NRA Finals: Rasmussen ready to ride

Shelby Rasmussen is only 16 but she’s no rodeo rookie.

The Choteau athlete enters this weekend’s Northern Rodeo Association Finals in Butte with a shot to win the women’s all-around championship.

“I’ve been working for it all summer and I’m really looking forward to it,” she said.

Rasmussen also finished in the top 10 in the NRA barrel racing standings, thus qualifying for the Finals, two years ago. She’s a veteran hand in breakaway roping as well but this weekend will concentrate on the barrel racing.

Performances are 7 p.m. Thursday through Saturday at the Butte Civic Center for what will be the 41st annual NRA Finals.

Rasmussen, who also qualified for the National High School Finals Rodeo last year, enters the weekend in fifth place in barrel racing, about $3,900 behind Manhattan’s Mandy Hamilton. In the all-around, though, she’s only about $1,100 behind leader Tammy Jo Carpenter, who enters the NRA Finals leading the breakaway roping.

Other leaders entering Thursday’s first performance include East Glacier’s John Salois (bareback), Havre’s Casey Delaney (steer wrestling), team ropers Ryan Ferguson of Billings and Tanner Sorge of Shepherd, Andrew Evjene of Melville (saddle bronc), Zane Holdbrook of Roberts (tie-down roping) and Jess Lockwood of Volborg (bull riding).

Lockwood, like Rasmussen, is a young athlete with a famous last name. Lockwood’s father, Ed, is a former Montana Pro Rodeo Circuit champion bull rider. Jess’s mother, Angie (Schillinger), is a former PRCA barrel racer and his aunt, Lisa Lockhart, is now one of the best barrel racers in the world.

Rasmussen’s mother, Katie, is also a talented barrel racer and trainer. She trained Lucy, a 7-year-old dark brown mare that both Rasmussen girls will be riding at big rodeos in the coming days. Katie plans to ride Lucy at the upcoming NILE in Billings, which annually kicks off the new Montana Pro Rodeo Circuit.

“She’s worked really well for my mom and I,” Shelby said of Lucy. “We trained her completely and it’s been fun to watch her progress.

“Lucy is really smart and easy to work with. And she’s also got a ton of speed.”

Shelby’s rodeo resume would indicate that she’s a mighty fast learner. What has to go right for her this weekend?

“I have to make three smooth, clean runs and keep all the barrels standing,” she said. “That’s my goal: three fast, smooth, clean runs.”

Her mother would certainly approve.

“She’s been probably the biggest influence for me in rodeo,” Shelby said. “She’s trained almost all the barrel racing horses that we have. I’m biased, but I think she’s one of the best barrel racing coaches out there. She’s such a great horsewoman. She knows what to do to make a horse work the best. And my mom’s also taught me a lot with my mental game, which has been beneficial as well.”

The mental game, she said, is just as important as the physical part of barrel racing.

“You’ve got to be able to get on to your next run and not dwell on it if you have a bad one,” Shelby said. “Get rid of the negative and be able to hold your head high when you’re going throw the lows. Because there’s a lot more lows than highs in rodeo, and you’ve got to be able to handle them.”

Shelby’s little sister, Paige, qualified in both the junior breakaway and junior barrel racing. Their famous father Flint, the renowned rodeo clown who has a busy schedule thanks to the Professional Bull Riders tour, will also be in Butte this weekend.

“My dad is so supportive,” Shelby said. “He doesn’t get to go to all our rodeos, but he’ll be here this weekend. It’s been great to travel and see so many different places with him. He’s also very important to my rodeo.”

The big question, of course, is this: is Flint really as funny at home as he is in the rodeo arena?

Shelby laughed.

“Most of the time,” she said.

Following this weekend’s action in Butte, Shelby will take a break from competing. But not from rodeo business.

She’s the reigning National High School Rodeo Association student president and will attend several functions in that role this fall and winter. She’s also planning to attend the National FFA convention in Louisville to represent the NHSRA.

“It’s been a blast, such a good experience (to be the student president),” Shelby said. “It’s been just awesome.”

And in December she’ll be attending the NFR in Las Vegas, where her father and uncle, Will Rasmussen, both have radio shows devoted to the rich rodeo. Perhaps one day not too far down the road when rodeo folks talk about the Rasmussens, they’ll think of Shelby along with her well-known father and uncle.

“That’s the goal,” Shelby said. “But we’ll have to see.”