In team roping one athlete is the header, the other is the heeler. In this dynamic duo, Bowden is the header and calls himself the quarterback of the operation. Riding his horse, Mooch, Bowden says he rarely feels pressure no matter the size of the rodeo, instead focusing on the job at hand. 

“Some people say the header is the quarterback,” Bowden said. “I have to get the steer a head start, I have to rope him, I have to turn a good handle and I have to be smooth so Sern can rope him faster.” 

Bowden said his mind is focused on the task at hand once it’s time to ride. 

“I’m seeing the start and trying to hit that first checkmark and that sets up the whole run,” he said. 

For Weishaar the heeler job is filled with a toolbox full of variables. How far down the arena might the steer be when it’s roped? What kind of position will that steer be in when he lets his rope fly and how mobile might that steer be once it comes time to throw the rope?

“With Rance I never have to guess where they will be,” Weishaar said. “I kinda feel like I know where the steer is going to be and what they'll be doing before I make my throw.” 

Weishaar rides a 17-year old horse named Itchy that he started riding on when he was eight or nine years old. 

Neither athlete says they’ll be fazed by the platform of competing in Rock Springs at the NHSRA finals.

“Rock Springs is going to be a big place with lots of noise and stuff like that,” Weishaar said. “We’ve been to some big ropings and have competed in some big arenas so I don’t think we’ll be too nervous.” 

Confidence is something Bowden says he’s never lacked.

“I’ve always had confidence and when the steers aren’t right you have to look past it,” he said. “You have to have a good mindset, you can’t get down on your horse or yourself and you have to have a really short memory.

Both athletes also contest tie-down roping. Bowden finished second in the state with a score of 70 points. Weishaar finished sixth, just missing a trip to the national finals in a second event.

Belle Fourche's Rance Bowden advanced to the National High School Finals Rodeo by finishing second in the tiedown roping at the SDHSRA state finals - Rodney Haas - 605 Sports

No matter the year it always seems like Belle Fourche is producing some of the top ropers in the state. Bowden, Weishaar and Jet Jensen are all going in the team roping competition and Bowden in the tie-down roping. At the recently completed College National Finals Rodeo, Belle Fourche’s Lan Fuhrer of South Dakota State teamed with Black Hills State’s Clayton Backhaus to finish third in the team roping with a 23.5 average. 

"I think part of that is just the families and the backgrounds they have here,” Weishaar said. “We have the Belle jackpot and it seems like a lot of kids come to that so there’s always something for the younger generation to do.”