BLACKFOOT – Tuesday dawned with cloudy skies and rain, just what you might expect in this year of COVID-19, when so many things have not gone according to plan.
Despite the cool, damp weather, fans turned out in force and properly exercised social distancing in the grandstands as the Idaho State High School Rodeo Finals started on time and the athletes posted some outstanding times and scores.
It began with a clean sweep in the bareback riding in favor of the riders as all four entrants made the eight-second ride and scored, led by District 4 rider Sage Allen who posted a score of 66. JJ Hunsaker finished in second with a score of 59, while Trevor Kay was third with a posted score of 54 and Sterling Rogers rounded out the quartet with a score of 45.
Pole bending followed with a good time posted by Taylor Williams, who finished in 21.882. In second was Ashlyn Hill with a time of 22.114, and Olivia Farr was third with a time of 22.122.
Steer wrestling followed, and it was the first event that really gave cowboys some trouble with the sticky footing of the arena. Eight of the 13 wrestlers failed to post a time. Those that did had trouble keeping up with Riggin Smith, who posted a time of 5.72 to lead the way. Jett Vanbiezen was second with a time of 7.75 and Kizer Landon checked in third with a time of 10.00 seconds flat.
Freshman Meg Fillmore, who posted a quick time of 9.34 seconds, led the field in the goat tying event.
Fillmore, from Sugar City, is a state champion basketball player to boot. Following her were Brylee Smith, who posted a 9.54 time, and Macey Fillmore with a time of 9.72 seconds. Defending state champion Laynee Gregersen was fourth with a time of 9.91 seconds.
The rodeo then shifted back to a rough stock event as saddle bronc riding took center stage. Only one of the four contestants was able to make an eight-second ride, although Martin Law was close before he went off on the right side of his horse. The lone cowboy to ride his mount was Wyatt Lloyd, who was able to score a 49 point ride to lead the event after one performance.
Breakaway roping was next for the young ladies and the action was fast and furious right from the start. Paige Bennett turned in a 2.94 second run as only the fourth competitor to go. Before the event was over, there would be four times under three seconds.
Lili Bell of District 4 led the way with a time of 2.58 seconds, just edging out Millie Greenwood of District 2 with a time of 2.59 seconds. Third was Alex Roe with a time of 2.82 seconds, leaving Bennett’s time good for fourth.
The action then turned to tie-down roping and the calves were officially the winner of the event, as they proved to be tougher than the cowboys by a score of 9-8 as there nine no times and eight cowboys who posted scores.
Leading the way was Waid Dalton who posted a 9.85 time to win the performance. In second was Riggin Smith with a time of 12.22 seconds, while Tom Simpson of Malad was third with a time of 13.70. Blackfoot’s Nick Chappell ended up in fourth with a time of 13.76 seconds.
With the barrels placed, the girls came a-running as five different ladies posted times in the 17-second range in the barrel racing event. Abby Nordstrom of District 7 was quickest of the quick with a time of 17.709 seconds. In second was Isabel Hyde of District 4, who posted a time of 17.723, and in third was Shae Risch, who had a time of 17.724 seconds.
Rounding out the top five was Shelby Higgins with a time of 17.766 and Paige Bennett with a time of 17.990 seconds.
Team roping was next and again the arena and the steers were too much for the majority of the teams in this competition. Only eight of the competing teams were able to post times in the event on Tuesday morning, led by Ally McDaniel and Devon McDaniel with a time of 7.74 seconds. Finishing second were Cooper Walker and Jesse Lindsay with a time of 9.86 seconds and third was the team of Cason Barker and Macoy Ream with a time of 9.87 seconds.
As usual, the last event of the opening performance was the bull riding, and the bulls performed up to expectations. Only two of the eight riders, Sterling Rogers and Riley Barg, made their eight-second ride.
Barg was the first rider to leave the chute and he quickly posted a score of 70 on his bull, which gave the rest of the riders something to shoot at. The only other rider to last the full eight seconds was Rogers, who posted a 62 to claim the second place in the performance.
Rodeo action at the Eastern Idaho State Fairgrounds continued on Tuesday night with the second performance of the first go-round and then will return on Wednesday morning with the third performance of the first go-round before action will shift to the second go-round on Wednesday night.
The matinee performances will start at 9:30 a.m. and the evening performances begin at 6:30 p.m.
The rodeo will conclude on Friday morning with the short go-round, which will determine the 2020 Idaho State High School Rodeo Finals champions.