Rock Springs, Wyoming was the site of the National High School Rodeo Finals at the Sweetwater Events Complex July 14-20 and the Silver State was well represented by students from all corners.
Ali Norcutt from Fallon took the reined cow horse high school national championship and finished in a tie with Battle Mountain’s Riata Goemmer for 89th place in the girls cutting competition. Crescent Valley’s Kaylee Filippini finished 22nd in girls cutting. Goemmer was 46th in reined cow horse and 84th in barrel racing.
Lamoille’s Payton Feyder finished tenth in breakaway roping, 34th in pole bending, and teamed up with Reno’s Cash English for a 16th place finish in team roping.
The National High School Rodeo Association is one of the fastest growing youth organizations, with an annual membership of approximately 12,500 students from 43 states, five Canadian provinces, Australia and Mexico. The Association sanctions over 1,800 rodeos each year. The NHSRA is governed by a national Board of Directors, which consists of one member from each state or province. Staff members at the national headquarters in Denver, Colorado handle the day-to-day operations.
Each year, the NHSRA produces the two elite youth rodeo events in the world – The National Junior High Finals Rodeo (NJHFR) and the National High School Finals Rodeo (NHSFR). The NHSFR is the “World’s Largest Rodeo,” featuring approximately 1,500 contestants from across the United States, Canada and Australia. Athletes vie for national titles, assorted prizes and their share of thousands of dollars in college scholarships. Action at the event is non-stop, with rodeo performances being conducted twice each day. The top-twenty contestants in each event then advance to a final round of competition to determine who will walk away with the coveted championship buckles. Boys events at the NHSFR include bareback riding, bull riding, saddle bronc riding, tie-down roping, steer wrestling, team roping, and cutting. Girl’s events include breakaway roping, barrel racing, pole bending, goat tying, cutting, team roping, and the NHSRA Queen contest. Boys and girls compete together in Team Roping, but are separate in all other events.
The all around rookie cowboy was Mason Stulier from Venata, Oregon, and Jace Logan from Yampa, Colorado took the all around cowboy title.
Yoder, Wyoming’s Haiden Thompson grabbed the all around rookie cowgirl prize, and Kenna Coronado from Kanarraville, Utah was the national all around cowgirl.
The Nevada girls team finished in 14th place, and the boys were 33rd for a combined state team finish of 24th.
Complete results for 2019 can be found at nhsra.com.
