SHELBYVILLE, Ind. – The school year is quickly approaching, and for any high school athlete, the pre-season workouts have just begun. Long before the first bell, athletes participating in the fall sports like volleyball, soccer and football are busy getting in shape. Their season is roughly three months long.

For Shelbyville High School junior Hunter Richards, his sport of high school rodeo is year-round. Richards competed in the season-ending National High School Rodeo Association (NHSRA) finals in Nebraska July 19-25 where roughly 1,500 rodeo participants converged and competed. Another rodeo season starts Aug. 8-9. The NHSRA event, for Ohio participants only, will be held at Smokey Lane Stables in Sugarcreek, Ohio.

“The high school rodeo season aligns with the school year,” said Hunter’s mother Deborah. “Rodeo is a year-round sport, there’s no off-season. We get three weeks off during the summer. We also get a weekend or two off each month, other than that we are on the rodeo trail.”

Events vary by gender, with boys participating in steer wrestling, bareback riding, bull riding, cutting horse and calf roping, while girls’ events include barrel racing, breakaway roping, goat tying, pole bending and cutting horse. Both genders can compete in shooting sports such as light rifle and trap. At Nationals, Hunter competed in tie-down roping, team roping and trap shooting.

“Most kids at high schools practice two or three months in their respective sport, but with rodeo it’s a year-round commitment,” Deborah said. “They don’t get much time off. You may get a month off in the winter, but they’re still working with their animals, they’re still roping in the snow. I don’t know how many times we’ve cleared the driveway in winter just so he can work his ‘dummies’ in the snow. We even have a tie-down dummy in the living room so Hunter can practice his tie-downs.”

Hunter has been at the sport since he was just 7. His mother competed in high school rodeo and introduced him to the sport.

“I have seven children and Hunter was my youngest,” she said. “I competed in rodeo when I was in high school in Louisiana, so when I moved up to Indiana, I had Hunter. I wanted him to get into rodeo and when he did, he began riding sheep. When he was in middle school, he was the state saddle bronc champion in 2022. That’s when he began leaning toward the roping events.”

Hunter gained a lot of experience competing in the National Little Britches Rodeo Association (NLBRA), one of the oldest youth rodeo associations in the U.S. Athletes from ages 5-19 compete in 33 events at more than 500 rodeos annually.

“I was attracted to the excitement of the sport and the bond that you gain with your horse. It’s very enjoyable,” he said.

Today, roughly nine years later, Hunter finds himself on a much bigger stage.

To qualify for the National High School Rodeo finals, students must first be a member of the NHSRA and finish among the top four in their category in their state. Participants must be enrolled in high school and less than 20 years old at the start of the rodeo year (August of each year).

“It’s basically a lot bigger than a regular rodeo,” Hunter said. “Everyone who qualified from across the nation comes to one location to compete to see who’s the best.”

In addition, participants must maintain a good school record (a minimum GPA or 70 percent) and have no history of serious behavioral problems. Then, these athletes must pay state and national dues and purchase medical insurance, even if covered by a family policy.

After all this, these student-athletes hit the rodeo trail, participating in state rodeos throughout the year. The top four finishers in each event at the state level qualify for the Nationals, where more than 1,500 contestants from each of the 47 states and province associations compete at a designated NHSRA site. This year it was held in Lincoln, Neb.

“I will tell you that rodeos bring families together because in this sport families work together,” Deborah said. “It’s not like other sports where you take your child to practices and someone else coaches them. With rodeo the parents are highly involved. Parents are their biggest supporters.

“I also enjoy the atmosphere. In football, there are usually the top players and then the other kids who don’t get as much playing time or recognition. In rodeo, the kids and parents help each other out. It’s like a family where to me a lot of other sports aren’t like that.”

Traveling is a big part of this sport. Hunter and his family regularly travel to places like Missouri, Kentucky, Ohio and across Indiana in hopes of qualifying for national tournaments. Along with all this comes significant travel and lodging expenses. Deborah said the family has received support from local businesses through gift cards for an online auction and dine-to-donate events, with sponsors recognized throughout the rodeo season. The family continues seeking sponsorships to help offset travel and competition expenses.

As with any other high school sport, injuries are oftentimes unavoidable. Hunter has had his share of mishaps in the competition ring.

“You just kinda don’t think about it,” Hunter said. “You gotta realize sometimes it’s going to happen, sometimes it won’t. You do the sport and whether you get hurt or not you just have to move on. Above all, you just have to have fun out there and don’t put so much stress on trying to win.”

Hunter said he could easily see himself pursuing this sport in college, perhaps professionally.

“What I took away from nationals is that it doesn’t always have to be rodeo, rodeo, rodeo,” Hunter said. “You can have fun in there. You can relax and you don’t always have to be so worried about the times you get.”

He’s not totally disconnected from his high school friends, though. He competes in rodeo year-round, balancing that sport with school activities of volleyball and marching band.

The NHSRA was created to give high school students the opportunity to participate in this unique sport. Although not recognized by high school athletic associations in states, the NHSRA offers a rodeo program that sets high school rodeo apart from other varsity sports, as these athletes compete on a scale comparable to collegiate and professional rodeo competitors. At the national level, high school contestants have an opportunity to receive college scholarships totaling over $200,000 each year.