17-year-old Kennedy Stephens and Cromed By Rooster finished the 2019 season with an NRHA Reserve World title.
By Megan Arszman
The best way to campaign for your first-ever NRHA world title is with your best friend by your side, according to 17-year-old Kennedy Stephens. That’s exactly what she did when she hit the road with Lane Colston to vie for the 2019 NRHA Youth 14–18 World Championship. At the end of the season, the pair finished with the top two titles: Colston first, followed by Stephens who earned the reserve world title.
“If anybody’s going to beat me, I’d rather it be my best friend,” Stephens admitted.
A junior at Woodford County High School in Versailles, Kentucky, Stephens has been showing reiners since she was 12. Her family purchased Cromed By Rooster (Cromed Out Mercedes x Peekasi Cielo) at the 2017 NRHA Futurity with a little help from Colston, and he’s been urging her to try for an NRHA world title ever since.
“I said for years I would never [run for a World Championship],” Stephens said with a laugh.
Last year, Stephens agreed to give it a go, and the pair spent the season traveling to shows together and cheering each other on in the arena.
