Tara Seaton of Dilkon is sitting tall after being crowned the 2023 INFR Women’s All- Around World Champion at the Indian National Finals Rodeo held at South Point Hotel Casino’s Equestrian Center in Las Vegas, Oct. 24-28. She placed in both the barrel racing and breakaway roping events. In the opening round, she earned two checks with a fourth-place run of 3.11 seconds in the breakaway and a fifth-place run in the barrels with a 15.755 effort. In the third round, she earned a firstplace run of 15.206 seconds.
Seaton who is a graduate of Winslow High School and obtained her degree in business management and accounting at Arizona State University, has been riding horses as far back as she can remember. “I’ve been rodeoing, or riding horses I should say, since I was about five. I only took breaks to have my two sons and to finish college. As soon as I graduated and got a job, I started buying horses and it just kind of took off from there.” She also trains her own horses and says she’s been doing it so long it’s become second-nature.
Seaton said her last three years have been her best years. “I bought a really awesome red roan mare from a friend and since then my rodeo career just took off. Now I have a new horse that I’m running and he’s just amazing too. I call him Wag. All my horses have a last name, so I call them Rez Rockets, we’re Team Rez Rockets, which is our hashtag because we’re from the Rez and my horses are really fast,” said Seaton.
Seaton also competed in the Turquoise Circuit Pro Rodeo, Nov. 3 and 4, where she ended up splitting second and third with barrel racing in the average and she won the second round. She also won the year-end standings.
When asked about what the win means to her Seaton stated, “It literally is a dream come true. I’ve been very fortunate that I’ve got some good horses under me and we just make an excellent team. It’s only because of them that I’m able to do this so I make sure I give them all the credit.”
Seaton isn’t slowing down. Last weekend she was in Las Vegas competing in the Las Vegas Days Pro Rodeo during the slot and then headed straight to Brawley, Calif., to compete in the Brawley Cattle Call Rodeo.
