2009~Idaho High School Rodeo Finals

2009 High School Cow Cutting!

Colby Shane Giannini, Rookie Year (Freshman) 15yrs!

When competing in her other rodeo events, Preston sophomore Claira Hollingsworth tries to pump herself up to go as fast as possible.That approach doesn't work during cow cutting.
"There's so much to think about all at the same time," Hollingsworth said. "You have to rate the cow, watch the cow, going in and out of the herd. There's a lot to think about."To be sure, cow cutting, which opened the 2009 Idaho High School Finals Rodeo on Monday at the Bannock County Fairgrounds with 16 cowboys and 28 cowgirls competing, looks much different than any of the other 11 rodeo disciplines.

While the other events wrap up in under a minute, cow cutting takes two and a half minutes per go."You get more time to think about it," said Oakley junior Brady Manning. "In rodeo, you're kinda ram, jam and stuff to get a fast time. This one takes more patience."
In the event, athletes -- who are on horseback -- must cull a cow from the herd and isolate it in the center of the arena by directing their well-trained, athletic horses run back and forth to block the cow's path back to the group.Judges start with 70 points on their scorecards and add or subtract points based on the athlete's performance. A perfect score is an 80 per judge, while 60 is the lowest a rider can score.
Each go presents its own set of challenges."Sometimes it depends," said St. Anthony senior Makale Miller, who won the 2007 national high school cow cutting championship. "Sometimes it's actually cutting your cow. Sometimes, if you get a hard-running cow, it's to keep it out. If you have not a nice cow, that's hard sometimes."
Miller's father, who trains cutting horses, keeps an eye on the herd throughout the competition and suggests which cows to go after.Blackfoot freshman Colby Giannini has a simpler approach.
"Whatever's the farthest away from you," he said.While the pace of the event is slower, Giannini said the basic principle of cow cutting isn't all that different from other rodeo events.
"All events, you've gotta keep your eye on something," he said. "This, I keep my eye on the cow. I ride broncs, too, and there, I have to keep my eye on their neck. So it's the same, but not."
(Thats my son!)

Colby tied for 1st place with a 145, in Cutting the first go around, 3rd place with a 139 the second go around! Which put him in the finals round of the finals(Nationals in New Mexico). He ended up placing 5th place with a 130 for the final go around, which dropped him to 5th place for the final score, no Nationals this year in Cutting. For a freshman year and being his Rookie Year, he did awesome!

Still have Saddle Bronc, Tuesday 7pm and 2 go Friday morning at 10AM, so who knows maybe still New Mexico bound???