MEEKER | Meeker-area rodeo athletes delivered steady performances over two days at the Colorado High School Rodeo in Craig, highlighted by strong finishes and point-earning runs from Josey McClain, Kalee Ivy and Leah Wood.
Day one opened with a 12th-place finish in pole bending for Ivy, who posted a time of 23.208 seconds.
In goat tying, McClain had one of the strongest local performances of the day, placing sixth with an 8.690-second run to earn five points and five all-around points.
Breakaway roping saw Ivy finish 43rd and Wood 38th, with both recording times of 100.000 seconds.
McClain continued her strong opening day in barrel racing, placing seventh in 17.535 seconds for four points and four all-around points. Wood finished 16th in 17.899 seconds, while Ivy placed 48th in 19.928 seconds.
On day two, Ivy posted the top local barrel racing finish, placing 31st in 18.204 seconds. Wood followed in 35th at 18.440 seconds, and McClain finished 51st in 22.687 seconds.
Ivy also finished 18th in breakaway roping with a time of 13.070 seconds and placed 14th in pole bending in 23.435 seconds.
McClain added another strong finish in goat tying, placing 11th with a time of 10.050 seconds.
“My weekend overall was good,” McClain said. “My first go I ended second in barrels with a 17.7 and placed in goat tying, which set my weekend up really well.”
“During my second go I had a clean barrel run, which put me fourth in the average going into the short round,” she said.
McClain said the weekend also brought challenges, including an injury during goat tying that forced a difficult decision.
“My goat run in the second go didn’t go as planned — she kicked me when I got off, so I was unable to finish the run,” McClain said. “I also qualified back to the short go in goat tying but drew out because my horse had kicked me and it wasn’t worth the risk to get hurt more.”
Despite the setback, she still advanced to the barrel racing short round.
“On Monday I competed in the short go in barrel racing,” she said. “I knocked second, but I am so proud of how this weekend went, especially before all the summer rodeos coming up. I know we are going to be quite the team.”
McClain said consistency remains important with only a limited number of rodeos before state finals.
“You only have a handful of fall and spring rodeos before you go into the state finals,” she said. “You want to come in with as many points as you can.”
Looking ahead, she said perspective was her biggest takeaway.
“I learned that some days you have really good runs and other days not so much, but that just makes you come back stronger,” McClain said.
She credited her family and community for their support.
“This year my family has definitely been my number one supporters,” she said. “I wouldn’t be where I am today without them, but I also have an amazing community around me and everyone has always been supportive.”
“My goals this year for rodeo are to qualify for CPRA finals and always make the best of it,” she said. “I have an amazing team and I’m excited to see where it leads me.”
With the regular season still ahead, Meeker-area riders now turn their attention to building points and consistency as they push toward state finals later this season.
