High school rodeo wrangles up a good time in Cottonwood

Call me Crash:
Casey Meroshnekoff, formerly of Cottonwood loses his footing after making a 79 point bareback ride.

The California High School Rodeo Association District one held their fifth rodeo of the season at the Bobby Jones Arena on Feb. 7 and 8.

Each season there are eight rodeos held at the high school and junior high school levels. Each rodeo of the season is held in a different place during the season such as Yreka, Red Bluff, Cottonwood and McArthur, depending on the time of year.

This weekend, the Wrangler cowboys and cowgirls combined their rodeo with the CHSRA to help save cost on livestock contracting. The district finals will take place on May 2 and 3. After the district finals, the top five cowboys and cowgirls in each event will advance to the California State Finals Rodeo which is held in Bishop, June 15 through June 20.

At the high school level the participation level from each high school is as follows. West Valley High School has 11 rodeo athletes, Anderson High School has one rodeo athlete. Foothill High School has six rodeo athletes. Enterprise High School has one rodeo athlete. Shasta High School has two rodeo athletes. University Preparatory High School has one rodeo athlete, and Red Bluff High School has 15 rodeo athletes. There are other competitors that attend schools in the outer lying areas. There are approximately a total of 75 cowboys and cowgirls in the California High School District One Rodeo Association.

The next California High School Rodeo Association rodeo will be held in Red Bluff on February 28 and March 1. This will be an inter-district rodeo with CHSRA District 2, which consists of the coastal counties. There will also be a special rodeo, "kids giving back to kids" where cowboys and cowgirls from each district are able to spend time working with under privileged youth and helping them to participating in an event or two. They are then given a special picture of themselves and their new friends along with a cowboy hat or bandanna.

The next rodeo to be held in Cottonwood will be on April 4 and 5.