This story about the rodeo accomplishments of young Aspen Dietrich, on top of her musical achievements, is a contribution from Rick Heldmann.
When I first interviewed and wrote about The Arizona Wildflowers, I stated that, “they are the real deal.” They live on a horse and cattle ranch in Arizona, ride and train horses daily, and compete in fiddle contests in addition to having a successful bluegrass, gospel, western swing, and Americana band. None of the Dietrich siblings is more representative of that concept than 13 year old Aspen Dietrich.
Aspen, lead fiddle and vocals for Wildflowers, is and has been a champion old time fiddle player in state and regional contests, including Arizona, Nevada, Minnesota, Kentucky, Florida, The Twin Lakes National Championship, and The Four Corners Fiddle Championship. Aspen has been playing the fiddle since she was 3 years old.
All of the Dietrich siblings also compete in multiple events in several rodeo associations. This past weekend, Aspen qualified for the Junior World Championships in Barrel Racing. She and her horse, Drifter, raced against 75 other girls ages 13-19 for a chance to compete in Las Vegas, Nevada in conjunction with the National Finals Rodeo (NFR) in December.
Aspen says…
“I owe this all to my horse, Drifter, who is phenomenal. I got her from a ranch in Kingman, Arizona when I was nine years old. I was able to buy her and train her for barrel racing, pole bending, and goat tying. She’s smaller than most of the winning horses, but she has more heart and she loves to run. Most of the time when we compete, she ends up on top and that’s what happened this weekend. I am so excited for December!”
Aspen loves playing her fiddle, singing, and riding, and she hopes to spend her future doing all three. Her dream is to play on the Grand Ole Opry and ride at the NFR. It looks like she’s half way there!
