Despite bringing in kids from all over the state, there is one competitor who doesn’t even have to leave her backyard.
LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) – The National High School Finals Rodeo may have thousands of kids from dozens of states (and a couple countries) taking part, but there is only one of them who only needs to travel across town. Hadley Teut is the only qualifier from Lincoln this year.
“High school rodeo is a lot different than other sports”, Hadley explains, “because you can make money, and it’s really fun to win and make money.”
Hadley has been riding for years, but this will be the final event of her high school career. That’s not to say she’s stepping away entirely. Far from it, in fact. Hadley was offered a scholarship from Southwestern Oklahoma State University to continue rodeo into her college years.
Even though she has her future all lined up, this hometown kid is hoping to finish this stage of her career on top, and maybe even set herself up for further success. “You look at all the pro rodeo guys: they’ve all won at this high school level.” Hadley continues, “That’s why I think it’s so special, because these give kids the opportunity to go on to do better things in the rodeo industry.”
Hadley checked in along with everyone else on Thursday, and she competes on both Monday and Friday.