I had the good fortune this past weekend of attending the National High School Finals Rodeo in Farmington, N.M. I always enjoy that rodeo because it’s truly a three ring circus (one arena for roughstock, goats and poles, another for the timed events and another for cutting). But I get a glimpse of the future of the sport. Here’s what I saw.

Riley Duvall stands head and shoulders above his competition in the steer wrestling. Makes sense because he comes from a great line of bulldoggers, but as a back-to-back champ, he looked untouchable.

Troy Pruitt’s son, Riley, came close to winning it all, but his curl caught the calf’s back leg. Tough break for the youngster, but he’ll win plenty in his career. The kid who did win, Jerrell Hewitt, is from Missouri and I have not seen anyone get down the rope quicker than he did in the short round in Farmington in a long time. He’s slightly built, so the bigger calves might give him some trouble, but he is lightning fast. Watch for him.

In the bull riding, a young boy from Arkansas named Chase Outlaw showed he is the future of that sport. With a couple exceptions, his style and control set him apart from the rest.

Breakaway roper Kirsten Stubbs finished third two years ago, second last year and finally won the saddle in her event. She is as dedicated to her sport as anyone has ever been. Congrats to her on a dream that I’m sure felt like a long time coming.

The team roping may be the one sport that doesn’t always reveal the next big thing. There are so many kids who rope well that the draw and one bad loop here or there takes great ones out of it. The thing that struck me in the team roping was that of the 20 short go teams, only Oregon, New Mexico and Hawaii had two teams in it. From there, it was scattered around the nation. A team from New York did surprisingly well. Kids from Oregon, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Hawaii, Arizona, Nebraska, Colorado, Minnesota, Illinois, Idaho, Louisiana, Texas, Virginia, Georgia and Arkansas were all represented.

New Mexicans Ryan Grant and Cody Jo Mirabel took the title with a 22.96 on three.

Brody Beaver, son of 8-time champ Joe, won the boy’s cutting.

So, congrats to all the kids who did a wonderful job out there and all the many volunteers who make the biggest rodeo in the world work.