Marley Seals and her daughter, Raelynn Seals, have carved out a space for themselves in the world of rodeo, bringing a blend of determination, family spirit and Southern grit to the region’s competitive scene. For the Seals family, rodeo isn’t just a pastime — it’s a way of life, stitched together by early mornings, long drives to events and the thrill of hearing a crowd cheer as they race for the finish line.
Marley spent much of her childhood in dusty arenas and falling in love with the rodeo scene, as did her husband, Corey. The same is true for Raelynn, who has been involved in rodeos since she was just 6 months old.
“I’ve been doing it my entire life. The day my mom brought me home from the hospital, she put on a horse,” Marley said.
Marley has built quite the career in rodeo and continues barrel racing to this day, winning at the Tri-State Rodeo in Columbia this year, at the Bulls, Bands and Barrels in 2022 in Hattiesburg and so much more throughout the years. Winning in Columbia was extra special for Marley, who said claiming the top spot in her hometown meant a lot to her.
Despite the countless hours of practice and training horses, there’s nothing like it for Marley.
“The adrenaline in rodeo — running down the alleyway with fans screaming — it’s a huge adrenaline rush,” she said.
At the Bulls, Bands and Barrels rodeo in Fort Worth in August, Marley was the fifth rider to run and was leading the event for quite a while. But with 20 women in the competition, she had to sweat it out as the other 15 competitors took their turn around the barrels. She ended up placing second but loved every second of it.
“It’s like therapy,” she said. “There’s so much adrenaline and when you compete, it’s like all the hard work has paid off. You’re proud of your horse because it’s not just you out there. You’re in there with a 1,500-pound horse that you have to trust with your life. It can be very emotional too if you’ve had a rough few months then go out there and get a win. When you feel all that hard work paying off, you get all jumped up and ready to go to the next one.”
Marley rides her 11-year-old horse, Oakie, who she got when Oakie was 4 years old and trained herself. She said he was a handful at first, but she worked with him for at least an hour every day until he was ready to compete.
“You just have to stay consistent with young horses,” she said. "Then it just clicks with them one day and either they’re going to make it or they’re not.”
Raelynn has two horses, Rey and Moomoo, that she uses for different events. Rey and Moomoo used to belong to Marley and Corey and were passed down to Raelynn.
Even before Raelynn was old enough to walk, she was destined to ride as well. She loves getting to know her horses better and competing. The 8-year-old said her favorite place to compete is in Purvis because she knows the arena better and has been competing there since she was 4 years old.
The rodeo community is a tight-knit group that remains true to itself and upholds tradition. Marley said that she loves that every rodeo still begins with a prayer and every person in attendance standing for the national anthem.
“It’s a very rewarding community. You may be eight hours away and not know somebody at the rodeo and need something and they’ll give you the shirt off their back,” she said.
