Indian Valley’s Junior High Rodeo team heads to State competition in May

By Andrea Singer

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Indian Valley’s junior high rodeo team has taken Division 1 by the horns. All three members of the rodeo team will be moving forward to state finals in Red Bluff May 18-20.

Mae Musachia will be competing in barrels and ribbon roping, Kenley Neer in pole bending, and Bodie Kingdon in saddle bronc, steer riding, and goat tying. This is a huge accomplishment since District 1 is a large district consisting of Butte, Colusa, Lassen, Modoc, Glenn, Lassen, Sisikyou, Plumas, Shasta, Tehema, and Trinity counties and only the top 5 contestants in each event move forward to the state finals. Contestants are judged on a point system, meaning every rodeo can be a make it or break it moment, and every round is crucial. Traveling all over California and Nevada, contestants average 12 rodeos a season, in sunshine and  snowstorms. Being that the rodeo members are too young to drive, their families become part of their team, hauling the horses and providing moral support along the way, making rodeo a family affair.  

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This is not Mae Musachia’s first rodeo; she is a second-year veteran of Jr. High Rodeo, and a cowgirl with a deep passion for the sport. She said, “Although there is a fiercely competitive nature around the circuit, there is also camaraderie among participants that you can find nowhere else. Because of the vast distances we travel to compete, and long weekends spent together, fellow competitors become more like family, supporting one another both in and out of the arena.”

If you are in Red Bluff the weekend of May 18-20, come on down to the fairgrounds and support our local cowboy and cowgirls on their journey to take state, and fingers crossed watch them move forward to nationals!