Shay Hough competes in the pole bending event at the 2017 National High School Finals Rodeo in Gillete last week. Hough, who is from Gillette, Wyoming, was named All-Around Cowgirl, and Stetson Wright of Milford, Utah, was named All-Around Cowboy.  (COURTESY PHOTO / NHSFR)

GILLETTE — The short round on Saturday, July 22, concluded the 2017 National High School Finals Rodeo (NHSFR) and the World Champions were crowned.

By three-tenths of a second, Elle Eagles became the 2017 High School world champion barrel racer. The Colorado cowgirl overcame a hardship last year when her horse broke his leg. 

Eagle said she admires the grit and huge heart her horse has given throughout the rehabilitation process and to make it this far after she didn’t think he’d come back from his injury.

Bareback rider Payton Lackey of Blanco, Texas, made three consistent rides to give him the world title in bareback riding. Lackey came into the short-go with 151 points on two, just three points ahead of Jess Pope. 

Lackey says he just picked up riding bareback horses eight months ago when he attended a bareback riding clinic offered by four-time WNFR world champion Bobby Mote.

Texas cowboys and cowgirls showed their expertise in the cutting pen — Chaser Crouch is the boys’ cutting world champion and Jamie Lyn Lucas is the girls’ cutting world champion.

Brighton Bauman of Okeechobee, Fla., came into the breakaway roping leading the aggregate and roped her calf in 2.56 seconds, to hold the lead in the aggerate and earn the 2017 world champion breakaway roping title.

Going into the final short round performance of the bull riding Trey Holston led the aggregate by one point. Holston’s 84-point ride was the highest in the final round — he covered all three of his rides for a total of 242 points to become the world champion bull rider.

The goat tier from Texas, Sonora Schueneman, had quick and consistent hands this week at the NHSFR. 

Schueneman won go-round 1 with a 6.83 second run and her 7.21 second run in go-round 2 put her first in the round and in the average. And then she took the title when she tied her third goat in 7.59 seconds.

Mikayla Joh Almond of Olin, North Carolina, fought a tough race in the pole bending. Almond came into the final round 5th in the average and had a smoking 19.865 second run to move her all the way to the top of the leader board just behind hometown cowgirl, Shay Hough.

Utah cowboy Daxon Buttars scored high points in the reined cow horse throughout the week.  Buttars ended up third in go-round 1 with 292 points and second in go round 2 with 294.5 points. He scored 295.5 points in the final round to give him 882 points total and earn the title of reined cow horse world champion.

Eighteen-year-old senior Houston Brown from Miles City, Montana, earned the 2017 saddle bronc world title after his 79-point ride Saturday night.  Brown won the first round and led the average by eight points going into the final short round.

Tucker Allen, a bulldogger from Oak View, Calif., flipped three steers consistently at the NHSFR to earn the 2017 world champion steer wrestler title. Allen says Luke Branquinho is one of his biggest inspirations and thanks Branquinho for helping him get to where he is today.

Arizona teammates Denton Petersen and James Flake came into the  final round on top in the team roping with 13.68 on two steers, almost a full second ahead of the next team. The duo turned their third steer in 6.72 seconds to make them the team roping champions.

Abdiel Zamora of Okeechobee, Fla., ended up second in both go-rounds and came into the final round leading the tie-down aggregate with 19.92 on two.  When “The Z-man” (Zamora’s preferred name) tied his calf in 10.96 seconds in the final round he earned 2017 world champion tie-down roping title.

Stetson Wright of Milford, Utah, son of 13-time WNFR qualifier Cody Wright, took the All-Around Cowboy title. Wright advanced in the final round of the saddle bronc riding and bull riding, covering all three of his broncs and all three of his bulls through the week.

Shay Hough, the hometown cowgirl of Gillette, Wyoming, won the 2017 World All-Around Cowgirl title. 

Hough made it to the NHSFR in barrel racing and pole bending. She advanced to the short round in the pole bending and ending up a tenth of a second short of winning the national title in pole bending. Hough, a young 16-year-old, says she looks forward to making it back to the National High School Finals next year.