South Dakota High School Rodeo Association (SDHSRA) Archives

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South Dakota High School Rodeo Association (SDHSRA)

Mailing Address: PO Box 303 Baltic, SD 57003

Email: sdhsra@alliancecom.net

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Members

Meet the Member Linkyn Petersek

story by Siri Stevens Linkyn Petersek won the All Around and the calf roping at the SDHSRA Finals. He came in 5th in the reined cowhorse and 7th in the team roping. Linkyn attributes his success in the arena to hours and hours of practicing. He competes in four events – team roping, calf roping, reined cowhorse, and steer wrestling. “I’ve had a rope in my hand since I was able to walk,” said the…

Meet the Member Josi Stevens

story by Lily Landreth Josi Stevens of St. Lawrence, South Dakota, competes in all of the girls events in the SDHSRA. The scoreboard helps determine which one is the 17-year-old’s favorite, but breakaway roping and barrel racing are always high on the list. Josi won the combined breakaway roping average for the Kadoka, Philip, and Wall practice rodeos in May. “I just think breakaway is something that’s evolving so much and becoming a bigger event…

Meet the Member Chance Derner

story by Lily Landreth Chance Derner competed in his second consecutive 20X Extreme Showcase Rodeo this February and took home his second title representing the Southwest Region. The 18-year-old from New Underwood, South Dakota, won the tie-down roping with a 10.87. In 2019 he won the team roping with Thane Lockwood. “There were some things I could’ve done better, but I was real excited about (winning) it,” says Chance. “We live 20 miles east of…

Meet the Member Abby Richie

story by Lily Landreth Abby Richie won the breakaway roping at the 2020 20X Extreme Showcase Rodeo this February. The 17-year-old from Bristol, South Dakota, competed in Rapid City for the third consecutive year in breakaway roping, and won it with a 2.69. “I was a little nervous just because it’s winter and it’s hard to get practice in. But last year at the end of the 4-H season, I won senior girls breakaway roping…

Meet the Member Dawson Phillips

story by Lily Landreth Dawson Phillips of Winner, South Dakota, competes in tie-down roping, steer wrestling, team roping, reined cow horse, and cutting in the SDHSRA. The 18-year-old is representing the River Region in the tie-down roping at the 20X Extreme Showcase in February, while the reined cow horse is his favorite. The event took him to his first NHSFR in Rock Springs, Wyoming, in 2019, where he finished 22nd. “I was more excited than…

Meet the Member Riley Donnelly

story by Lily Landreth Riley Donnelly is a seven-event cowgirl in the SDHSRA, competing in all of the girls events including cutting and reined cow horse. Of all her events, poles and breakaway are her favorites, and the 18-year-old from Elk Point, South Dakota, has qualified for Nationals every year since she was a sixth-grader at the NJHFR. “I’ve made it to Nationals every year in poles, except once, and in high school it’s consisted…

Meet the Member Tashina Red Hawk

story by Lily Landreth As the 2019 South Dakota High School Rodeo Queen, Tashina Red Hawk represents the next generation of rodeo. It is a tradition which goes back in her own family to her grandpa, a team roping heeler named Sidney Reddest. The 16-year-old of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe in Rosebud, South Dakota, has held all of the Miss Rosebud Rodeo titles—part of the tribal fair that is 143 years strong—since she was a…

Meet the Member Jayda Tibbs

story by Lily Weinacht Jayda Tibbs of Fort Pierre, South Dakota, is entering her fourth year of rodeo in the SDHSRA. The 17-year-old, who is the great-great niece of rodeo legend Casey Tibbs, competes in pole bending, barrel racing, goat tying, breakaway roping, and team roping as a heeler. “I can’t wait to rodeo during the summer. It’s my favorite thing, and I can take time to practice during the winter and improve myself—that makes…

Meet the Member Justin TeKrony

story by Lily Weinacht “Being with the friends that I make in rodeo and trying to make Vegas someday (motivates me), so you have to keep going and keep getting better as you go along,” says Justin TeKrony of Clear Lake, South Dakota. The 18-year-old’s hard work took him to the national level for the first time this summer, where he competed in two rounds of steer wrestling. “It was a good experience out there…

Meet the Member Reece Ullerich

story by Lily Weinacht “It’s just the life lessons rodeo teaches you and the people around you—there’s some adversity you have to deal with throughout life and rodeo really teaches you to take that adversity and turn it into something good and to keep working hard,” says Reece Ullerich. “And I really enjoy the competition and being around the people of the sport, and working with the horses and cattle.” Working through the challenges of…

Meet the Member Talon Elshere

story by Lily Weinacht “When all that hard work finally pays off there’s no better feeling. You work hard all year, and there’s traveling and money and the time you put into practice, and when it finally pays off and you place at Nationals, that’s as good as it gets really.” Talon Elshere, 16, finished fourth in the nation in the saddle bronc riding at his first NHSFR. “I drew a pretty good horse in…

Meet the Member Tayla Thorstenson

story by Lily Weinacht Tayla Thorstenson is the 2019 SDHSRA Breakaway Roping Champion, and the 18-year-old from Pantry is representing South Dakota at the NHSFR for the first time in her high school career. “I’d never won a state title before, and I’d never even placed at state before either. It was a great year!” says Tayla. “I was leading my region, and that was different from the past few years when I came in…