Knight takes first in poles at national Silver States Rodeo
Naomi Knight, seen here at the 2006 high school state finals in Helena, had a great pole bending performance at the Silver States Rodeo, and just returned home early Monday morning after taking first place in the event. Ethan Smith/Leader
By Ethan Smith
Leader Staff
Once again, the Mission Valley high school rodeo team is doing the region proud, as Charlo's Naomi Knight took first place in pole bending at the Silver States Rodeo in Nevada last week — one of several local riders to compete in the national event.
Knight brought home the gold with a combined average score of 41.366 seconds for two runs, followed by a first place time of 20.885 in the short go to capture first with 62.251 points — slightly more than one point ahead of the next three finishers.
Angela Schuman and Nichele Marmon also earned a trip to Nevada for their great performances at the state finals in Missoula last month. The Silver States rodeo is for riders who finished between fifth and 10th at the state level, and featured competitors from all over the country.
Schuman qualified in goat tying, while Marmon qualified in the breakaway competition, and each contestant is allowed to select another field to compete in, in addition to the one they qualified for. Dayd to day results of the rodeo were not available.
Marmon took 10th at state in Missoula last month, while Schuman had some excellent goat tying scores. Knight finished first in poles in Thursday's competition at state, proving to her that she could compete with older riders and still do well.
For Knight, it was a stellar finish for one of the younger riders on the high school team, and she brought home several prizes for her hard work. She got a saddle for her first place finish in poles, a buckle for finishing first in the first two gos, and a bronze statue for first place in the short go.