LLOYD: High school rodeo highlights toughness and kindness despite adversity
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- Westin Simpson of the Wasatch club competes in the bull riding competition on the final day of the Utah State High School Rodeo Finals at the Wasatch County Events Complex in Heber on Saturday, June 8, 2024.
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- Brennan Orton of the South Utah County club competes in the steer wrestling competition on the final day of the Utah State High School Rodeo Finals at the Wasatch County Events Complex in Heber on Saturday, June 8, 2024.
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- Lamerrill Winters of the Lehi club competes in the bareback riding competition on the final day of the Utah State High School Rodeo Finals at the Wasatch County Events Complex in Heber on Saturday, June 8, 2024.
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- Paislee Davis of the South Utah County club competes in the pole bending competition on the final day of the Utah State High School Rodeo Finals at the Wasatch County Events Complex in Heber on Saturday, June 8, 2024.
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- Avery Hullinger of the South Utah County club competes in the pole bending at the Utah State High School Rodeo Finals at the Wasatch County Events Complex in Heber on Thursday, June 6, 2024.
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- Colton Maio of the Lehi club competes in the bull riding competition on the final day of the Utah State High School Rodeo Finals at the Wasatch County Events Complex in Heber on Saturday, June 8, 2024.
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- Sam Haderlie of the Wasatch club competes in the steer wrestling competition on the final day of the Utah State High School Rodeo Finals at the Wasatch County Events Complex in Heber on Saturday, June 8, 2024.
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- Whitley Hatt of the South Utah County rodeo club competes in the goat tying at the 2024 Utah State High School Rodeo Finals at the Wasatch County Events Complex in Heber on Wednesday, June 5, 2024.
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- Westin Simpson of the Wasatch rodeo club competes in the bareback riding at the 2024 Utah State High School Rodeo Finals at the Wasatch County Events Complex in Heber on Wednesday, June 5, 2024.
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- Kajun Watterson of the South Utah County club competes in the breakaway roping at the Utah State High School Rodeo Finals at the Wasatch County Events Complex in Heber on Thursday, June 6, 2024.
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- Cody Funcannon of the Lehi club competes in the bull riding competition on the final day of the Utah State High School Rodeo Finals at the Wasatch County Events Complex in Heber on Saturday, June 8, 2024.
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- Brit Bradford of the South Utah County club competes in the team roping competition on the final day of the Utah State High School Rodeo Finals at the Wasatch County Events Complex in Heber on Saturday, June 8, 2024.
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- Weston Milner of the South Utah County club competes in the tiedown roping competition on the final day of the Utah State High School Rodeo Finals at the Wasatch County Events Complex in Heber on Saturday, June 8, 2024.
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- Hattie Mae Bigler of the South Utah County club competes in the barrel racing competition on the final day of the Utah State High School Rodeo Finals at the Wasatch County Events Complex in Heber on Saturday, June 8, 2024.
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- Kache King of the Lehi club competes in the bull riding competition on the final day of the Utah State High School Rodeo Finals at the Wasatch County Events Complex in Heber on Saturday, June 8, 2024.
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- Ryann Becker of the Wasatch club competes in the pole bending competition on the final day of the Utah State High School Rodeo Finals at the Wasatch County Events Complex in Heber on Saturday, June 8, 2024.
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- Burk Austin of the South Utah County club competes in the steer wrestling competition on the final day of the Utah State High School Rodeo Finals at the Wasatch County Events Complex in Heber on Saturday, June 8, 2024.
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- Maklee Larsen of the South Utah County club competes in the breakaway roping competition on the final day of the Utah State High School Rodeo Finals at the Wasatch County Events Complex in Heber on Saturday, June 8, 2024.
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- Peyton Anderson of the Lehi club competes in the goat tying competition on the final day of the Utah State High School Rodeo Finals at the Wasatch County Events Complex in Heber on Saturday, June 8, 2024.
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- Braxton Richman of the Wasatch club competes in the bull riding competition on the final day of the Utah State High School Rodeo Finals at the Wasatch County Events Complex in Heber on Saturday, June 8, 2024.
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- Jaydon and Jarett Warner of the South Utah County club compete in the team roping competition on the final day of the Utah State High School Rodeo Finals at the Wasatch County Events Complex in Heber on Saturday, June 8, 2024.
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- Westin Simpson of the Wasatch club competes in the bareback riding competition on the final day of the Utah State High School Rodeo Finals at the Wasatch County Events Complex in Heber on Saturday, June 8, 2024.
Let me tell you a story about one tough cowboy I got to see in action as part of covering the state high school rodeo finals at the Wasatch County Events Complex in Heber last week.
Cooper Sagers represented the West Desert club as he competed in the saddle bronc riding competition in the last performance of the week, the short performance on Saturday.
Things quickly went wrong as he came out of the chute for his ride, and suddenly he was flying awkwardly through the air. He landed hard in the dirt of the arena and lay there as the officials gathered quickly to protect him while the pickup men guided the bucking horse away.
After some tense moments, however, Sagers slowly got to his feet and slowly left the arena, much to the relief of the crowd.
It was announced that Sagers had been fouled and thus was awarded a re-ride that would take place a couple of hours later, right before the bull riding, which is the final event of the performance.
A couple of hours later, there Sagers was, back on a bucking bronco ready to go.
This would be a great time to tell you that he had the best ride of his life but that’s not what happened.
No, once again, Sagers got bucked off — and once again he got hurt.
This time it looked like his foot got caught up in the stirrup (and he might have been stepped on as well), leaving him sprawled in pain in the dirt for the second time of the day in the same event.
With the help of friends and paramedics, eventually he was able to limp out of the arena.
But he left to the sounds of applause from the crowd, appreciative of both his effort and the fact that he was fighting through the pain.
As I watched him leave, I thought once again about how rodeo requires tremendous heart, courage and determination.
I thought back through the performances I had watched since the finals started on Wednesday and all the hard-luck moments the athletes had gone through:
- There was rough stock that either bucked too hard or not enough.
- There were calves who stepped right through well-thrown lasso loops.
- There were steers who refused to run straight or moved just the wrong way to prevent the wrestlers from catching them.
- There were goat-tying competitors who came down hard face-first in the dirt.
- There were pole benders and barrel racers whose horses missed the pattern.
No matter how many challenges and disappointments they faced, I saw them get back up and go again. I saw them fight through pain and frustration.
But they never did it alone.
Many had their partnerships with their horses right there with them. I heard about a cowgirl who once slipped off in the middle of a pole-bending run, only to have her horse complete the run and then come stand next to her until she got up.
And the rodeo community is also tremendously loyal to each other.
Every year you hear of competitors helping each other, lending saddles or gear or even a horse to athletes who could end up beating them in the arena.
It was announced on Saturday that nearly $131,000 in scholarships were awarded to high school athletes last week, but that was just one aspect of the efforts of the community.
This year it rallied for the family of Levi Wright, a 3-year-old boy from a rodeo family in Beaver who drowned in an accident in May.
Not only did the bull fighters wear shirts that read, “In loving memory Levi Wright T-Rex Strong!” on the back but the rodeo did a boot run — where cowboy boots are passed through the crowd to collect cash donations — and raised almost $3,900 for the Wright family.
I’ve seen similar responses to injuries and tragedies in the two decades that I’ve been covering high school rodeo, but it never ceases to inspire me.
Over and over I’ve seen that high school rodeo athletes and their families can be defined by two words:
Toughness and kindness.
I hope they never lose either but continue to take great care of the animals, the sport and each other.
