WAIMEA — The stakes were high on the final day of the Hawaii Junior High School Rodeo State Finals on Saturday with national rodeo berths on the line for some of the state’s best youth riders
WAIMEA — The stakes were high on the final day of the Hawaii Junior High School Rodeo State Finals on Saturday with national rodeo berths on the line for some of the state’s best youth riders
The state finals were held at Parker Ranch’s Paniolo Park.
Barrel racing, bull riding, team roping, breakaway roping, goat tying, ribbon roping and more were all on tap at the season culminating event and fierce competition filled nearly every division.
“I go up to the mainland for the national competition and a lot of people say, ‘You have rodeo in Hawaii?’ They just don’t make the connection,” National Director of Hawaii Tom Richmond said. “But when these kids go up there, they can compete with anybody. The competition out here this weekend has been intense.”
The state champions will be revealed today at an awards celebration, and qualifiers will decide whether or not they will travel to the National Junior High Finals Rodeo, scheduled June 22-28 in Des Moines, Iowa.
Hawaii has had great showings on the national level — both in the high school and junior high divisions — in recent years, proving that the Aloha state can hang with larger powerhouse states, like Texas.
The junior high division was created in 2004 to bring the excitement of the sport to a new age group and serve as a feeder system into the high school ranks. The division currently has over 2,500 members competing nationally.
Ka’ohu Haalilio, who attends Konawaena Middle School, has been competing in rodeos since first grade. Haalilio said he can’t imagine life without rodeo.
“The adrenaline and competition really keeps me coming back,” Haalilio said. “There is nothing like going top speed out there.”
Waimea, a town where stop signs read “Whoa” rather than “Stop,” served as the perfect venue to hold the event and help instill the deep-seated paniolo culture to the youth.
“We had the CEO of Parker Ranch, Dutch Kuyper, come and give the kids a motivational speech before they headed out to compete,” Richmond said. “It is all about bridging that gap and letting the kids know about the tradition this sport has in Hawaii and where it comes from. The families and the kids help that tradition grow more and more.”
It was difficult to find a frowning face around the Parker Ranch grounds during the event, and kids often sat in bunches along the surrounding fence, cheering on fellow participants.
“The competition is tough, but the comaradary and friendship is also a huge part of the weekend,” Richmond said. “This is a time for the kids to make friends on the outer islands that they may not see as often. Some of these kids will go home with a buckle, but all of them will go home with a ton of new friendships.”
State finals on tap
The Hawaii High School State Finals will be held June 12-15 at Parker Ranch Paniolo Park in Waimea.