COMPANION PASS: ShaRee Wright

My name is ShaRee Wright and I am the wife to 2x saddle bronc world champion Cody Wright and the mother to Rusty, Ryder, Stetson, Statler and Lily Jo! I am also a grandma (which is probably the best title I have ever worn) to four, soon to be five, beautiful grandkids! Rookie who is almost 4 and Memphis who is almost 2 belong to Rusty and Morgan.  Bexley who’s 2, belongs to Ryder and Cheyenne. Then our newest addition, little miss Kingsley belongs to Stetson and Callie! Rusty and Morgan will be adding our fifth grandchild (fourth granddaughter), Malone, in February!! To say that I live a blessed and fortunate life is an understatement.

My role as a wife to a rodeo cowboy has definitely had its ups and Downs, just like everyone else. But I try to focus on the ups for the most part and focus on how blessed I am to have been able to carry the “companion pass” of such a humble and amazing man. And maybe occasionally remember the downs to remind myself of how far we have come! Because Lord knows the rodeo lifestyle is really quite hard, and probably not for everyone! 

Cody and I married at the very young age of 18! And why not throw a baby in the mix while we are at it...right?! Marriage and then a baby in the first year!

 Cody started out our marriage working for his dads family business pouring concrete, but decided after three years, and two kids later, that pouring concrete wasn’t getting him any closer to his lifetime dream of being a Saddle Bronc rider. So he loaded himself up in a truck with a camper shell and headed off to Twin Falls Idaho to college rodeo for the great Shawn Davis and CSI. I stayed back home with Rusty and Ryder and waited for him to find us somewhere to live and then we made the move as well. After a few years and another kid later (Stetson), we finished school and headed back home to Utah where I could be around family to help with the three wild little Wright boys while Cody pursued his full time professional rodeo career.

I wish I could say that I was the perfect little rodeo wife who was behind her husband and all his rodeo dreams - that I never asked him or myself what the hell are we doing this for. But if I am being completely honest with everyone, that just wasn’t the case. It was hard and it was emotionally draining, and it was all the things that people don’t see behind the scenes. There were many times that I would beg him not to go and try and convince him that getting a “regular” job would be a better fit for our family. There was a time or two when the money was so tight that I would cry and wonder if his dreams were ever going to manifest into reality.

Back then there were no “Wright boys” or “Wright brothers”. At least not in the rodeo world. There was just a young kid from Milford, Utah who believed in himself enough to never give up, never quit. A young kid from Milford, Utah that wanted to show his little boys that if you want something bad enough and work hard enough you can achieve anything you set your mind to. A young kid from Milford, Utah who knew that he could be at the top if he just kept climbing...and that he did!! My kids have watched their dad work hard and find success at something he loved doing and I have been lucky enough to have been able to watch all of them do the same. 

I think one of my fondest memories is the year Cody, Rusty, and Ryder all three made the NFR! It was definitely a special moment for our family. I remember not really being sure who I wanted to win the rodeos that year, lol 😂 I mean Cody was the one that paid the bills at our house but my boys...those are MY BOYS!! What mother doesn’t want their boys to win!! I just had to sit back and be grateful that we were able to be there together and whoever won we were happy for and that was that!

I think I always knew my kids would probably end up riding broncs or bulls, I just never really thought about what it would be like to have them doing it together and competing against each other. It’s very cool, but it’s also very hard. To be so over-the-moon happy for one kid who has just accomplished a lifetime goal and at the same time be so completely heartbroken for another that has come so close but didn’t get it done, is HARD. I knew that that was how it was going to be at times but until you are in the situation, you really have no clue. I think I gained a whole new respect for my mother-in-law, Evelyn, once I started dealing with those situations. The one thing that makes it easier to handle as a mom is the way my boys are genuinely happy for each other!

At this years NFR, after the first round performance when Stetson won the bull riding, Rusty sent me a text from behind the chutes and told me that his brother was his hero!! Then after the NFR was all over our entire family was down congratulating Stetson for winning his world all-around title, Ryder said to me that he was probably more excited for Stetson to win than he was when he won his own world title. The picture that was taken at the NFR after Stetson had rode one of his bulls and Rusty and Ryder were in the chutes cheering for him is probably one of my favorite pictures. It truly shows how much they support each other.

Although Cody is now spending his time raising cattle and training dogs, rodeo will still be a big part of our lives as we will continue following Rusty, Ryder, and Stetson on their journeys as well as Statler, who is 16 and getting into high school rodeo,  riding bucking horses himself and our daughter Lily Jo who is 10 and loves to run barrels and pole bend!

 I want to say thank you to Lindsay for asking me to be a part of Companion Pass! I hope you all enjoy a little glimpse into my world as a companion pass holder to Cody Wright!

Rodeo...it’s a family thing!

Doin’ It The Wright Way!