Story lines aplenty at high school rodeo championships - Standard ...

HEBER CITY -- Birthdays and championship trophy saddles was Saturday's story line at the Utah High School Rodeo Association State Finals.

* On her 19th birthday Saturday, the Spikers' McKale Hadley split first and second in girls barrel racing with Kelsie Keller, of Sanpete, with 135 points to earn a return trip to the National High School Finals Rodeo.

* Celebrating their 18th birthday today, twins Dax and Paige Hadlock, of the Ogden-based Spikers Rodeo Team, each brought home a UHSRA state saddle in boys and girls cutting with 149 and 1471??2 points, respectively.

"I can handle it being a tie," said Hadley, who swept Saturday's championship short round with a 16.381-second run -- the fastest of the state finals -- at the Wasatch County Event Center.

She took the three-run aggregate (49.962 seconds) and also won the first round with a 16.540-second run.

"This is a good way to celebrate my birthday," Hadley said. "I rode Jay today and all three rounds up here. It was a gut feeling to ride Jay. I just wanted to stick with one horse and he has been consistent."

Jay, a 10-year-gelding, is owned by McKale's mother, Wendy.

"I just want to thank my mom for letting me ride her horse and for helping me during the week," Hadley said. "She tunes on Jay during the week; I like her to tune Jay for me."

Hadley rode GW Lilley Bells, a 9-year-old mare at many of the qualifying rodeos during the 2010-11 season.

"I usually ride Lilley and she was the one who got me here with (67 of a maximum 70) points. We'll haul both horses to nationals."

The 63rd annual NHSFR is July 17-23 at Gillette, Wyo.

Hadley was second in the short round (17.214 seconds) at the 2010 National High School Finals Rodeo, finishing ninth overall (52.883 on three runs).

Hadley, a Fremont High School graduate, was first gunner -- the top 10 barrel racers based on season points drew for positions -- in the state finals' short round.

"I wanted to be first out. I was excited to run first and set the pace," she said. "Cutting my time down from a 16.5 to a 16.3 was a big jump up. Jay was trying really hard for me tonight; he was fiery tonight. Jay was nervous and shaking and knew he had to perform his best.

"The main goal was to make nationals again, and I wanted to win state, too. It will be really close," said Hadley, before Saturday's awards presentation. "I had a good week at the state finals."

Hadley broke the buckle she won for her first-round barrel racing win while making her second run Friday in breakaway roping.

"It got caught on my saddle horn, so I'm wearing my breakaway buckle," she said. "It brought me luck in the barrels."

Hadley, who has a rodeo scholarship to Weber State University, placed second in the second round of breakaway roping with a 3.10-second run, but a first-round miss took her out of the aggregate. She didn't have enough points to make it back to the short round.

After runner-up finishes in girls cutting at the Utah High School Rodeo Association State Finals in 2008 and 2010, Paige Hadlock emphatically sealed the deal Saturday.

She won the first round (147 points), second round (146) and short round (148), sweeping the three-run aggregate (441) and capturing her first state saddle with 1471??2 points aboard Everyone's Desire, a 6-year-old gelding owned by Dave Whitaker.

Hadlock, last year's NHSFR reserve girls cutting champion, graduated from Fremont High last month.

"It feels good to win it as a senior," she said. "I've ridden different horses every year. My dad, Lawson, trains cutting horses and we get on horses that need showing time. It's usually at least a different horse at every rodeo.

"My dad gives me a choice of about two horses to pick from," Hadlock said. "Every horse is different. Dax rides the same horse, but I get thrown around. We didn't enter every qualifying rodeo -- and since it all comes down to state -- so I want to get the most points I could coming into the state finals."

Hadlock, who will attend Weber State this fall, carried 671??2 points into the state finals.

"I wasn't too worried not carrying (the maximum) 70 points," she said. "The first three years I carried in 70 points. This year I didn't and I ended up winning. Dax has never carried in 70 points and he's won it the last three years."

Dax, the older Hadlock twin by just one minute, was equally dominant at the UHSRA State Finals.

He won the first round (150 points), second round (149) and short round (149), sweeping the three-run aggregate (448) and capturing his third straight state cutting saddle with 149 points aboard Playful Reward, a 9-year-old mare owned by Whitaker.

Dax, who has ridden Playful Reward at the last two state finals, will be making his fourth National High School Finals Rodeo appearance next month. He will be attending Colorado Northwestern this fall to rodeo. Dax qualified for the UHSRA State Finals in team roping, but didn't make it back to Saturday's short round.

"Dave got Playful Reward when she was crippled and we brought her back to health," Paige said.

"I knew if I could get the first round down that would settle my nerves and I had horsepower to win it all," Paige said. "I rode Everyone's Desire at a few high school rodeos and he was third in the $3,000 novice category at the NCHA Western Nationals. Most likely, I'll be riding something different at nationals."

Paige says cutting is more complex than people realize.

"People think it's an easy event, but it's not, especially when you're riding so many horses," she said. "You don't know what they'll do, and you have to rely on your feet and not your hands. I'm just happy with how everything went this week. Dax and I were 6-for-6, and it was a good week for our barn, LH Training in Plain City."

The second- and third-place girls horses and the fourth-place boys horse were out of LH Training.

"I'm happy with the success we've had because it shows what a good trainer my dad is," Paige said. "I feel badly for the second-place girl, but I was here to win.

"Dax and I are both kind of even, and he is my biggest competition in NCHA," she said. "We've each had our share of success against each other. I'm happy for him and I hope he's happy for me."

Source: http://www.standard.net/topics/sports/2011/06/12/story-lines-aplenty-high-school-rodeo-championships

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