GILLETTE, WYOMING S GILLETTE NEWS RECORD S Monday, July 17, 2017 PAGE A3

FROM THE FRONT

They said it
Oh my God, Im going to die.
ILA RANKING (NO. 1056) OF FORSYTH, MONTANA
As she and another woman tried to walk across the road at
Morningside Park while navigating a host of golf carts whizzing by
Sunday morning to join the mandatory meeting at Cam-plex.

Welcome to Wyoming. We work real hard to talk with

Mother Nature. Sometimes she listens and sometimes
she doesnt.
DIXIE HUXTABLE OF DOUGLAS
First vice president of the National High School Rodeo Association
Board of Directors as she held one hand on her cowboy hat so it didnt
fly off during stiff winds Sunday morning.

Weve already had one cart vs. a vehicle accident.

No one was injured. Hopefully that was our last. ...
We cant have people sitting on laps or backwards
in the carts. It happens every year.
QUENTIN WHISKERS REYNOLDS
The Campbell County undersheriff addressed the contestants Sunday
morning.

Were putting on the largest youth cutting in the world News Record Photos/Alex Goodlett

this week. We have 200 cutters. ... I want to tell Gillette Participants from team Texas look on during a mandatory meeting at Cam-plex Morningside Park on Sunday, the
first day of action for the 2017 National High School Finals Rodeo. With 61 members, the team from the Lone Star
how important this spot is. It means so much to us. state not only returns as the defending national champs, but also brings the largest contingent of competitors.

SUE HART OF WASHINGTON

Cutting arena director for this years NHSFR.
Texas: Lone Star State returns 1 individual champion from 2016
Continued from Page A1
They had to take my microphone away. Its broke.
Year-round competition
KATHY KINTZ
In Texas, there are compet-
Said the lost and found coordinator Sunday morning. It might be like
itive rodeos to attend year-
losing an arm for Kintz. She said the microphone she uses was taken round, which gives Lone Star
away because another one used to announce other events had broken. competitors an advantage over
those from states with colder
winter climates.
Although the state is suc-
cessful in other sports and
is traditionally thought of as
a high school football pow-
erhouse, those 33 national
titles make Texas the Yankees
of high school rodeo in the
United States.
A major contributing factor
that allows Texans to work
endless hours at the sport is
the weather.
It only snows, like, once
every 20 years, so were able
to be out putting the work
in,said Will Wright, a dual-
event qualifier in shooting
sports.
Barnard said he practices at
least eight hours a week, every
News Record Photo/Kelly Wenzel week. He called it a blessing
to be able to rodeo 52 weeks
Iowa Queen Maggie Burke has decorated her golf cart to a year, and that with the extra
look like a pig. work comes big rewards.
Size matters
Tricked out: Some put a lot of in competition
Second largest only to
The home-school factor
Many families elect to home-
school their children, and for
rodeo that gives them time to
be on a horse every day.
Ty Harris, a qualifier in tie-
down roping and team roping
from San Angelo, is a home-
schooled cowboy. He said he
works on his rodeo technique
five to six hours a day.
But he believes Texas overall
is successful for many other
reasons.
There is so much oppor-
tunity here when it comes to
the coaching and the horses,
he said. There are so many
people roping at a high level
it makes everyone else better
being around that competi-
tion.
Harris, who attended a pub-
lic school until he was a high
school sophomore, also gave
up basketball because of his
love for rodeo. Bray, the Texas
team roping state champion
with Harris, graduated from
Lipan High School and said
there are four rodeos in his
area each week.
His school has a great hoops
program too, but when they
practice basketball, Im rop-
ing.

