By Matt Gade

605 Sports

HARDING COUNTY — As the South Dakota High School Rodeo Association state finals get underway this week, capped off with the final short go on Saturday, the organization and its members show no sign of slowing down.

Yesterday and today, the SDHSRA state finals began with the cutting and reining events at the Stanley County Fairgrounds in Ft. Pierre, with the main rodeo performances starting Thursday.

With over 500 members in SDHSRA, high school rodeo continues to produce one of the top high school rodeo teams in the country.

It’s a testament to the bylaws and structure set in place by the founders over 75 years ago, according to SDHSRA President Brad McGirr.

“It's a great feeling,” McGirr said of having one of the largest high school rodeo teams in the country. “A lot of our rodeo is steep in tradition. There are two things that bring that to the forefront. One is the way this was set up 75 years ago. And we continue with most of the bylaws that we have are from that era, and we were one of the first in the nation. 

“So their foresight on how they developed that was great and we also have 550-some members in South Dakota high school rodeo. They enjoy that notoriety as being one of the largest states. They like knowing that they come from one of the largest states, and they pass that on to their little brothers and sisters and their relatives and the other kids in school.”

Part of the structure of high school rodeo, McGirr said, has been beneficial over the years is maintaining a reasonable number of qualifying rodeos for kids to make state. McGirr said having just the two regional qualifiers makes it easier on the participants to compete and not too overwhelming. 

“The format is user-friendly in South Dakota, where some other states they'll have upwards of 20 rodeos to try and get to that are all qualifying rodeos,” McGirr said. “So it's difficult for some of those kids to be able to participate and be a multi-sport athlete.”

Designed to mimic activities done on a regular basis, whether on a farm or ranch, roping and riding are just a part of life for most competitors.

“I've grown up in the rodeo family,” said Harding County junior Sorrel Nation. “My dad always rodeoed, and my mom did too. So they just kind of got me into it, and it gave me something to put my heart into.”

Sorrel Nation, center, holds a calf down while she helps out a branding last week in rural Reva. (Matt Gade/605 Sports)

Nation, like a lot of competitors, lives on the family ranch where she gets to ride her horse, work cattle and practice roping. 

Sorrel, also like a lot of high school competitors, is a multi-sport athlete playing volleyball and basketball. 

“I just try to go to whatever time open gym is, and then I'll either ride before that or right after, and I'll get up early in the morning before practice and ride,” Nation said.

Just last week, Nation took part in a regular ranching tradition of a cattle brand at a neighbor’s along with some of her teammates, including RJ Meyer. 

Meyer, who will be a junior at Harding County in the fall, plays football and basketball in addition to rodeo.

“I've always liked to come out here to brandings and heel calves,” Meyer said. “I feel like it correlates a lot to what I do in team roping, because I heel and even rope the calves over their head.”

RJ Meyer helps rope calves during a branding last week in rural Reva. (Matt Gade/605 Sports)

Meyer, who plays running back and linebacker for the Ranchers, enjoys getting to hit guys on the field, and that might be part of the reason why he likes to steer wrestle. Those who compete in steer wrestling, or sometimes referred to as bulldogging, are often called the linebackers of rodeo. 

Meyer, who said he enjoys football the most, said he trains at home daily for the rodeo events while attending camps and open field practices whenever they are planned. Noting it can be a lot of work, but he enjoys it.

When it comes to bulldogging, Meyer said it can be a lot of fun, but when you miss… not so much. 

“I won the bulldogging at Buffalo one of the days, and I didn't place the other,” Meyer said. “When I usually get on them, I usually eat the dirt a lot.”

RJ Meyer competes in the steer wrestling during the Northwest Regional SDHSRA rodeo on Saturday in Dupree. (Matt Gade/605 Sports)

As the events in rodeo mimic a lot of tasks on the ranch, McGirr said he can usually tell those who come from growing up on a ranch or farm. 

“Those kids come from that. They come from it naturally. And it's an easy transition to get into (rodeo) and it shows,” McGirr said. “The kids that grew up on a ranch and are involved in ranching are very strong in our high school rodeo program.”

With the ultimate goal of winning a state event, South Dakota typically represents well at Nationals, according to McGirr. 

Then, after high school, McGirr said he enjoys getting to see South Dakota kids represent at the College National Finals Rodeo.

“We have a great tradition of moving our kids on to the college level,” McGirr said. “The kids who want to compete at the college level, there is an outlet somewhere to go do college rodeo. Whether it be South Dakota, Wyoming or Nebraska, anywhere in the country. I'm very proud of our high school rodeo athletes.”

For Nation and Meyer, they said they enjoy getting to hang out with their friends and compete at the same time.
“I like hanging out with all my friends, and it's a good way to meet new people,” said Meyer, who does team roping, steer wrestling and tie down roping.

“I just love competing,” said Nation, who does barrel races, goat tying and breakaway. “I've been on a horse since I could ever remember, and it's just become a part of me.”

RJ Meyer, left, and Sorrel Nation drag out a calf while taking part in a branding last week in Harding County. (Matt Gade/605 Sports)