HIGH SCHOOL RODEO IS FRIENDLY COMPETITION

Beth Roberts, Courtney Barnfield and Miranda Jordan sat in the bleachers of Fickerwood Arena Sunday afternoon, smiling at each other the way high school girlfriends smile at each other.

The three don't go to high school together, they rodeo together. The three barrel-race horses every weekend. Although Roberts is from Mountain Home, Barnfield is from Puxico and Jordan is from Advance, they spend almost as much time together as they would if they lived in the same town.

They are part of the extended family called the Missouri High School Rodeo Association.

Much of that family was at Flickerwood Arena in Fruitwood over the weekend for the Missouri/Kentucky Invitational High School Rodeo. It was the opening event in the Missouri High School Rodeo Association's spring season. The top 10 finishers earn points toward the state and national championships.

It drew 160 entrants from all over the two states.

Events include saddle bronc riding, barrel racing, pole bending, team roping, calf roping, bareback riding, break-away roping, goat tying, steer wrestling and bull riding.

For Roberts, Barnfield and Jordan, Flickerwood is one of their favorite spots on the tour.

"It's a lot better than all of the other places I've been," Roberts said. "It's got better ground and it's indoors."

"It smells better than my barn," Jordan said.

"You run in the rain in the other places," Barnfield said.

The association holds some rodeos outdoors, and if it rains contestants race horses or rope calves in the rain.

Donna Boardman, who with her husband Mark owns the Flickerwood Arena, takes great pride in it. They have machinery that reworks the surface between events. "You want it to feel good for the horses," she said.

And she makes sure the calves and goats used in the roping contests are not too fresh or too roped out.

Calves that have never been roped move too fast and fight the cowboys too much. Calves that have been roped too often "drag instead of hopping across the pen," said Willie Bean, a team roper from Walnut Grove near Springfield. "They have no fight."

Bean said the calves at Flickerwood are "middlin'," or just about right.

Boardman watches over the events like a mother. When a saddle bronc threw a rider, then fell on him, she sighed, her face got long and she said, "I hope he's OK." Boardman relaxed when she saw him get up and walk off.

Boardman's son competes in high school rodeo, and her daughter attends college on a rodeo scholarship.

As a high-school rodeo parent she sees the same parents and children almost every week when she travels to competitions around the state.

She talked about the commitment the parents have to have to their children's competition, driving them and their horses sometimes several hours each way every weekend, staying in motels or campers.

Unlike other high school sports, contestants pay entry fees and, when they win, earn monetary prizes. Boardman said the winnings often pay for the next entry fees. Unlike many high school students, the rodeo contestants have little time for jobs.

Bridget Lambright of Savannah North of St. Joseph said she practices every day after school, them does homework after dark.

Many high school rodeo competitors aren't around at prom time, so there's a Missouri state high school rodeo prom.

Lambright said that although the rodeo entrants compete against each other, that doesn't get in the way of their friendships.

"We all work very hard, and we're all good friends," she said. "It doesn't matter who wins."