| Ropers | hero salute Kelsey Willis of Wagener, South Carolina, first ran across the pages of this magazine in the spring of 2022.
In that story about retired police officer Greg Ziel, Ziel had discovered Willis Performance Horses and was learning to rope and to ride—a daring combination that Willis, 37, specializes in. In the beginning, though, Willis was Texas-bound with big plans.
“I [roped and] rode cutting horses, and I moved out to Texas after a year of college,” Willis said. “I was always into colt starting, and I had done a little bit of teaching.”
Willis then met and married his wife, Brittney, now a professional photographer who's cutting her teeth shooting rodeo at Little Britches Rodeos, and became a father to daughter Riley, 11, and son…