National High School Rodeo Finals

Making it to the national high school rodeo finals is something I will never forget. Nationals is the biggest youth rodeo in the world and is made up of over 1,500 contestants. Each contestant competes in 2 rounds and possibly a short round depending on how well they do. Making nationals had always been a dream of mine and last year I achieved that. I made it in the cutting horse division and to do so I had to be one of the top four girls in the state of Oklahoma. Although nationals didn?t turn out as well as I had hoped it was an honor to have competed against the best in the world. Making it to nationals was not easy. After countless hours of practicing I began to feel confident with my horse and myself but then the unthinkable happened.

I had plenty of time to think about my runs considering that Rock Springs is 15 long hours away. Once we got there is when all the nerves started to get me. I found out when I drew up and it just happened to be Sunday night and Saturday morning which meant I had almost a full week to see my competition go. It also meant I only had two days to mentally prepare myself. On Saturday morning I got up early and worked Fancy one last time before the round that night. Saturday seemed to drag on but finally it was show time. Walking into the arena was the most nerve-wracking moment of my life; the bleachers were packed and there were people with big cameras everywhere. It felt as though I was famous! As the announcer called my name the only thing I could think about was making a solid run. My run for the first round was good considering my heart was about to beat out of my chest. When I heard the announce say ?144? I was ecstatic! Then a big wave a relief rushed over me. I had made a clean run, which was my goal. My first round was over with and now it was time to wait and see if my score held up throughout the