By By STEVE FRANKLIN, Sports Writer
A pair of Pinetown siblings are quickly blossoming into two of the finest junior rodeo stars in the state.
Hannah Beamer, 15, and her younger brother Joshua, 13, have each qualified to compete in a national junior rodeo this summer.
Tomorrow, Hannah will embark upon a three-week trip to Farmington, New Mexico to compete in the 2008 National High School Finals Rodeo. The Rodeo begins July 20 and runs through July 27.
The New Mexico journey comes on the heels of Joshua’s trip to Gallup, New Mexico to compete in the Wrangler Junior High Finals Rodeo, where he participated in chute dogging — an event where a cowboy must race out of a chute and wrestle a steer to the ground. Joshua successfully completed his final attempt during the opening round in a time of 12.3 seconds to place 125th in the nation.
It was the first time that Joshua — who will enter the seventh grade at Northeast Middle School in the fall — has ever competed in the national event.
On the other hand, Hannah has made the three-day trek out to New Mexico to compete in the Wrangler Junior High Finals Rodeo on a pair of occasions. Last year, she posted one of the 10 fastest times in the barrel racing competition, but wound up 132nd after tipping over a barrel on her final run.
This year will be the first time that the rising sophomore at Northside High School has been eligible to compete in the National High School Finals Rodeo — an event that features more than 1,000 competitors from 47 states, along with entrants from both Canada and Australia. She’s qualified in both the barrel racing and pole-bending competitions.
Hannah has high expectations for herself.
Two years ago, she was the top junior high school rodeo cowgirl in the state. This year, she’s already won a state championship in barrel racing, was state runner-up in the pole-bending event, and was named the top rookie cowgirl by the North Carolina High School Rodeo Association. She was also runner-up for the NCHSRA cowgirl of the year crown.
Of all the individual honors she’s received thus far in 2008, the biggest went to her horse Lindees Missy Cash. The American Quarter Horse Association recently named Lindees Missy Cash the High School Finals Rodeo Horse of the Year.