SDHSRA showcased some of South Dakota’s best high school rodeo athletes at 1 p.m. Feb. 2 at the Civic Center in Rapid City, S.D.

SDHSRA’s Showcase consisted of 10 different events: bareback, saddle bronc and bull riding, tie-down roping, steer wrestling, team roping, barrel racing, goat tying, pole bending, and breakaway roping.

Students invited placed in the top three places based on points at the end of the 2019 SDHSRA season in their competed region. Each contestant competed in only one event.

Team roper Britt Oliver from Lemmon, S.D. said the Showcase is a great event for rodeo athletes in South Dakota “put on by generous people to show the young talent in the state.”

2019 South Dakota’s national rodeo contestant in 2019, is bull rider Jestyn Woodward from Edgemont, S.D. He said the Showcase gave high school rodeo athletes “a feel for how big, indoor rodeos work.” Woodward placed fifth at the 2019 National High School Rodeo Finals.

SDHSRA is a member of the National High School Rodeo Association. It began in 1951 and is a Non-Profit Organization. The first SDHSRA Rodeo took place in New Underwood in 1949.

Rodeo did not exist until the late 1800s, tracing back to Spanish roots and cattle ranching. The word “rodeo” is Spanish and means “roundup.”

Nobody knows when the first rodeo in America took place. According to the ProRodeo Hall of Fame, much of modern-day rodeo is related and grew from the Prescott Rodeo in Arizona on July 4, 1888. Rules for competition, prizes being awarded, admission charged and creating a committee began around this time.

Information for the results of the 20X Extreme Showcase can be found on SDHSRA’s website. For more questions or information, contact SDHSRA Executive Secretary, Ann Sundermann at 605-529-5868.