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BHSS Foundation, Wrangler Team Up For High School Rodeo Showcase
Rapid City, SD -- They call it “the big barn.”
Similar to any kids dream of making it to “the show” in professional
baseball, in the sport of rodeo competing in the pro’s arena is well, a
thrill.
For the top three South Dakota high school rodeo athletes in each event from
each region (Northwest, Southwest and Eastern) the dream of competing in an
arena where legends come from is about to become a reality.
Billed as the South Dakota High School Regional 20X Extreme Showcase, the
stage is set for Saturday, Feb. 1 beginning at 1:30 p.m. when Sutton Rodeo will
present its newest event competition during the Black Hills Stock Show Rodeo.
With Wrangler behind the event as the first in a televised series of featured
high school rodeos around the country, this will add a new level of competition
for the young athletes to experience.
And some nice perks too including two $500 scholarships being made available
by Wrangler and the Black Hills Stock Show Foundation. “Along with being an
outstanding addition to the arena,” says Foundation President Joe Norman, “it’s
a good addition to the Foundation’s scholarship program that annually awards
scholarships to students competing in the state high school rodeo finals.”
According to Linda Gilbert, Buffalo, SD High School Rodeo Assn. Secretary,
the changes in the pro ranks has resulted in creating a new avenue for up and
coming rodeo athletes to compete in an atmosphere where they could only look on
and dream about in the past.
“There was an opportunity to fill performance time and Suttons came to high
school rodeo to do it. It’s a wonderful thing for the kids to be able to rodeo
in the winter time - kids who work all year round and who for the first time,
will be in front of a different audience than they’re used to. We truly
believe rodeo is South Dakota’s number one sport and we’re tickled to show
it.”
It’s long been a goal of Steve and Kim Sutton (the fourth generation to
produce rodeos) to feature high school rodeo during Stock Show. There’s never
been the space or the time to get that done - until now. “Steve has always
been so proud of South Dakota high school rodeo kids,” says Kim. “Their
talent and commitment and how well so many of them do in collegiate ,
semi-professional and professional rodeo careers.
“The benefit to the kids is two-fold; one is they have opportunity to
compete in a showcase level rodeo like this so they get that experience of a new
level of competition. They are so excited to be in the BHSS Rodeo arena where
they’ve watched world champions compete.
Secondly, the confidence they get from doing an event like this is a boost to
their competitive skills, important in building their rodeo careers.”
That and the analytical eye of university and college coaches who will be in
the seats, looking for talent to build their own rodeo programs. And that can
mean extensive scholarship and rodeoing opportunities for the nine contenders in
each event.
With the event featuring the top three high school contestants in each event
from each region based on year-end points from regional and state competition,
Sutton sees it as a broad based representation of talent from across the state.
Gilbert agrees and considers it as a way to also diminish the old east river
/ west river standoffs that occur at many competitive sporting levels in the
state - including high school rodeo. “We work hard to overcome that. Here’s
a chance for these kids not to compete against one another, but to strut their
stuff together.”
And quite simply, “What that means is people will see some of the best
rodeo anywhere,” says John Johnson, a Foundation director who helped establish
the non-profit organization’s scholarship program 10 years ago and who has
served as a state and national high school rodeo director.
“The caliber of contestant at this event is second to none. With that comes
Sutton Rodeo’s years of experience in producing state and national high school
rodeos. It’s a win/win - for the kids, the sport and for the thousands of
people who have come to expect good rodeo at stock show. They won’t be
disappointed.
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