Riding high to rodeo finals
For Rachel Thompson and Chad Marquardt, members of the Flathead Valley High School Rodeo team, it's a case of been there, and done that.
Thompson competed in Gillette, Wyo., at a national O-Mok-See competition in 2003, winning her age bracket (12-15).
Marquardt, on the other hand, returns to Gillette for a second-straight year as a participant in the 57th annual National High School Finals Rodeo, which gets underway Monday and runs for seven days.
Marquadt will again compete in bareback riding while Thompson, making her first nationals finals trip in rodeo, is entered in barrel racing.
"It's a lot different," said Thompson.
"Thirty in my age group (for O-Mok-See). Now I'm going against 180 barrel racers. A lot specialize in just that. It will be tough.
"I'm confident my horse and I (will do well)," she added.
"(But) I don't know how we'll stack up against the rest of the competition."
Marquadt, 17, is the state and year-end champion in his specialty; Thompson, 16, finished third in the year-end standings in barrel racing.
The top four finishers in each event qualify for nationals.
"I know what to expect coming in," said Marquardt.
"I want to end up in the top 10, get a belt buckle. Win it, you get a saddle and a couple of buckles."
The event will feature over 1,500 contestants from 40 states, five Canadian provinces and Australia. The National High School Finals is billed as the largest rodeo in the world.
"More experience and practice makes perfect," said Marquardt of why he is having his best season yet.
"I'm getting on quite a bit this year; getting on more horses; (doing) more rodeos."
Marquardt, a senior-to-be at Flathead High School, last year finished fourth in the state year-end standings. He ended up in the top 30 at nationals.
"I bucked off my first horse in the first go-round," he said.
"I kind of settled down after that. I ended up taking third in the second go."
All bareback riders are guaranteed two rides at nationals. The top 20 scorers then advance to the short go.
"There are so many people, a lot of talent down there," said Marquardt.
"Cameras everywhere. People behind the chutes.
"And the horses are awesome. It's the evenest pen they could have put together."
All of those distractions makes it very difficult for a wide-eyed teenager to concentrate on completing two eight-second rides.
"I think if you don't get nervous, you're crazy," said Marquardt.
"When you talk to the pros, they get nervous, the butterflies. It's a good feeling, though.
"I'm just thinking of marking the horse," said Marquardt when he's in the chute.
"You have to have your feet on the break of the shoulder on the first jump out of the chute. If you do everything right, it feels awesome."
That feeling is what makes year-round rodeoing enjoyable for Marquardt. The fall season runs September through October, the spring season March through June.
He says you can always find open rodeos in the winter to compete in.
"Nothing has the adrenaline rush like rodeo," he said.
"I look at every horse like it will buck like there is no tomorrow. I think to myself I can stick with him.
"Patience," he said of what it takes to be successful.
"You want to build your ride. You don't want to go out spurring right away. Get a feeling for the horse. Kind of like dancing with a pretty lady, you don't want to step on her toes."
While Marquardt has had a successful go in the rodeo arena, it's still been a difficult season.
He tore ligaments in his right knee last winter, falling off the back stairs at his home.
He will have surgery after the National Finals.
"It doesn't bother me too much," he said.
"I tape my knee and wear a knee brace."
Then in May, he separated his ribs while winning a rodeo in Valier.
"It felt like fire went through my body," he said.
"I couldn't breathe."
He was forced to take "two weeks off," he said, but received the doctor's OK to resume competition.
"At districts, I couldn't breathe after I got off," he said.
"It's just starting to get healed back together again."
Thompson, a junior-to-be at Columbia Falls High School, is completing her first rodeo season.
She missed out on the fall season, but made up for it by excelling in the spring session and entering 16 rodeos.
She also had to endure some tense moments at the state competition.
Thompson hit a barrel on her second go, which almost knocked her out of the top four.
"I calculated I was fifth," she said.
"I figured I wasn't going to nationals. That's fine."
But when all the scores were tallied, she made it. She missed out on placing second by just a couple of points.
"I was really surprised because I didn't rodeo in the fall," she said.
"I only rodeoed in the spring. My whole goal was to max out as good as I could."
Thompson did just that. She won all three rounds at the district competition, which resulted in 30 points.
The maximum number of points you can take to state in any event is 70 points.
Thompson competes on an eight-year old sorrel quarterhorse named Jaime. The Thompson family has owned the horse for five years.
"I've only been on her for a year," said Thompson.
"Last year we hit a lot of barrels, real inconsistent. We've just become a good team this year. I can trust her more.
"Before I was afraid she wouldn't turn because she was running so fast. The more rodeos we went to, the better she got, we got."
Thompson also competes in pole bending, but did not qualify in that event.
Next year she plans to compete in those two plus add goat tying and maybe breakaway roping.
"So I can do better in the all-around (competition)," she said.
"I have two years (left) and I'm looking forward to that. (Then) do college rodeo, pro rodeos. My goal is to go to the NFR some day."
Before moving to Montana from Washington, Thompson's arena skills were devoted to O-Mok-See, where she won a total of three national titles.
O-Mok-See consists of 14 individual timed events, which includes pole bending and barrel racing.
"I like it (rodeo) way better than O-Mok-See," said Thompson.
"A lot more young people. I've met a lot more friends. And it's a lot more competitive."