Knight places in rodeo nationals

ROCK SPRINGS, Wyo. — Not many high school students get the chance to compete on a national stage in their sports.

Basketball has its McDonald’s All-Americans.

Football players compete in the Under Armour All-American game each year.

Last week, the best of the best in high school rodeo gathered in Wyoming to rope and race and ride with the best from across the United States, Canada, and Australia.

Abby Knight, a junior at Charlo, was one of three Lake County high schoolers to compete in Rock Springs.

Knight finished ninth in the pole bending in her third year competing at the National High School Finals Rodeo. It was her second top-15 finish in as many years; she finished 13th in barrel racing in the 2012 competition.

“I couldn’t be happier,” said Knight, who boasted the highest finish of any Montana cowgirl in any event. “My horse ran good and to come out toward the top of 50 states and Canada and Australia is really cool.”

The two other area cowboys competed in Rock Springs, Mission’s Will Powell and Polson’s Wyatt Lytton. Powell finished 60th and 49th in the two steer wrestling rounds, and Lytton finished 16th and 59th in tie-down roping competition. Both failed to make the short rounds in those events.

“You always can do better, that’s for sure,” Lytton said. “I went down with a game plan and after the first round we were sitting pretty good. … You can’t complain too much. You were up against the best in the world.”

Knight finished 15th in the first round of the poles, and kept herself in the top 20 with a 26th place finish in the second round to secure a short-round birth on Saturday evening. A sixth-place finish there pulled her up to ninth in the standings with a total time of 61.139 seconds.

“In the first go I just went out and made a run,” Knight said. “After I placed in the first round I knew I just had to make a good clean run to make it into the short round.”

She wasn’t able to replicate her success in the barrel racing, however, finishing 46th and 94th in the first two rounds and failing to make the short round.

Knight competes in the poles, barrels, breakaway roping and team roping on the state rodeo circuit.

She credits her horse, Katie, for much of their success.

“I seem to do best in the poles and the barrels, but that’s because I have a great horse to compete on,” Knight said. She also credited her trainer, Yvette Vega, and veterinarian Leroy Hoversland, who helped Katie through some injury setbacks this season.

Another thing Knight enjoyed about going to the national finals was learning about techniques from competitors from different places.

“It’s a lot different than things you see in Montana,” she said. “…When you get there you get styles from Australia, Canada, Pennsylvania, New York, all those places.”

Knight said her goal is to get back to the national finals and finish more consistently next year.

“I’d love to make nationals in as many events as I can,” Knight said. “But it’s all about how you do in states.”