses. She kept begging her daddy for a barrel horse.   She finally got her first barrel horse when she was 10 but kept showing halter and pleasure events throughout high school.  She started Junior High Rodeo in the 7^th grade.

             Carrie graduated from Brandon High School and attended Hinds Community College and transferred to the University of West Alabama.   She completed college with a degree in Business Management, but her main study was RODEO!

             She has an extensive list of accomplishments!  She qualified for the AJQHA World Show in halter, barrels, poles and stakes too many times to count.  She qualified for the High School Rodeo Finals her Junior year in poles and her Senior year in Barrels and Poles.  She won the Mississippi High School Rodeo Association Pole Bending Championship and Reserve Champion in Barrels her Senior Year.  She qualified for the Collegiate Finals her Junior and Senior years on Cakes N Candy.  She won the Ozark Region in 1999.  She was 7^th in the Nation in 1998 and 1999.

             In 1997, she won Tri-State Rodeo Association Rookie of the Year.  She won the Holiday Classic 1D Average and High Money saddles in 1998.  She won the Mississippi State NBHA 1D in 1999 and the Ozark Region saddle in 1999.  Carrie was also the NBHA 1D Reserve World Champion in 2000. She won the PCA Average in 2005. Most recently, she just won the WPRA Southeastern Circuit in 2006.

             Carrie attends about 25 PCA (Professional Cowboy’s Association) Rodeos a year, and 37 WPRA Rodeos.  She already has logged over 18,000 miles on her truck just since July of this year. Carrie also let us know that Barrel Horse World was her favorite online hangout.  Yeah!

             When asked about what she enjoys most about riding and competing, Carrie said that she loves the horses and the competition.  As long as her horses try for her, that’s all she asks from them.  The two horses that she runs right now try their best every time they hit the alleyway.  Currently, she’s running MS Dixie Cousins (Dixie), 8 years old.  Dixie is by Brisco County Jr. and out of an own daughter of Merridoc.  Her other mount, Noel’s Alibi, (Blue) is also 8 years old.  She has Peppy San Badger on her papers, Little Peppy Bee, Mr. San Tivio, and Hanover.   Carrie doesn’t own Blue but considers that she is very blessed to have the opportunity to ride her.  Blue is only 14 hands but packs a big punch! 

             Charlie brought Dixie home as a 2 year old.  He’s always had a great eye for horses, but Carrie thought she was the ugliest thing she had ever laid her eyes on.  She laughed and said “Boy did that come back to slap me in the face!”   Dad usually puts the handle on all of my young horses. He enjoys working with the young horses.  If he doesn’t do it, my husband, Glen, does.  They both do an awsome job.  My dad is very competitive.  I guess his competitive ways have rubbed off on me.

             Carrie’s inspiration to compete was the love of the sport.  She says its a fun and enjoyable sport.  She decided to go Pro in 1997 and it took her 2 years to fill her permit.  She said it seemed like it took a lifetime and didn’t think her permit card would ever get filled.   For those that feel the same way she did, she says “Don’t give up - it will happen!”  Sometimes some of us have to work harder for it and it makes it all the more sweet!

             Carrie’s inspiration to go professional was the dream of running down that alleyway at the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas.  It has been a goal of hers ever since she saw it on television for the first time.  To Carrie, that would be the “ultimate accomplishment”.  Carrie’s dream is to compete at the NFR and to train more horses like Dixie.

             Her least enjoyment of riding and competing is cleaning stalls and cold days.  She doesn’t like to ride when its cold, but she also doesn’t like failure.  She said “That’s why I keep trying”.

             The greatest influences in her life have been God, her parents Charlie and Becky Temkovits, and Rita Shaw.  Her inspiration about competing is the fact that you never know what to expect - anyone can outrun you at any point in time.  Nothing is a given.  Rita Shaw from Perkinston, Mississippi has been Carrie’s mentor through High School and College and she is very grateful for Rita.

             When asked for a few of her secrets, Carrie said that she has to keep her goals in mind and work towards them.  She always tells herself “Good things come to those who work hard and have patience.”  She knows it doesn’t just happen for her, so she really has to work hard for it. 

             Carrie is married to Glen Thompson from Morton, Mississippi.  Glen doesn’t get to travel with Carrie much because he works a lot on their cattle farm.  There is always something to do with cows.  They are a lot like horses and take up a lot of time.  He supports Carrie and knows what her dreams are.  He is great with young horses, especially the ones that need a lot of work. He has a lot of patience

             Carrie’s mom is her cheering section, videographer, best friend, and she can share driving!  Becky is a retired school teacher and has traveled with Carrie most of this past year.  She is the best hauling partner anybody could ask for.  Her mom is also great with the young horses and quite a hand herself in competition.

             Carrie’s younger brother, Chip, is married and has a 5 month old son.  Chip loves to hunt.  He rides every now and then but doesn’t care to compete.

             Anybody that knows Carrie also knows her traveling companion Buster!  Buster is her Jack Russell Terrier.  She said he is rotten and thinks he is human.  Carrie laughed and said if she could just get him to drive....  He always travels with her and loves to visit everybody.  There are no strangers in Buster’s world.  She jokingly said if anything happens to him, we might as well go ahead and put her in a mental hospital. 

             When asked about a personal hardship she had endured while competing, Carrie said that tragedy struck in 2003 at the Barrel Futurities of American World Championships in Oklahoma City.  She went to the barn to feed about 6 a.m. with several other people on that December morning.  They all left their trucks running because it was so cold.  Buster jumped out of the truck and went visiting.  She went looking for him and a man petting some horses pointed out Buster.  Carrie walked back to Dixie’s stall and checked on her.  Carrie and Buster headed for the truck.  As she got closer to the door she realized she didn’t hear the truck’s engine running and knew she had left it running.  When she stepped out the door - her truck was GONE!!  In a panic, she called the police and it took them an hour and a half to get there.  She called her dad and told him what had happened.  She had her saddle, blanket, boots, hats, over $500 worth of Christmas present she had purchased while in OKC, along with her purse and her wallet.   Everyone in OKC was great during the crisis!  Jennifer Wilson let Carrie use her truck because she was riding with other friends.  Carrie’s husband Glen and her mom drove to Oklahoma City to come get her and the horses.  They left Friday heading back home.  The OKC Police called Sunday morning saying they had located the truck.  The thieves had stolen everything except her purse and the contents in it.  Charlie had to fly back out to OKC and get the truck since his name was on the title.  Fortunately, the truck wasn’t damaged.  They found it in a parking lot not too far from the OKC Fairgrounds. 

             When asked who Carrie would thank when she wins the World Championship buckle, and why, Carrie responded “God!!  He is the one that has given me the ability and the love of what I do.  My parents and my brother Chip for putting up with the obsession of horses in the family, Rita Shaw for spending all the time she did with me in High School and College, and my husband Glen for letting me follow my dreams. "  

            Keep watching for Carrie Thompson ... you will hear her make that acceptance speech at the NFR one day in the not too distant future.  With the drive and determination this young lady has, there is no stopping her!