Taylor Budge won the 2026 THSRA state championship in cutting June 6. Submitted

Taylor Budge built a name for herself on dirt in high school — whether in rodeo arenas or on softball diamonds across Texas.

After years of chasing a Texas High School Rodeo Association state title in cutting, the 2026 Boyd High School graduate and future college softball player finally captured it June 6, winning the 2026 Texas High School Rodeo Association Girls Cutting Championship in Abilene.

After the first two rounds of competition, Budge held a slim, three-point lead over second-place finisher Lauryn Kate Roberson. Budge posted scores of 148 in the opening round and 147 in the second round. She delivered her best performance when it mattered most.

In the short go, Budge scored a 149 and earned the maximum 10 points, pulling away from the field to claim the state title by eight points.

“This is one that’s felt like I couldn’t get to,” Budge said last week. “So being able to accomplish it my senior year is special.”

While a state championship is usually represents the storybook ending for high school seniors, Budge’s rodeo season is not over.

Budge and her cutting horse, Cactus, will represent Team Texas at the National High School Finals Rodeo in Lincoln, Nebraska, next month. Budge and Cactus have been riding together since 2019.

The cowgirl and horse immediately clicked from the first time they saddled up. And after four years of officially showing together, their connection has never been stronger.

“He’s 17, I’m the same age, so we’ve grown a lot together,” Budge said. “Our bond gets stronger each time we show.”

Taylor Budge Submitted

Budge grew up around horses. Her father, Matt Budge, runs Budge Performance Horses and trains horses in Weatherford. Fittingly, the Boyd senior said she has been showing for as long as she can remember.

But after joining her fellow Boyd state champions during a parade last week and closing her high school rodeo career on the national stage, Budge will shift her competitive focus to another one of her talents on dirt.

Taylor Budge is a girls cutting champion and future college softball player. Micah McCartney/WCMessenger

While balancing time between school and showing, Budge carved out a successful softball career at Boyd. Following a breakout 2026 season, she will continue it with the Oklahoma Panhandle State University Aggies softball team.

In her senior year, Budge recorded 25 hits, including one home run, and drove in 15 runs while posting a .402 on-base percentage. She also compiled a 3-1 record in the circle with a 5.85 ERA and finished with a .839 fielding percentage while splitting time between second base, third base and center field for the Yellowjackets. Boyd’s season ended in the area round.

The 2026 National High School Finals Rodeo (NHSFR) is taking place July 19–25, 2026, at the Sandhills Global Event Center in Lincoln, Nebraska. Joining Budge on the road to nationals will be fellow Texas cutters Roberson, Clara Ashlock and Kaylyn Frizzell.

Budge isn’t the only young talent representing Wise County with championships at the THSRA this year.

Decatur’s Treston Brazile won THSRA’s All-Around Cowboy honor this year after securing two state titles. Earlier this week, Brazile won his ProRodeo debut in Mesquite with a 4.5 heeling for two-time World Champion Tyler Wade.

Brazile, the son of ProRodeo hall of famer and 26-time PRCA world champion Trevor Brazile, signed earlier this year to compete on Weatherford College’s rodeo team.