Youngsters' time to shine in the rodeo arena

The Great Northern Fair has many great things about it, but one of the great pastimes has always been the Havre Junior Rodeo, as young cowboys and cowgirls from across the Hi-Line take to the arena at the Great Northern Fairgrounds to show what they can do.

And Wednesday night, when it was all said and done, over 300 participants competed well into the night in three different age groups, in a number of different events to jumpstart a three-day stretch of rodeo events.

One the great things about junior rodeos is getting to see the youngsters get out and compete and in the 4-8 age group, there were a number of standout performances. In the 4-8 barrel racing, first place went to Hayden Strauser, while Addison Conway wound up in second. Strauser also was second in the 4-8 goat untying. First place in that same event went to Tearia Sunchild. In sheep riding, it was Gauge Scoveo, who finished in first, followed by Aspen Burcham, who was second. And last but not least, in the 4-8 group, the flag race was won by Jeremiah Brockie. Tahlia Walker ended up second.

Although there were some really great performers in the junior rodeo, the competition in the 9-13 age group was as good as any. The top cowgirl in the group was Mary Gibson, who won two different events, goat tying and pole bending, while also finishing second in barrel racing. However, cowboy Vance Wingard also had an outstanding night, winning the barrel racing and also getting second in pole bending. In the 9-13 steer riding, Lane Snider walked away victorious, beating out Kellen Colliflower, who finished second. The other top finisher in the 9-13 age group was Zayin Swinney, who was the runner up to Gibson in goat tying.

In the oldest age group, 14-18, there was also plenty of excitement. Reece Miller ended up joining Gibson as one of the top performers on the night, as he was the only cowboy to walk away with more than one title, as he won both chute dogging and calf tying. Miller also paired up with Cole Hould to win the team roping competition, as well. Hould was another cowboy who had a good night, finishing second in chute dogging and teaming up with Tucker Hould and Taylor Harwood to win the monkey race, a special event that closed out the rodeo.

Another top performer in the 14-18 age group was Allee Bartlett, who won pole bending and also finished second in barrel racing, which was won by Sierra Jones. Breakaway roping in 14-18 was won by Stephanie Rollins, while Kylie Mikuski, who finished second in breakaway, won goat tying. Haelee Essebadgers also placed among the 14-18, finishing second in goat tying, while Kendra Murnion took second in pole bending.