Jul 11, 2024 | By: Charlie Yaeger
Local Cowgirls to Compete at National High School Finals Rodeo
For the past 75 years, the National High School Rodeo Association has held a national finals to crown the best cowboys and cowgirls in high school rodeo. And next week, two area cowgirls will make their way to Rock Springs, Wyoming to compete for a championship buckle and prove they are among the best in the nation.
But rodeo isn’t just a sport. It’s a way of life according Brea Richards, a freshman at Pine River-Backus High School.
“Well, you get up and you check on [the horses] and then you go to school or you’re doing something with horses, cleaning your trailer, and it really takes your whole life,” said Brea. “But if you love it enough, you’ll stick with it.”
Brea was this year’s Minnesota state champion in breakaway roping and was also named Minnesota Rookie of the Year. Now she heads to the National High School Finals Rodeo to ride against some of the best.
“I look forward to meeting new people from all across the country and the world, even,” she said with excitement. “And getting to compete against that kind of salty competition that will push ya to be better.”
She’ll be competing in breakaway roping and goat tying, two disciplines that require hours of practice and trust building for both Brea, and her horse, Pep.
“We’ve kind of grown together as a rookie on a rookie,” she revealed. “I enjoy learning with [horses] and it teaches you a lot more life lessons. The steps that go into it are a lot more rewarding and having that success, of like – [being] the breakaway champion. That was a huge thing for me to accomplish and achieve because I never really came into state finals thinking that I was going to get maybe third or fourth. I just wanted a spot. But achieving stuff like that really makes you just want to keep pushing and keep driving yourself to get better.”
Maddy Fisher, a freshman at Bemidji High School, also understands the importance of trusting your horse. She grew up training them on her parents’ ranch and now competes at rodeos with her horse, Valor.
“At the end of the day, when you’ve rode all these horses and taken all that time, it’s really nice to just have a horse that you connect with,” said Maddy. “And it’s really just fun to say that, ‘Oh yeah, I trained that horse,’ or, ‘I bred that horse,’ or ‘You were around it when it was a baby.’ It’s just all really cool.”
After finishing top four in poles and barrel racing at the State Finals Rodeo, Maddy has also punched her ticket to the NHSFR in Rock Springs.
“I never went into state finals thinking I was going to go there. I was just hoping,” she admits. “I’m really excited to not only support Minnesota, but the Bemidji area as well, and it really me makes happy I get to do it. And I know all the people that have helped me around, like, in this area and are always cheering me on are going to be happy about it.”
But for Maddy and Brea, it’s about more than competing for a national title. It’s also about being role models and paving a path for other young girls trying to break into the traditionally male-dominated arena of rodeo.
“For rodeo, I feel barrels is like bulls for the girls,” Maddy explained. “All the girls stay to the end to watch barrels. And there’s always that little girl watching in the stands. It’s always just such a fun thing.”
“Left and right, girls are coming into it and it’s just really fun to be a part of that upcoming generation of women taking over the roping part of it,” Brea added. “Team roping in the High School Rodeo Association, most of it’s boys’ teams. But being a girl in it, it’s really…really, really fun.”