WALDRON, Mich. – A teen from Michigan is hoping to take another big step up the ladder in his brief run as a singing cowboy.

At press time, online voters were still deciding the fate of Hayden Ladd, a finalist in the 12th annual National Cattlemen’s Beef Association National Anthem contest.

Ladd, 17, is a fourth-generation rancher on his family’s 40-acre spread in Waldron in the southeast part of the state just north of Ohio state line.

It’s only been about four years since he began singing and playing guitar, but he’s turned enough heads already to be doing it professionally.

Ladd said he hopes to win, of course, but is not dwelling too much on the outcome of the contest, to be announced Nov. 21.

“If one of the other competitors gets chosen then I’ll be happy for them and just thankful that I got the opportunity to be in the final four,” he said.

Each of the four finalists have submitted videos of them performing the anthem. The public can view the videos and vote once a day at ncba.org through Nov. 15.

The leading vote getter will perform the national anthem on Feb. 4 during the opening general session of CattleCon 2025 in San Antonio, Texas. The trip includes round trip airfare, a hotel room for three nights and complimentary registration for the convention along with a pair of boots, jeans and a shirt from Roper or Stetson.

The other finalists are:

Jaci Deitrick, of New Castle, Okla. She’s involved in her family’s Hereford cattle operation while pursuing a master’s degree in international agriculture at Oklahoma State University.

Paytom Goodman, of Canyon, Texas. She’s majoring in agriculture media and communications at West Texas A&M University.

Anah Higbie, of Quenemo, Kan. She helps with her family’s commercial Simmental cow-calf operation.

Ladd helps his family with their 30 head of mostly Limousin beef cattle by doing things like giving the livestock vaccines and cutting hay they grow on about half of the acreage. His chores during calving season are what he likes doing the most on the farm.

Ladd said he began taking piano lessons when he was 5 but gravitated to the guitar about seven years later. He started taking lessons from former members of his church who are in a band. It was about that time when he began singing in the choir at his church.

Eventually, Ladd said he started accepting invitations to perform at weddings and other paid venues.

His growing resume includes being the opening act in concerts by veteran country music hit maker Joe Nichols, along with upcoming performers in the industry like Cooper Alan and Bryce Leatherwood.

“I’m pretty thankful for the experience. It’s been a blessing,” he said.

Ladd, who plays country as well as contemporary and traditional Christian songs, had already performed the national anthem, occasionally, for events before entering the contest.

After being named a finalist, Ladd said he did a lot of practicing before making his video entry.

He also watched country music stars like Brad Paisley and Chris Stapleton perform the anthem to see if there was something about their style he wanted to incorporate into his rendition that he submitted for the contest in late October.

“I just tried to get an idea of what I like that they did and try to make it my own,” he said.

In March, Ladd started a Michigan rodeo team consisting of more than 70 high school and junior high school students from throughout the state. A few members of the team are from Ohio and nearby Indiana.

Ladd said he started roping calves only about a year ago but, despite a huge learning curve, his still developing skills are much improved.

His goal is to advance to the national competition next year in Wyoming. “If I’m able to qualify that would be pretty sweet,” he said.

Ladd said his recent interest in rodeo stems from his family’s roots in raising cattle and enjoying the lifestyle of being sort of a cowboy.

More often than not, a cowboy hat is what’s on his head.

“I throw rope enough and live on the back of a horse enough to wear the hat. I think the true cowboys are the ones out west living every day on ranches and stuff, but I like to think of myself as a cowboy, though,” he said.