A6 BAKER CITY HERALD • SATuRDAY, MAY 28, 2022
SPORTS
HIGH SCHOOL RODEO
Baker students qualify for
state rodeo in Prineville
State finals
slated for
June 8-11
BY IAN CRAWFORD
icrawford@bakercityherald.com
A small herd of Baker
High students have qualified
to make their brand during
the Oregon High School
Rodeo Association’s state fi-
nals rodeo June 8-11 at the
Crook County Fairgrounds
in Prineville.
Baker competitors who
have qualified are Dysan
Robb, Clark Norton and Win-
ter Smith in cutting, Bryson
Martin in bronc riding, and
Colton Clark and Macey
Moore in team roping.
They’re members of the
Eastern Oregon Rodeo Club.
“Most of them have been
competing since they were
maybe 5 or so,” said Billie
Deal, advisor for the East-
ern Oregon Rodeo Club,
a member of the Oregon
High School Rodeo Asso-
ciation, an independent
but school-supported ro-
deo league.
Cutting is conceptually
simple — separating one cow
from a herd of others. How-
ever, it’s difficult in execution,
requiring a rider and horse
working in tandem.
Team roping has paired
participants, a header and
heeler, who must lasso a cow
by its horns and feet respec-
tively in the quickest possi-
ble time.
Bronc riding is the famil-
iar rodeo event, requiring
the rider to hold fast and
stay loose atop a bucking,
furious bronco.
While the students are
part of a team, they com-
pete as individuals against a
statewide roster.
The Oregon High School
Rodeo Association main-
tains junior, junior high and
Zack Kimball/Contributed Photo
Suzi Smith/Contributed Photo
Winter Smith competes in a cutting competition May 13, 2022, at Burns. Smith qualified for the Oregon
High School Rodeo Association’s state finals rodeo June 8-11 in Prineville.
Conner Norton is the top-ranked member of Baker High School’s trap-
shooting club.
Baker High School
trapshooters qualify
for state event
BY IAN CRAWFORD
icrawford@bakercityherald.com
Suzi Smith/Contributed Photo
Baker’s Dysan Robb competes in a cutting competition May 13, 2022, in Burns. Robb is among the local
rodeo competitors who qualified for the state finals rodeo June 8-11 in Prineville.
high school teams and sup-
ports students even beyond
high school.
“When they reach seniors
they can get rodeo scholar-
ships to colleges around here,
sometimes full rides,” said
Deal, saying that the more
events students compete in
the more scholarships they
may qualify for.
Preparation for the state fi-
nals rodeo is intensive, with
some competitors performing
in up to 14 rodeos. The top
20 in each event will compete
at state.
The top four in each event
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at Prineville will qualify for
the National Finals Rodeo
July 17-23 in Gillette, Wyo-
ming.
Other competitors can
move on to the Silver State
International Rodeo June 30-
July 7 in Winnemucca, Ne-
vada.
Almost two dozen members
of Baker High School’s trap-
shooting team have qualified to
compete in a state tournament
June 24-26 in Hillsboro.
Of the 34 Baker competitors,
23 will travel to Hillsboro, join-
ing as many as 600 shooters at
the three-day event.
Baker’s leading hotshot is
Conner Norton, with an av-
erage of 22.4 targets hit out of
25 per round, meaning he’s
cleaned up 89.6% of his targets
for the season and currently
stands in the top 100 statewide.
He finished his last round with
a perfect 25 targets on his sec-
ond trial.
Joining Norton in the var-
sity group competing at state
are Cris Schuh, second in team
rankings with a round aver-
age of 22; Alex Wise, third at
21.5, and several others within
one point of Wise’s average
— Gage Hatfield, Jack Her-
iza, Ryan Brown, Seth Holden
and Sam Nelson. Other var-
sity competitors who qualified
for the state event are Joe Zik-
mund, Jaxon Ford, Matt Ra-
bourne, Jimmy Sullivan, Alex
Jaca and Ethan Morgan.
Junior varsity qualifiers are
Conner Martin, Remington
Benson, Riley Hurliman, Ryan
Hansen, Keegan Slobig, Ethan
Whiting, Skye Smith, Jose Ar-
menta and Charlie Boulter.
State will be a standalone
tournament, meaning com-
petitors won’t be able to ride
their current standings any
further, but may still qualify
for nationals if they perform
exceptionally.
The team is expecting to be
at the range on the last day,
June 26. Their current stand-
ings will divide them into class
categories, based on experience.
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(541) 523-3679
210 Bridge St., Baker City, OR 97814