Inevitably, someone will turn to Ken Norris, Utah's representative on the national board for the past 20 years, and ask what the Utah kids have in their canteens, "because people who haven't been around can't believe Utah wins it all the time."
Sure enough, Utah has been the team champion at the last two National High School Finals Rodeos, and has won six of the past 10.
What used to be Texas' birthright - the Lone Star State dominated before Utah came along in the mid-1990s - is now an annual dogfight between the two states. Since 1998, the states have finished first or second at the NHSFR, which celebrates its 60th event this year in New Mexico.
"It's always us and Texas, every year," said Union High's Rhen Richard, last year's all-around cowboy national champion in Springville, Ill. "It's a big deal to us to win, and I'm sure it's a big deal to them."
Richard will compete in two
events - calf roping and team roping - next week in hopes of repeating.
That Texas would be a national power in rodeo is not a surprise. After all, there are more than 23 million people and thousands of ranches in the spacious state.
But Utah? What's up with that?
"We just have a lot of good cowboys and cowgirls who are dedicated to the sport," said Lyle Bennett, a member of the Utah High School Rodeo Association state board who oversees all the judges in the state. "These kids are ultra-competitive, and their parents are the same way."
The incorrect perception at nationals, Norris said, is that Utah sends more kids to the finals or has more participants to choose from than any other state.
Not true, said Kent Sturman, executive director of the National High School Rodeo Association, citing 2008 participation numbers: Texas has 1,455 members, while California is second with 645, Idaho third with 611 and Utah fourth with 555.
Also, each state can only send four contestants in each of 13 events and one queen contestant, and most states west of the Mississippi River send the maximum of 53, Sturman said.
"Utah is just a strong rodeo state," Sturman concluded. "It's big there. They do a lot of clinics and rodeo schools and things like that. Not all states have that."
Richard said in rural Utah, outstanding athletes are encouraged to give rodeo a shot. For instance, he is a two-time all-state football player and all-region baseball player who gave up a college football scholarship to turn professional in rodeo.
"Out here, [rodeo] is as important as basketball and football," he said.
Utah officials are also proud of the fact that they send nonqualifiers for the national high school rodeo to one of the West's biggest rodeos, the Silver States International Rodeo in Fallon, Nev. Utah recently won that rodeo for the ninth straight time.
Last December, seven products of the UHSRA competed in the National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas, and Payson's Wesley Silcox, a former Utah high school champion, won the world championship in bull riding.
Pressed to reveal Utah's secret, Norris said state officials work hard to provide Utah teenagers with an abundance of rodeos to compete in, and because every kid is eligible to compete in every rodeo, they have upwards of 35 to choose from year-round.
"The biggest reason [for Utah's success], to be honest, is that we have just had a run of really good kids."
Bennett, a board member for 10 years, tells his judges that they are expected to be educators as well as judges. He often sees them surrounded by three or four cowboys or cowgirls after rodeos end, teaching them what to do better next time.
Also, Bennett and Norris said Utah officials work hard to provide the best stock possible at high school rodeos, often using the same stock (bucking horses, bulls, calves and steers) that is used at PRCA events.
As for those who think Utah has an advantage, Bennett has a message:
"They just better cowboy up and come get us if they want to beat us," he said. "Ken [Norris] loves to whip the Texans. That's his pride and joy."
drew@sltrib.com
