BROOKINGS – The Swiftel Center will be filled with rodeo fans this weekend, but not just for the First Chance Bonanza PRCA Rodeo.
This item is available in full to subscribers.
To continue reading, you will need to either log in to your subscriber account, or purchase a new subscription.
If you are a current print subscriber, you can set up a free website account and connect your subscription to it by clicking here.
If you are a digital subscriber with an active, online-only subscription then you already have an account here. Just reset your password if you've not yet logged in to your account on this new site.
Otherwise, click here to view your options for subscribing.
Please log in to continue |
BROOKINGS – The Swiftel Center will be filled with rodeo fans this weekend, but not just for the First Chance Bonanza PRCA Rodeo.
The Dakota Prairie Little Britches Rodeo is hosted Saturday and Sunday for area youth to win prize money, awards and qualify for the National Finals Rodeo next July in Guthrie, Oklahoma.
Seventy contestants ranging in age from 5-19 will compete in two separate rodeos.
To qualify for nationals, members must place in the top seven in five separate rodeos. With two rodeos this weekend, that gives the participants two more chances for qualification. There are 100 to 120 kids from South Dakota who attend nationals each year.
“South Dakota is one of the larger states represented at nationals,” said RaeAnn Bowes, Dakota Prairie Little Britches vice president franchisee.
The National Little Britches Rodeo Association sanctions more than 500 youth rodeos in 33 states every year. Of the 2,600 annual participants, many are from the Brookings area and practice year-round.
“By practicing every day and working hard, I can continue to get better,” Hayden Wiesner said. Wiesner is a 13-year-old from Clear Lake in her fifth season on the Little Britches Rodeo.
She competes in several competitions – barrels, poles, goat tying, breakaway, ribbon roping and trail course. At the 2018 National Finals, Wiesner placed eighth in ribbon roping.
“I was nervous, but it felt so good to experience,” Wiesner said. She plans to return in 2019 and wants to get enough points to get a top hand team. This a very prestigious award where a participant needs to place first in the same competition in five different rodeos.
The Little Britches was first hosted in Brookings last year.
“I recommend Little Britches to anyone,” says Junior Dees, a past Little Britches senior boy all-around and world champion in senior ribbon roping. Dees is currently in the professional rodeo circuit and made nationals last year in team roping.
Dees said he thinks the Little Britches Association can teach youth a lot.
“It’s good for kids to compete against the elite,” he said. “I’ve learned so much about losing and winning.”
• What: Dakota Prairie Little Britches Rodeo, multi-state youth competing to earn prize money, awards and qualify to attend the 2019 National Little Britches Final Rodeo.
• When: 11 a.m. Saturday and 9 a.m. Sunday
• Where: Swiftel Center Arena
• Cost: Free
• Events: Bareback riding, saddle bronc riding, bull riding, steer wrestling, tie-down roping, breakaway roping, goat tying, flag racing, barrel racing, trail course, pole bending and goat tail untying
