South Dakota Junior High Rodeo Finals finished competition Monday as young riders from across the state converged on Besler’s Cadillac Ranch on the southeast edge of Belle Fourche for three performances in two days.
Monday’s finals set up two sets of winners, the state finals champions as a result of the three rounds of weekend competition, and the national champions whose points for the entire year’s competition are added up to qualify them for the state’s team headed to national finals.
It’s roughly the same process used by the PRCA at the national finals – there are winnings for each performance and overall at the finals, but the year’s championship is for the whole year’s record.
Members of the state’s team will head for Des Moines for the 10th annual National Junior High Finals Rodeo. It runs June 19 through 28 at the Iowa State Fairgrounds.
The weekend’s warm and sunny weather placed the roping competition in the outdoor arena; goat tying, pole bending and barrel racing were at the indoor arena.
The junior high division of the South Dakota High School Rodeo Association is a size-scaled competition series that includes boys breakaway roping, goat tying, chute dogging (a variation of bull dogging for the younger set), bull riding, bareback and saddle bronc steer riding, team roping, ribbon roping, girls barrel racing and breakaway roping, goat tying and pole bending.
The events including rough stock and chute dogging are in the outdoor arena and timed events are in the indoor arena.
The junior high competition usually is also a preview of some of the top high school rodeo competitors – and many of the top young riders have gone on into professional rodeo events.
New this year in the rough stock category are events for junior high riders leading up to high school rodeo and beyond. Steers are rigged out as horses in bareback bronc and saddle bronc.
Technically those new events are informal this year, but they will be required nationwide next year.
The reason for the new events is to help young rough stock riders develop the skills for the events when they get into high school competition and will be riding horses out of the chute.
Although rodeo is South Dakota’s state sport, it’s not sanctioned by the state’s school activities association. The state school rodeo association does require the same academic and conduct standards as school athletics.
Special awards:
AQHA Horse of the Year competitor: Boy, Jace Engesser of Spearfish, girl, Emilee Pauley of Wall.
Ariat “Put your best foot forward” award, Sawyer Gilbert of Buffalo.
Ticket and sponsorship salesmanship, T.J. Schmidt of Belle Fourche.
National team
Barrel racing: first Kaydin Davis of Dupree, second Taylor Hanson of Belle Fourche, third Jill Donnelly of Elk
Point, fourth Jessica Peterson of Rapid City.
Pole bending: First Cassidy March of Hot Springs, second Taylor Hanson of Belle Fourche, third Riley
Donnelly of Elk Point, fourth Jessica Peterson of Rapid City.
Boys goat tying: First Jace Engesser of Spearfish, second Trevor Olson of Mud Butte, third Thane Lockhard of Oelrichs, fourth Harland Groves of Faith.
Girls goat tying first Emilee Pauley of Wall, second Cheylee Nagel of Springfield, third Tatum Lauing of Oral, fourth Mikenzy Miller of Faith.
Bull riding: First Dawson Reedy Philip, second Hunter Johnson of Kadoka, third T.J. Schmidt of Belle Fourche, fourth Cole Brewer of Dupree.
Chute dogging: First Hunter Johnson of Kadoka, second Carter Kennedy of Beresford, third Jesse Thybo of Belle Fourche, fourth Trevor Olson of Mud Butte.
Boys breakaway roping: First Bodie Mattson of Sturgis, second Payton Pirrung of Hartford, third Blair Lammers of Hartford, fourth Trevor Olson of Mud Butte.
Girls breakaway roping: First Jill Donnelly, second Kailyn Groves of Faith, third Tatum Lauing of Oral, fourth Kaydin Davis of Dupree.
Boys tie-down roping: First Thane Lockhart of Oelrichs, second Cooper Crago of Belle Fourche, third Landin Sivertsen of Ree Heights, fourth Marty McPherson of Piedmont.
