News Story - Idaho State Journal

Riker Carter headed home Sunday after one of the most amazing yet stressful days of his teenage life -- and he now owns a saddle to forever commemorate it.

The Malad High sophomore returned from Farmington, N.M., a national champion bull rider thanks to a brilliant Saturday morning ride and a nerve-laden final go well after darkness had fallen in the arena.

"My short-go bull, I was behind him the whole time, pretty much laying on my stomach," Carter said by phone during his drive home. "When I hit the ground, I thought I was off early. Then all of a sudden everyone started yelling.

"It was amazing."

Carter had an unusual week, in that he completed his first go -- a 75-point ride -- on Sunday, but then he had to wait six days for the competition to wrap around to him again for the second go.

But the wait didn't seem to throw him off. He held on for an 85-point ride Saturday morning to qualify for the finals, then scored 72 points in the championship go.

He plans to leave the saddle he won in his living room, where he can admire it for a few days. Then he's off to a pair of rodeos next weekend before football practices start one week later.

"It still hasn't sunk in yet," Carter said. "I don't know when it will."

Guthrie wins eighth saddle

Twice in the last month, Bailey Guthrie has wished she competed in cow cutting.

At the national finals rodeo, the Firth senior finished in a second-place tie in the all-around cowgirl standings, just 10 points behind winner Raley Mae Radomske from Ellensburg, Wash. Radomske won cow cutting and the all-around title, but she didn't reach the finals in any other event.

Almost the same scenario played out at the Idaho finals rodeo in June, when Guthrie -- who competes in every event except cutting -- finished second to Kale Miller in the all-around by a scant margin of 2.5 points.

But Guthrie wasn't in a griping mood Sunday as she drove back from New Mexico.

"I was obviously kind of disappointed to be 10 points short," Guthrie said by phone. "But then I was really excited because that's the best I've ever done."

Indeed, Guthrie left nationals with a saddle for finishing second in the all-around standings, and she earned buckles for top-10 finishes in goat tying and barrel racing. Her previous best in four years at nationals was a 15th-place finish in pole bending.

With a little more time between events Saturday, she might have done even better. To speed up the finals, events were held concurrently in a split arena. An injury to a competitor, however, slowed one half of the competition.

Because of that, Guthrie had just two minutes between the end of her goat-tying performance and her barrel-racing ride in the other half of the arena, which kept her from warming up her horse properly.

Still, Guthrie earned eight saddles at the high school or national level during her four-year career, so many that she said she's running out of places to put them.

Next month, she's headed to Western Texas College in Snyder, where she'll rodeo and play basketball.

Until then?

"I'm going to take a week or two off," she said. "I'm just going to relax."

rodeo

high school

2008 national champions

Finals held in Farmington, N.M.

Girls' Cutting -- Raley Mae Radomske, Ellensburg, Wash.

Boys' Cutting -- Cody Hedlund, Acampo, Calif.

Breakaway Roping -- Cadee Tew, Belgrade, Mont.

Tie-Down Roping -- Reese Riemer, Stinnett, Texas

Pole Bending -- Darby Shope, Longville, La.

This document was originally published online on Sunday, July 27, 2008

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