After Heartbreak and Loss, Rodeo Couple Welcomes Long-Awaited Baby Girl

Congratulations to PRCA steer wrestler Levi and WPRA cowgirl Carly Rudd on the arrival of their healthy baby girl, Hunter Nicole.

The birth of a child is always a celebration but for the Rudd family, the journey to this point has been full of challenges and heartbreak. One thing that keeps coming to the front of their story is hope, they never lost hope.

The Rudds were married in 2021 and both Carly and Levi knew they wanted to start a family right away. It wasn’t long, and it seemed that dream was becoming a reality. But as quick as that joy came, it was met with heartache.

The Rudd’s Path Was Hard

While visiting Yellowstone National Park during rodeo downtime in August of 2021, Carly knew something had gone wrong. They drove back to Cody, Wyoming, which was two hours away. It was a scary drive filled with fear and anxiety. There, the doctors delivered the heartbreaking news that they had miscarried the baby.

The Rudd’s held on to the hope of starting a family and while this was incredible pain, they knew they wanted to keep trying.

By October of 2021, the morning sickness had arrived again. Carly was carrying a child.

During the busy rodeo summer run of July 2022, Carly delivered their firstborn son, Hayzen. He was healthy, happy, and the perfect addition to the Rudd family.

They knew their little rodeo family was not yet complete and wanted more children. The plan was to wait until Hayzen was 2two years old before trying again, but their timeline did not match God’s plan.

“In September of 2023, we were at Livingston’s Rodeo, and I began to say things that made Levi wonder if I was pregnant again,” Carly said. Things that she usually loved starting tasting funny. The smell of bacon made her stomach turn.

Levi told her to take a test, and sure enough, it was positive. Carly was pregnant again.

“That pregnancy was so easy,” Carly said. She craved healthier foods and took great care of herself throughout it. “When we found out it was going to be a boy, we just knew he was going to give Hayzen a run for his money. He was measuring in the 90th percentile in everything.”

With Hayzen, they had not settled on his name until Carly was in labor at the hospital, but with this baby, the naming process seemed easy. They knew months before and settled on the name Hudson.

Carly remembers Hudson being active in the womb. The little cowboy was already active; he moved constantly and was feisty. She still has videos of her belly moving and jumping as he rolled around inside. Hudson would react to his daddy’s voice, and when they wanted him to move, he actively played right along.

“I was going to be a boy mom of two under two,” Carly remembers.

An Unimagineable Loss

In March of 2024, at 37 weeks pregnant, Carly was helping her friend Quincy with Rodeo Quincy on a photo shoot at Carly’s family ranch. The shoot centered on wildflowers and beautiful cowgirl fashion. When things finally slowed down, Carly remembers sitting in her room, looking at her belly in the full-length mirror to notice she had not felt Hudson move all day.

She laid down, ate, drank water, and tried everything she could to wake him, but nothing moved the tiny cowboy inside her.

“I thought I was panicking myself and tried not to worry.”

After no success at trying to get some rest, the Rudd’s made the decision that if she hadn’t felt anything by the morning, they would go get checked.

“I remember laying there as we were hooked up to the heart rate monitor and movement bands and the nurse was having a hard time finding his heartbeat.” The nurse tried reassuring them that it was a common occurrence, but the terrible feeling sank deep into Carly.

“Another nurse came in with the ultrasound machine, and there he was. I could see our beautiful baby’s perfect shape. But right where his chest was, there was no movement. No heartbeat.”

“I knew in the moment he came on screen and the room fell silent.”

The nurses stepped out to retrieve the doctor. Carly and Levi already knew what the doctor confirmed.

“Even though I knew it wasn’t possible, I just kept hoping the doctor could fix him.”

Carly was given the option to carry Hudson until her body decided to deliver, but she knew she needed to deliver him right away. She was induced and spent 7.5 hours in labor, going through the deepest heartbreak a mother can face.

“He was beautiful. I just wanted to hold him and share him with the world.”

They were given all the time they needed to take in everything about their baby boy. “Levi and I held him all night.”

“I didn’t want to let him go.”

After baptizing baby Hudson, Carly explains, “It truly felt like God was in the room with us.”

Trying to Move Forward

The following weeks were filled with agony. Carly was tending to a toddler but grieving the loss. Together, the couple had to make heart-wrenching decisions regarding the service and saying goodbye to their second son.

After extensive testing, the Rudd’s were never given a reason for why Hudson went home to Heaven.

No answers.

While many don’t understand, having answers is something grieving parents grip on to. The unknown leaves a weight that is hard to carry.

No answer means no resolutions. Without knowing, how do you know where to go next?

It is the kind of loss that no one can explain. Losing a child can cause you to question faith and the phrase, “God’s plan.”

“I am so grateful for my husband. Through it all he has been our rock.”

Today, the Rudd’s carry their grief with them. Grief never fully leaves or heals; families learn how to carry it.

Carly cherishes the signs she knows Hudson leaves her. Wildflowers make her feel close to him. It seems like other little boys named Hudson are often drawn to Levi. Together, they recognize those moments as gifts and let them serve as a reminder that Hudson is still close.

The journey to build their family continued to be trying.

The little family would continue to be tested with two more miscarriages in late 2024 and early 2025, and yet another in July of 2025. Carly was beginning to feel like she might never be able to carry another healthy baby to term.

An Answer to Many Prayers Was Coming

While the Rudd’s were on an extremely long waitlist for fertility specialists, they learned in December of 2025 that Carly was pregnant again. In February, there was a confirmed heartbeat. This time, they were having a baby girl.

“I had the fearful feeling that we would be trying to replace our Hudson, but because this baby is a girl, it does not feel that way,” Carly said.

Certainly understandable, the grief from their trials and loss caused Carly to remain reserved during this pregnancy. She was afraid to get her hopes up and constantly working to keep her anxiety at bay.

Though her due date was September 19, 2026, her doctors felt that delivering the baby early would be best because of the family’s history.

On August 28, at 8:06 p.m., a healthy baby girl changed the Rudd’s new dinner reservations to a “party of 4.” She weighed 7 pounds, 5 ounces, and though she arrived early, she exceeded all of the doctors’ requirements. She is already proving to be the perfect little cowgirl and a beautiful addition to this rodeo family.

“We are feeling so blessed and absolutely smitten with our little family,” Carly said on their official baby announcement on Facebook.

The journey for this family has not been easy, but the Rudds have followed their hearts and carried Hudson with them. What can be explained as full of grief, fear and finally hope, the path to holding Hunter Nicole has been long, but has also drawn the family closer to God.

Congratulations on your beautiful baby girl. May her life always be surrounded by the love, faith, and strength that carried your family to her.

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