Casey Breuer perfecting his technique to successfully riding in the bareback competition at nationals. He finished fourth place in the tournament and rode the full eight seconds in all three rounds he competed in. Photo courtesy of NHSRA / David Jennings Photography

By Chad Schumacher

During the week of July 20-25, six Mandan high school students competed in the National High School Finals Rodeo, in Farmington, N.M. Many athletes from around the nation came to the rodeo to compete for a chance to win a national championship.

Casey Breuer, a soon-to-be senior at Mandan High School, came very close to winning a national championship in bareback riding. He took fourth overall in the event.

Throughout the weeklong rodeo, which included two rounds of competition and a short-go round for the top riders, Breuer got on the backs of three horses and stayed on all three of them for the full eight seconds. 

Breuer got a score of 72 on his horse in the first round on Monday morning, and then Friday night got a score of 67 in the second round. During the third round short-go, he got a score of 75. Breuer won three belt buckles for his efforts at the rodeo. He won a buckle for having the best score, 72, in the round Monday morning. Then he received a buckle for making it into the short-go round and another for placing fourth overall.

When the rodeo was all over with, Breuer ended up standing only nine points behind the national winner, two points behind the second place rider and one behind third place.

“I was hoping I would do better because I thought I could win it all going into the competition,” said Breuer. “The best moment at the national rodeo was finding out that the horse that I was going to ride in the short-go was the same horse that the guy in the second round won on. So I thought that I would get the chance to score a lot of points on this horse.”

He mentioned that he stayed focused by thinking that this was just another rodeo in North Dakota. One major thing that was different from North Dakota was that the weather was hotter.

Breuer said, “It was around 100 degrees Fahrenheit almost everyday. Everyday I went to watch the morning rodeo from nine until noon and then get inside and drink a lot of water.”

The other students from Mandan who competed at the national finals rodeo were Teddi Schwagler, who took 74th place in barrel racing with a final time of 36.658. Tate Schwagler took 85th in the tie down roping competition with a time of 14.464. Tate also competed in the team roping competition with his partner, Brandon Thomas. The duo finished in 21st place, with the time of 32.969.

Wyatt Gifford was in the saddle bronc competition, where he finished in 44th position. He finished the finals rodeo with a score of 44. The sixth person from Mandan to compete at the national finals rodeo was Cody Breuer, who finished 73rd in bareback riding.

These are the 2009 National High School Finals Rodeo final overall results, which took place in Farmington, N.M. Listed are the top three placers in each event, with their name, hometown and state, followed by their score or time. Mandan participants are listed among the top three placers:

Barrel Racing – 1. Baily Jobe, Wellborn, Fla., 51.941. 2. Shelby Maxfield, Heber, Utah, 52.177. 3. Tanisha Adams, Albion, Idaho, 52.21. 74. Teddi Schwagler, Mandan, N.D., 36.658.

Bareback Riding – 1. JR Vezain, Cowley, Wyo., 223. 2. Yance Day, Tahlequah, Okla., 217. 3. AJ St. Goddard, Browning, Mt., 215. 4. Casey Breuer, Mandan, N.D., 214. 73. Cody Breuer, Mandan, N.D., 45.

Boys Cutting – 1. Brody Beaver, Huntsville, Texas, 646.5. 2. Stetson MacKey, Ignacio, Colo., 635. 3. Tyler Bowles, Atascadero, Calif., 633.

Breakaway Roping – 1. Kirsten Stubbs, Clint, Texas, 8.516. 2. Megan Belus, Buffalo, Wyo., 9.498. 3. Devin Nicholls, Kinnear, Wyo., 9.571.

Bull Riding – 1. Chase Outlaw, Tilly, Ark., 228. 2. Dustin Bowen, Fredericksburg, Pa., 191. 3. Nick Midtlien, Chaseburg, Wisc., 164.

Girls Cutting – Three way tie for first place between Jamie Lancaster, Jerome, Idaho, Marisa Julian, Fallon, Nev., and Kyle Lancaster, Plano, Texas, all with a score of 643.

Goat Tying – 1. Tyesha Oppenheimer, Redmond, Utah, 23.814. 2. Jordan Ann Thurston, Lance Creek, Wyo., 24.606. 3. Kyla Foster, Bell City, La., 25.179.

Pole Bending – 1. Angela Bartley, Emporia, Kan., 61.033. 2. Randi Robert, Gonzales, La., 61.073. 3. Jade Crossley, Hermiston, Ore., 61.182.

Saddle Bronc – 1. Dawson Jandreau, Kennebec, S.D., 205. 2. Tyler Wilson, Meadow Lake, Saskatchewan, Can., 193. 3. Bailey Webber, Mt. Iron, Minn., 179. 44. Wyatt Gifford, Mandan, N.D., 44.

Steer Wrestling – 1. Riley Duvall, Checotah, Okla., 11.374. 2. Luke Camino, Clearmont, Wyo., 13.276. 3. Dakota Eldridge, Elko, Nev., 13.991.

Tie-Down Roping – 1. Jerrell Hewitt, St. Louis, Mo., 26.934. 2. Tim Malm, Albin, Wyo., 31.439. 3. Braxton Laughlin, Westlake, La., 31.668. 85. Tate Schwagler, Mandan, N.D., 14.464.

Team Roping – 1. Ryan Cook, Belen, N.M., Cody Jo Mirabal, Grants, N.M., 22.96. 2. Jay Pillars, Beaver, Okla., Austin Rogers, Crescent, Okla., 23.434. 3. Evan Archino, Hudson Falls, N.Y., Eric Fabian, Schenectady, N.Y.,29.168. 21. Tate Schwagler, Mandan, N.D., Brandon Thomas, Mandan, N.D., 32.969.

All around cowboy - 1. AJ Fuchs, Teton Village, Wyo., 870. 2. Cameron Hopper-Craig, Battle Mountain, Nev., 705. 3. Dustin Bowen, Fredericksburg, Pa., 650.

All around cowgirl – 1. Jessie Kirkes, Carlsbad, N.M., 925. 2. Randi Robert, Gonzales, La., 840. 3. Shelby Maxfield, Heber, Utah, 770.

Boys team standings – 1. Utah, 4707. 2. Oklahoma, 3872. 3. Texas, 3725. 26. North Dakota, 660.

Girls team standings – 1. Texas, 4590. 2. Louisiana, 2840. 3. Idaho, 2785. 25. North Dakota, 555.

Team standings – 1. Texas, 8315. 2. Utah, 6922. 3. Louisiana, 5826. 22. North Dakota, 1215.