Three custom saddles, two pairs of cowboy boots and a silver belt buckle – Westwold’s Cole Churchill is one decked out cowboy.
Add in $750 in scholarship money and 2011-12 was a bit of a breakout year for the Grade 10 Pleasant Valley secondary student. The stellar results on the B.C. high school circuit also mean he heads to Rock Springs, Wyo. for the 64th annual National High School Finals Rodeo (NHSFR), July 15-21.
Churchill will be joined by the North Okanagan Rodeo Club’s Scott Day of Vernon and sisters Evangeline and Celeste Windmill of Coldstream at the event.
With more than 1,500 competitors from 41 states, five provinces, and even some from Australia, NHSFR is the largest rodeo on the planet. Up for grabs will be $200,000 in prizes, plus an extra $350,000 in scholarships.
Churchill, riding his 10-year-old bay roan, Cowboy, earned his ticket stateside by winning both the tie-down roping and steer wrestling events at the B.C. high school championships recently in Williams Lake. He added a seventh-place finish in team roping and was reserve champion in saddle bronc riding in a the competition that featured the top-12 cowboys and cowgirls from both the north and south of the province.
The year’s stellar results earned him Top All-Round Cowboy. And his mount’s contribution didn’t go unnoticed as Cowboy was named Horse of the Year.
Churchill says Cowboy’s easy-going demeanor make him a treat to work with.
“He’s really calm; you have to make sure he’s awake sometimes,” laughed Churchill, who started his rodeo career at age four, working his way up from Little Britches.
“He just works really good. I got him off my cousin; he trained him and he just knows his job good and we get along good.”
Growing up in cowboy-centric Westwold, rodeo was a natural fit for Churchill, whose parents are former competitors.
“It’s pretty easy out here,” he said. “We have our own arena and I can go for rides up the hill right beside my house. It’s pretty much every day we’re doing rodeo. I usually miss one day a week.”
Churchill credits his second cousin, Clayton Moore, a pro rodeo cowboy from Pouce Coupe, B.C. (he is fourth in steer wrestling and 15th in tie-down roping on the CPRA money list), for teaching him the craft.
Steer wrestling and tie-down roping are the events Churchill will compete in in Wyoming, the latter being his favourite event.
“I have a horse makes that if fun and there’s so many different aspects to it that you have to know,” he said. “When they come together it just feels pretty cool.”
After Wyoming, Churchill will compete at Canadian high school finals, Aug. 2-4 in Virden, Man.
Evangeline qualified for B.C. finals in goat tying, earning the season leader buckle, and was sixth in breakaway roping. In Williams Lake, she was first overall, earning $150 and a saddle she gets to customize from Todd Slone Saddlery. She also earned a pair of Cinch jeans as well as a $250 event leader scholarship from Sunshine Riding.
The 20-year-old is thrilled to have made the NHSFR in her final year of eligibility.
“It’s the biggest rodeo on earth,” she beamed. “They have three different stadiums so there will always be something going on. It’ll be neat to see the different events and how they take place.”
Evangeline will be making the trip to Wyoming with Celeste, her parents Elizabeth and Paul, and of course Dusty, her 11-year-old quarter horse.
“He has a lot of character and is very personable,” said Evangeline, who has applied for a missionary leadership program in Guatemala. “Competition-wise, he has a lot of go and power, and he’ll give it to you when you need it.”
Celeste will compete in the small-bore rifle shooting in Rock Springs. It is a new event on the B.C. High School Rodeo circuit.
She also entered the queen event in Williams Lake, and after completing written and horsemanship tests, interview, personality judging, modelling and a speech, she collected Miss Congeniality. She will use her new title to promote high school rodeo next year at different events around southern B.C.
The 17-year-old Day entered B.C. finals ranked fifth in the south region in tie-down roping and third in team roping with his partner Brooke McFarland of Langley. At provincials, he ended up fourth for tie-down roping and 10th in team roping.
Day, who is graduating from Seaton Secondary, will compete in tie-down roping at both NHSFR and Canadians, where he will also compete in team roping.
Day’s mount, Cutter, is a 12-year-old quarter horse from Lone Tree Ranch Performance Horses in Spallumcheen. The two form a formidable duo.
An honours student throughout high school, Day is heading to Mesalands Community College in Tucumcari, N.M. this fall on a rodeo scholarship.
For more information about the B.C. High School Rodeo Association, visit www.bchsra.ca.
