Region VIII

By CARLY RAE COLVIN – Performance Reporter

For many high school rodeo competitors, it is a privilege and honor to qualify to compete at THSRA state finals in Abilene. This year was an overall exceptional year for Region VIII cowboys and cowgirls. While not everyone had the runs at state finals that they hoped for each year, this year Region VIII had eight contestants qualify for the upcoming high school national finals in Gillette, Wyoming. Brinley Lipincott in the girls cutting, Logan Harlan, and Aden Bernhagen in the boys cutting. Also Campbell Pegues, Jack Shofner, and Kirby McNeil qualified in light rifle, London Gorham in barrel racing, and Layten Mangum in the reined cow horse. Kirby Mcneil and London Gorham finished state finals as Reserve Champions. And Garrett Talamantes was elected for his second term as the THSRA Student President.

Region VIII is sending Layten Mangum to national finals in Gillette as the STATE CHAMPION in Reined Cow Horse. Mangum is a senior and what a way to finish his last year in THSRA. Layten said he felt lucky to have done the best he could on his runs. He was especially happy for his older sister, Camry, who had been riding and training her horse that she let him borrow for the event. Camry is an Region VIII alumni.

The reined cow horse event competitor numbers may be smaller than many of the other events, but the competition is no less steep. The contestants are challenged to complete a reining pattern and demonstrate ability in the cow work. The rein work involves a pattern with specific maneuvers including slow and fast circles, flying lead changes, spinning, sliding stops, and backing up. In the reining portion, the judges are looking for smoothness, finesse, attitude, quickness and speed control. In the cow work the contestant must hold the cow on one end of the arena, demonstrate a run down the fence with turns in both directions and finally move the cow to the center of the arena and cause the cow to complete a circle in both directions. It is both fun and exciting for competitors and spectators alike.

The National High School Rodeo Finals is a fun opportunity to make new friends from across the country. The competition is an opportunity for contestants to show their best abilities. It takes hard work and dedication to succeed under pressure. To get there the qualifiers have put the time and effort into their practice. We know they will do their very best to represent the state of Texas on a national scale. Each year Texas has always done very well as a state. For the past seven years Team Texas has won nationals. Our eight Region VIII contestants will help make this the eighth year for Texas to reign as Champions. We wish the best of luck to all the national qualifiers and hope that they do their best knowing that God is with them every step of the way.

By EMMA MCCARTHY – Performance Reporter

Cody Johnson once said, “if you got a dream, chase it”. Well, whether it’s owning your own ranch, cattle company, or winning that gold buckle at the NFR, the cowboy’s dream is always the same, and our region 9 kids are headed for that dream. We have 4 contestants going to nationals this year which are: Tyler Calhoun in the tiedown, Riley Farris and Breanna Collier in cutting and Skyler Nichols in the barrels. Each of these kids did great in their events and had a blast at state. Riley Farris tells me her favorite memory from state was going to an escape room with her friends. Riley is a sophomore going to Madisonville High School. She has been cutting for 8 years. This is her second year to go to state and her second year making it to nationals. She was national champion last year and we are hoping she keeps that crown. Whether these kids win or lose, I'm betting they are going to have tons of fun at nationals. They are going to have several friends and family cheering for them. A lot of contestants have overcome something this year to get to where they are.

This year, for Breanna Collier, it was her health. Breanna is a 16 year old sophmore that has been cutting for 5 years. Before making it to state she had serious health issues where she says she couldn't even get off the couch for 3 months. Breanna said she had to relearn everything and accommodate to what her body was telling her. But one day she told her mom, “I'm gonna show at the world finals no matter what anyone says”. Breanna’s mom looked at her and questioned if that was a good idea but Breanna said, “God has a plan for me and he will take care of me”. At that moment, she thought to herself that was crazy. She couldn't even get off the couch let alone ride a horse but the next time she got on a horse was the first round of world finals and ended up placing 2nd in the worlds finals. Breanna says if she could give advice to the upcoming rodeo generation it would be, “always show up and give 110% even when no one else is and the most important thing is that sportsmanship separates the good from the best”. In times like this, it's good to have people to support us and push us to be our best. There are tons of parents and other contestants that push us to be the best we can be, and we thank them.

Our other two contestants that made it to nationals, Tyler Calhoun and Skyler Nichols, both had a blast at state and are on their way to nationals. Hopefully they will win the national championship and get the cowboy’s dream. You might be wondering, “what is the cowboy’s dream”? Well the cowboy’s dream is going out and doing your best with whatever you are doing and giving it 110%. Win or lose, have a good attitude and always putting God first.