The White Pine Junior High School Rodeo Team athletes have completed their journey to Des Moines, Iowa for the Junior High School World Finals Rodeo and have returned home safely. The rodeo was held June 23rd through the 29th at the Iowa State Fair facility. The event hosted over 2,000 of the top rodeo athletes from the US, Canada, Mexico and Australia, and over 1,700 of their equine partners.
The 2,610 mile round trip adventure led them across five states and took several days to complete; stopping frequently to care for their equine teammates. They encountered extreme weather in their travels; from tornado warnings and winds in excess of 55 mph, to flooding rains and damaging hail, followed by heat indexes of well over 100 degrees and crippling humidity. Despite the conditions, they pressed on, chasing dreams.
Upon their arrival, they completed the extensive check in process, had their horses vetted, set up stalls and camp, and were finally settled. They knew their draw and the performances in which they’d compete and they were able to begin preparing for their upcoming events. They were also able to take part in some of the activities planned for them throughout the week. Meetings, dances, ice cream socials, field days, meet and greet activities, tradeshow shopping, volleyball tournaments, goat ropings, event practices, jackpot ropings and barrel races, and those are just some of the on site activities provided. Rodeo performances were held twice a day; 9 AM and 7 PM (full rodeos consisting of all 13 events in two arenas). Practices were held daily, promptly at 5 AM and jackpots often extended up until 2 AM, making for very early mornings and very late nights with a very busy day in between.
Sawyer Bliss qualified for the world finals in ribbon roping with his partner Taylor Hill of Winnemucca, NV and in team roping with his partner Henry Buchanan of Eureka, NV. Sawyer drew up in both of his events in the same performances, which is not typical. He drew performances 1 and 12; Sunday night and Saturday morning. Once he completed his ribbon roping run, he would then team rope, running both runs in a span of roughly 20 minutes.
In the first go of ribbon roping, they drew first out. Sawyer got a good out and roped his calf quickly. They both got to the calf to discover that no ribbon had been connected to the calf’s tail. This grave error on the part of the association staff, ultimately cost them a qualifying time in the first go. They were required to make another run at the end of the round. This run left them empty handed and with a no time in the first go, a devastating blow to the team. The tough luck extended itself to their first go in the team roping. A mishap with Sawyer’s hat fouled his head shot and sent them out with a no time in the team roping as well. It just wasn’t his night.
Second go in the ribbon roping didn’t yield any better results than the first. The knowledge of being out of the average put them looking at the possibility of having a performance or, best case scenario, a go round win, so they had to be fast. Sawyer took a fast shot out of the box, but wasn’t able to connect and they walked out with another no time. He regrouped and walked back up the alley for his second go team roping run. They drew a steer known to be difficult, stacking the odds before the run even began. Sawyer got the perfect read on his barrier and got the steer roped fast. Henry cleaned it up on the heels, but slipped a leg, making them a 13.88 including the five second penalty, placing them 7th in the perf, 34th in the go and 54th in the world. That’s still in the top third of the world and the top team from Nevada. It wasn’t the fairy-tale ending they planned, but it’s growth and experience to build a strong future on.
Kiala Reynolds qualified for the world finals in the barrel racing. Kiala drew performances 2 and 11; Monday morning and Friday night. She was able to watch performance one on Sunday night to help formulate a plan for her run the next morning. A lot of strategy goes into a barrel run; reading the ground, optimizing the arena set up, pattern size, score length, etc. She knew going into the first go that her horse was not feeling 100%. The long trip, the extreme heat, humidity, the many runs over the rodeo season, all carry weight and wear on these equine athletes. Her first go run was somewhat reserved and safe, running a 17.250 and placing 23rd in the performance and 106th in the go. As you can imagine, the thought of being on television, the fact that you are shoulder to shoulder with the best there is, and running under conditions unfamiliar to you, can really rattle your faith and focus. She came back more confident and deliberate in her second go run, running a 16.324, placing 14th in the performance and 73rd in the go, a significant improvement. Her average placing was 69th in the world, which was not quite enough to make it back to the short go, and definitely not where her aspirations were, but still a very respectable placing, considering there were over 200 of the world’s best barrel racers in attendance. The experience Kiala gained in Iowa is irreplaceable and will help build her foundation for the years to come.
What an incredible and memorable journey these two athletes were able to embark on. The experiences had and the lessons learned along the way will undoubtedly help shape their future and impact the development of the great people they are becoming. They both would like to extend a heartfelt “Thank You” to so many generous individuals in the community for conveying well wishes, kind thoughts of encouragement, prayers for safety, and even monetary donations to help make all of this possible. Thank you for believing in them and for acknowledging what a tremendous feat qualifying for such an event is. We will surely see them in high places again and they will continue to represent Nevada and White Pine County so very well. Now it’s time to head back to the practice pen, the 2024- 25 season starts in August!
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