Meet Shai Schaefer: Professional Breakaway Roper, Virtual School Teacher, Volleyball Coach and Rancher

Rodeo athlete, North Texas rancher, wife, volleyball coach and full-time teacher at Texas Virtual Academy at Hallsville (TVAH), Shai Schaefer could teach a master course on multi-tasking. And when she’s on the rodeo circuit traveling to her next event, she brings her classroom of sixth- and seventh-grade science students along for the ride. 

Shai plans her driving time around her classes, which she teaches from her living quarters horse trailer equipped with an office-friendly space, and always accompanied by her breakaway horse Ricky Bobby and dog Chipper Jones. Rodeo has taught her many lessons that apply to the classroom, including patience and appreciating different perspectives among her students.

“What makes my job as a teacher at TVAH such a great fit is I’m able to do it from anywhere, and that’s a huge benefit,” Shai says. “I love my students and I’m able to pursue my passion for giving them my best as a teacher and also compete in breakaway roping on the rodeo circuit. I never thought I would get as attached to my virtual students as I did in a brick-and-mortar setting, but yet again, I find myself forming just as strong of connections with them as anyone else I have worked with!”

Most recently, she competed in the finals of the San Antonio Rodeo, setting a record of 1.5 seconds in breakaway roping, her event of choice. She also had initially broken the Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo with a 1.7 until a friend and fellow competitor reset it in the final rounds. She also holds another arena record in Hermiston, Oregon at the Farm-City Pro Rodeo with a 1.8. When Shai’s not competing in rodeos or teaching science, she coaches high school girls’ volleyball in Sulphur Springs, Texas, just up the road from the ranch where she and her husband Kyon Kreutzer live in Lake Creek.  

Growing up primarily in Walla Walla, Washington and graduating high school in Torrington, Wyoming, Shai excelled at many sports, including rodeo and volleyball. She went to college on volleyball and rodeo scholarships in Wyoming before graduating from Eastern New Mexico University in Portales, New Mexico, following her passion for children with a degree in Special Education. 

Continuing to compete in rodeos across the West, Shai taught in brick-and-mortar schools before she was hired at TVAH, an online school serving Texas students in grades 3-12. She describes the opportunity as a door opened by God.

“Kyon and I have a crazy life together, but we love it. We thrive on staying busy and he’s my biggest fan, whether competing in rodeo, teaching my students, or coaching sports. Life on the ranch is never dull, and I wake up each morning ready to tackle a new day.”