Andrea Busby

The cowgirl volleyball playing nurse

By Susan Kanode

Last December, when Andrea Busby qualified for her first Wrangler National Finals Rodeo (NFR) and left as the average champion, she left Las Vegas with a lot of goals checked off of her list. 

For those of us on the outside looking in, it could appear that her journey to get to the NFR came easily and quickly. The reality is that it took years of hard work, planning and learning how to compete.  

Andrea grew up on the family ranch outside of Lusk, Wyoming. That upbringing fostered a love for animals, especially horses. It also taught her the value of hard work at a very early age.

If you ask her family – she has two brothers – Andrea has always been competitive. That spirit turned into a love of sports that saw her playing basketball and volleyball when she was in sixth grade. She continued with those two sports through high school and for one year at Casper (Wyoming) College.

Andrea was working towards her nursing degree. When she had the opportunity to move to Bozeman, become a Montana State University Bobcat and pursue that degree, she literally jumped right in. She turned all of her focus to volleyball and found that the move from high school to junior college to NCAA Division I was as challenging as she had expected. 

“Montana State had a really good nursing program. I had always thought about becoming a nurse and just stayed on that path,” she said. “I also had the opportunity to up my volleyball game. I really enjoyed the other girls and coaches so it was a good fit for me.”  

With Andrea as their setter, the team got some big wins. Andrea got her degree and learned some of the biggest lessons of her life. Just like rodeo, progressing to a new level meant thinking about the game differently and working harder to be a better player. As part of the team, they trained hard, had conditioning sessions and worked with a mental game coach. And they had coaches to guide and encourage them every step of the way. 

They also had opponents. Fueling the desire to win meant beating someone else. Now, her opponent is the clock, and everything comes down to her and her horses. 

Andrea got that nursing degree and worked in the ICU unit of a hospital in Billings, Montana for four years after graduating. She was used to working on the ranch, then playing sports and keeping up with school. While she was in college, her commitment was to volleyball and her education. 

 She had always had a full plate and now had time on her hands. She wanted to get back to her roots and her first love – horses. While shopping, she found a prospect in Texas and she met her future husband, Jeff Busby. Jeff has become the coach on her team. 

Jeff has some experience of his own. He grew up hoeing weeds in cotton fields in west Texas. His father got him started roping to keep him out of trouble. That eventually led to college and an aerospace engineering degree.

Together the couple has built Busby Quarter Horses, a leader in the raising of horses for the rodeo arena. In fact, when Andrea got that NFR average saddle last December, it was aboard a horse that they had raised, Jets Top Gun, “Benny.”  And he is just one of the horses that Andrea depends on to secure those elusive wins. 

She uses her experiences from athletics and her nursing education to help keep those animals at the top of their games as well. 

“We had access to training rooms and trainers in college. It was always heat before and ice after,” Andrea explained. “I ice my horses every single time that I run them. Getting ready for the NFR I tried to make sure that my horses were really fit. We do long, slow warm ups and preparing them helps prepare me.” 

In other sports there are seasons. Rodeo is essentially year-round with competitors making their own decisions whether to go or not. For a barrel racer, that also depends on their horses. She got home from Las Vegas in December and intentionally took two weeks off. She is a big believer in giving her horses “seasons” so all of them get time off and time to just be a horse. 

On Christmas Eve, she went for a ride and knew that her reset button had been hit. She left Benny in the pasture and ran Born on Derby Day, “Derby” at the winter rodeos. That has also proved to be a great decision as they got the win at the Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo and have been collecting checks at other stops. After San Antonio’s rodeo, she was second in the world standings and her second NFR qualification is looking promising. 

She has also learned and is constantly working to have her horses peak at the right time, just like coaches in other athletic events work to have their teams peak. She is meticulous in her methods and routines and utilizes her nursing experience as well. 

Along with her horses and husband, two other competitors have been important parts of Andrea’s team, including NFR qualifier Sue Smith and world champion Brittany Pozzi Tonozzi. In fact, it was Brittany that first took Benny down the tunnel at the Thomas & Mack Center and the four-legged athlete helped her earn her third gold buckle with Andrea and Jeff in the stands. 

“Sue has taught me so much about horsemanship,” Andrea said. “Brittany taught me how to rodeo. It’s like college sports again. Find people that are your people and lean on them.” 

While Andrea is far removed from the volleyball player that she was, she still relies on the lessons she learned in that sport. Her love of competing and passion for horses and building of a team have been a recipe for success. But none of it would be possible without the four-legged athletes. 

“They give us their whole heart,” she said. “And that’s a gift I don’t take lightly. I love competing and the challenge.  The horses are all unique and different. Their personalities are funny and I love getting to know them. That’s what’s better about it than volleyball. It’s the horses and why we keep doing it.”