thought and preparation into it News Record Photo/Ed Glazar

Continued from Page A1
when asked about the New
Mexico flag and poster on her
cart.
Its fun to decorate, she said.
But really, we do it so we can
find our cart out here.
In addition to the decorations,
the golf carts serve a practical
purpose of helping competitors
and their families get around the
vast Cam-plex grounds.
This year, Denver-based Golf
Tournaments Inc. is providing
golf carts. Its the first time the
company has been the cart
contractor for the NHSFR, said
Misty Kemmit, the companys
director of operations.
Semitrailers and custom trail-
ers started delivering carts from
as far away as California to Cam-
plex last month. By the time the
rodeo opened Thursday, 760
carts were parked at Black Hills
RV Park waiting for contestants
who had reserved them.
Golf Tournament Inc. employ-
ees had most of the carts out by
Sunday, when official NHSFR
events began, but they will be
around all week to field service
calls, Kemmit said.
GTI also is patrolling around
Cam-plex to ensure that no one
misuses the carts. Often, kids
ride the carts above the marked
speed limits, which generally
range from 15-20 mph. They
zoom down dirt roads at the
campgrounds and jump off the
curbs around the event facilities,
Kemmit said.
There could be reckless
driving, overloading of the carts
or playing games like throwing
water balloons off the carts,
Kemmit said. We just dont
want anyone to get hurt.
When NHSFR ends Sunday,
Golf Tournaments Inc. will ship
the carts to Minnesota, South
Dakota and California.
Alaska in the U.S., Texas
rodeo is divided into 10
regions, all with a high num-
Bret Barnard, the 2016 national champion trap shoot-
ber of participants. Each has
er, has returned to the National High School Finals
its strengths and weaknesses,
Rodeo for team Texas.
said Cotton George, the state
high school rodeo director.
The top 10 athletes advance
Texas national champions to the state rodeo, so getting to
Number of national champions from Texas in each event, plus the state finals is a big accom-
most recent champion: plishment itself, with 100 kids
n Bareback riding: 7 since 1949 (2008 Jake Brown) in each event. From there, a
top-four finish is required to
n Barrel racing: 13 since 1951 (2005 Haley Garrison)
advance to the NHSFR.
n Boys cutting: 16 since 1951 (2014 Samyray Hooper)
Texas only brings the cream
n Breakaway roping: 9 since 1953 (2013 Cadi Wood) of the crop to the NHSFR,
n Bull riding: 9 since 1950 (2007 Colby Scallions) state secretary Susan Baldwin
n Girls cutting: 25 since 1949 (2009 Kyle Lancaster) said.
n Goat tying: 3 since 1972 (1995 Amanda Kay) A lot of good competitors
n Pole bending: 8 since 1955 (2015 Avery Weatherman) get left at home, but in Texas,
its almost a 24/7 deal, she
n Reined cow horse: 0 since 2015
said.
n Saddle bronc riding: 4 since 1949 (1991 Will Jordan)
The competitive nature of
n Steer wrestling: 7 since 1949 (2002 Marty Eakin) Texas state competition also
n Team roping: 2 since 1972 (2000 Justin Lovell is good preparation for nation-
and Shane Powell) als, said first-time qualifier
n Tie-down roping: 20 since 1949 (2008 Reese Riemer) Paden Bray.
n Shooting sports: 1 since 2010 (2016 Bret Barnard, The state rodeo in Texas is
trap shooting) a lot like nationals, Bray said.
A way of life
Opportunity is at its highest
in Texas, where cowboys and
cowgirls are basically born
with a rope in their hands.
Chet Weitz, who qualified
with a fourth-place state finish
in calf roping, said he swung
his first rope when he was 13
months old.
Honestly, I think there are
more people and more talent
out here. I dont know how to
phrase it, he said. Rodeo is
more of a way of life in Texas
and there is a lot more demand
for it.
Weitz added that training
isnt different than what ath-
letes from other states do, its
just more ingrained in the cul-
ture of Texas, he said.
Ross Freeman, the states
bull riding champion, said the
Lone Star State doesnt have
a hidden or secret advantage.
Now, its a generational legacy
of excellence that motivates
todays Texas rodeo athletes.

Welcome rodeo
contestants
Your

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