Sister act

It's hard to believe Winterblossom Chee and Autumnrain Chee don't come from a rodeo family.

They dress the part, look the part and play the part of rodeo-born athletes, but the two Cortez, Colo., girls don't have the long rodeo history most competitors have.

"It all started from observing the girls with a couple horses we had," said their father, Joseph Chee. "We're not a rodeo family. They read articles on the sport of barrel racing, they traveled to a couple clinics."

And then the rodeoing began.

Winterblossom, 17, said she remembers her first rodeo in Dove Creek, Colo., followed by her first Indian rodeo.

"From there it just went on, that's when we started enjoying it. We noticed we were great, pretty good," she said.

"When we first started it was pretty fun," she said. "Once I started my first Indian rodeo it was pretty great. I loved it after that."

Autumnrain, 15, a student at Career Prep High School in Shiprock, took second place in the barrel race with a time of 14.705 seconds at the All Indian Rodeo Association Central Navajo Fair rodeo in Chinle on Aug. 22.

Winterblossom, a senior at Career Prep, was given a no time after her hat flew off during her run.

The two have dabbled into rodeos here and there and have had their fair share of wins but nothing makes them more proud than when they qualified for the National Barrel Horse Association Youth World Finals in Jackson, Miss., July 26 to 31.

Winterblossom placed 19th in her division with a time of 15.528. Autumnrain placed 16th in her division with a 16.048.

Autumnrain said she was ecstatic and it meant she was one step closer to her bigger goal in life.

"It's really a big thing to make it to the finals," Autumnrain said. "My sister and I want to go professional and we want to ride in the National Finals Rodeo and become world champions. That's our biggest dream."

The two also participate in cross country to keep in shape for barrel racing. But rodeo is a bigger part of their lives. They practice every morning and evening and on weekends they head for rodeos.

Joseph Chee said it was no surprise the girls decided to barrel race and he and his wife Terri were happy to help them in any way possible.

He said with help from the AIRCA and the Navajo Nation Rodeo Cowboys Association, which helped teach the girls along with cutters and horse trainers they met along the way, the girls were able to compete.

But realizing how good his daughters were was a shock, he said.

"Girls like that with really not a strong rodeo background really surprised us," he said. "That was probably the highlight of the year for me - watching both of them get recognized individually, running at a youth world championship with people from Canada,  Panama...coming form all parts of the world."

The girls' uncle, Merlin Chee, helped introduce them to the sport and has guided them along the way.

The sisters also have the support of their younger sister Springsky Chee and older brother Zachery Nelson.

Joseph Chee said their sponsors - TC Begay of the Shiprock Flea Market, Navajo Nation Parks and Recreation, Ute Mountain Tribe, Shiprock Chapter and Council Delegate Glo Jean Todacheene and Navajo Engineering and Construction Authority - are also responsible for the girls' success.

But, most of all, the sisters are there for each other.

"It really helped to have my sister here, having her here to watch my run, seeing what's different or the same and comparing it to my performances," Winterblossom said.

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