It's hard to compete when you're sick.
Will Bushaw experienced this at the National High School Finals Rodeo in Gillette, Wyoming last week.
It wasn't him who was ill. It was his horse, and just like a human, being sick makes an extremely challenging competition even moreso.
Despite this, Bushaw, a junior at Peaster High School, placed 10th in the overall aggregate scoring in the boys cutting competition. He was hoping to move up one notch and become a national champion after finishing second in 2022, his first appearance at the finals.
Still, he said returning to nationals was itself exciting.
"Overall, I'm not upset with how it ended. My horse getting sick definitely made a difference, but I don't think it affected the outcome," Bushaw said. "I showed him the first two gos and borrowed a horse for the short go."
Bushaw and his horse had an overall aggregate score of 426.5. The winning score was 443 by Cody Gann of Leighton, Alabama, with Corsicana's Aden Bernhagen second at 441.
In the opening round, Bushaw posted a score of 134. He rallied with his best performance of the rodeo in the second round, posting a 147. Then, in the short, he had a fourth-place showing of 145.5.
Bushaw's horse is at a veterinary hospital in Colorado. However, Bushaw is still competing this weekend in the National Youth Cutting Horse Association Senior Scholarship competition in Fort Worth.
In the National Junior High Finals Rodeo, Weatherford's Kynzington Muth placed third in barrel racing. She had an aggregate time of 46.802 in an extremely close competition.
The winning time was 46.758 by Merrick Moyer of Woodward, Oklahoma.
Comments
No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here