Young cowboys and cowgirls from around the province joined around 20 Williams Lake and area high school rodeo athletes at the Stampede Grounds over the weekend for the Williams Lake Regional High School Rodeo.
Friday afternoon and Saturday morning, the junior division (grades 6-8) for younger competitors took centre stage.
Then on Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning, the high school (grades 9-12) performances rounded out the weekend.
In the junior division Williams Lake’s Kaylee Billyboy took third in pole bending with a time of 23.284 seconds. Meanwhile, 150 Mile House’s Blaine Manuel took a 22.2-second time in goat tying for third place Friday, before finishing sixth with a time of 23.3 seconds on Saturday morning.
Onto the high school division, Saturday kicked off with breakaway roping where Kate Barnett, Terris Billyboy and Ellis Smith finished seventh, eighth and ninth, respectively. On Sunday, Smith improved her standings to finish tied for the third/fourth spot with a 3.6-second time.
Local bull riders Devin Graham, Ryan Jasper, Grayson Winters, Scotty Valburg and Colton Manuel each turned out successful rides.
Saturday, Graham took first (73), while Jasper and Winters split second and third (71). Valburg scored a 61 Saturday for fifth. On Sunday, Jasper landed the top spot with a 72 score on C+ Rodeo bull Red Zone. Colton was the only other rider Sunday to complete the eight-second ride, scoring a 68.
Colton went on to nab the top spot in steer wrestling, rounding up his steer in 6.6 seconds Saturday and then 9 seconds flat on Sunday for first place both days. Local competitor Mathew Armes took fifth Sunday with a time of 22.4 seconds.
In tie down roping, 150 Mile House’s Chad Braaten finished first on Sunday with a time of 11.6 seconds, after taking fifth Saturday with a 19.8-second time.
Also on Sunday, Jasper finished tied for the third and fourth spot with a time of 12.9 seconds.
In bareback riding, Jasper was at it again, taking first place Sunday with a score of 69 on C+ Rodeo’s Young Guns. In second was Williams Lake’s Daine Bortolussi with a 65.
Finally, in team roping, Peachland’s Nik Smith teamed with Jasper for second Saturday with a 13.6-second time. In fourth Saturday were Houston’s Kristin Bell and Williams Lake’s Devon Reay (20.3 seconds).
Sunday, Smith teamed with Braaten for fourth (18.5 seconds), while Armes and Kelcie Mills took fifth (20.5 seconds).
All around cowboy for the weekend went to Jasper.