Ribbon roping (may be coed teams): First Cooper Crago of Belle Fourche and Keisha Rayhill of Martin, second Wacey Brown of Piedmont and Marty McPherson of Piedmont, third Jill Donnelly of Elk Point and Blair Lammers of Hartford, fourth Cole Brewer of Dupree and Shantel Brewer of Dupree.
Team roping (may be coed teams): First Bodie Mattson of Sturgis and Jace Engesser of Spearfish, second Wynn Schaack of Wall and Chance Derner of New Underwood, third Tarin Arneson of Enning and Marty McPherson of Piedmont, fourth Tater Moody of Woonsocket and Cayden Slykhuis of Letcher.
National NRA shooting team: First Tee McAmis of Belle Fourche, second Sami Jo Schumacher of Beresford, third Dillon Sackett of Alcester and fourth Kassidy Sawvel of Quinn.
State Champions
Trevor Olson of Mud Butte won all-around cowboy honors; Bodie Mattson of Sturgis won rookie cowboy honors.
Jill Donnelly of Elk Point won all-around cowgirl honors and Kaydin Davis of Dupree took rookie cowgirl honors.
Barrel racing: First Kaydin Davis of Dupree, second Taylor Hanson of Belle Fourche, third Jessica Peterson of Rapid City, fourth, Trista Reinert of Wall.
Pole bending: First Cassidy March of Hot Springs, second Jessica Peterson of Rapid City, third Madi Moody of Letcher, fourth Mikenzy Miller of Faith.
Girls goat tying: First Mikenzy Miller of Faith, second Emilee Pauley of Wall, third Cheylee Nagel of Springfield, fourth Tatum Lauing of Oral.
Boys goat tying: First Jace Engesser of Springfield, second Thane Lockhart of Oelrichs, third Trevor Olson of Mud Butte, fourth Harland Groves of Faith.
Bull riding: First Dawson Reedy of Philip, second Hunter Johnson of Kadoka, third T.J. Schmidt of Belle Fourche, fourth Cole Brewer of Dupree.
Chute dogging: First Jesse Thybo of Belle Fourche, second Hunter Johnson of Kadoka, third Carter Kennedy of Beresford, fourth Luke Henninger of Ft. Pierre.
Boy’s breakaway roping: First Bodie Mattson of Sturgis, second Payton Pirrung of Hartford, third Cayden Slykhuis of Letcher, fourth Blair Lammers of Hartford.
Girls breakaway roping: First Kaydin Davis of Dupree, second Jill Donnelly of Elk Point, third Kailyn Groves of Faith, fourth Wacey Brown of Piedmont.
Boy’s tie-down roping: First Cooper Crago of Belle Fourche, second Thane Lockhart of Oelrichs, third Marty McPherson of Piedmont, fourth Landon Sivertsen of Ree Heights.
Ribbon roping (may be coed teams): First Cooper Crago of Belle Fourche and Keisha Rayhill of Martin, second Marty McPherson of Piedmont and Wacey Brown of Piedmont, third Carter Kennedy of Beresford and Riley Donnelly of Elk Point, fourth Cole Brewer of Dupree and Shantel Brewer of Dupree.
Team roping (may be coed teams): First Bodie Mattson of Sturgis and Jace Engesser of Spearfish, second Cayden Slykhuis of Letcher and Tater Moody of Woonsocket, third Wynn Schaack of Wall and Chance Derner of New Underwood, fourth Marty McPherson of Piedmont and Tarin Arneson of Enning.
Bareback riding: First T.J. Schmidt of Belle Fourche, second Cash Wilson of Wall, third Cole Brewer of Dupree.
Saddle bronc riding: Cooper Crago of Belle Fourche, second Dawson Reedy of Philip, third Stran Smith of Lantry, fourth Luke Henninger of Ft. Pierre.
NRA shooting: First Tee McAmis of Belle Fourche, second Sami Jo Schumacher of Beresford, third Dillon Sackett of Alcester and fourth, Kassidy Sawvell of Quinn.
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