Bear Lake rodeo team starts spring season

The Bear Lake rodeo team has started its spring season and multiple team members are looking like promising contenders in the upcoming state championships.

Lynette Smith, the district rodeo secretary, said the team has already participated in rodeos in Pocatello in late April and May 3-4. The team's next rodeo is this coming weekend in Grace.

"We had six rodeos in the fall and we're going to have 11 in the spring," Smith said. "We'll have 17 total rodeos this year."

Smith said the rodeo team is made up of students from both Bear Lake High School and Bear Lake Middle School.

"We have seven high school kids and 12 middle school kids that make up our rodeo team," she said.

Smith said the students practice every night to prepare for their rodeo events. She said they compete in a variety of events, including roping and barrel racing.

"We may be a small district, but we have some tough competitors," she said. "We have some pretty dedicated ropers."

Smith said only the top six in each high school rodeo event will be able to go to the state high school rodeo championships, while every middle school rodeo athlete will get to go to state. The state rodeo championships will determine who qualifies for nationals.

"The high school has to work a little more to make it to state finals," Smith said. "A lot of our kids practice every night to have the best opportunity to qualify."

Smith said the best part of watching each of the students compete is seeing how they progress and improve over the years. She said she's known some of them for a long time and has been able to see their growth.

"I've watched a lot of them from their first year at junior high," she said. "To see how they've progressed and matured is pretty neat to watch."

Smith said the state rodeo championships will be held from June 8 to June 15 in Pocatello. She said she is hopeful that members of the Bear Lake team will qualify to compete.

"We can see in the standings that quite a few are looking good to go to finals," she said about the Bear Lake team.

Smith said the national championships will be held in Iowa for the middle school competitors and Rock Springs, Wyoming, for the high school competitors.

"We've had some national qualifiers in the past from our club," she said.

Smith said she wishes all of the kids on the Bear Lake team good luck in their events and that she's looking forward to seeing where they go this year.

"I think their hard work will pay off," she said. "We're excited to watch their hard work pay off."

Smith expressed gratitude for all the local businesses in the area that support the team and make everything possible. She specifically expressed gratitude for Kiewit for the new club coats.

"We want to say thanks to all our local sponsors," she said.

The results from each rodeo and standings for the state competition can be found on the Idaho District 8 High School Rodeo website at ihsrad8.com .