Three rodeo athletes compete at state event

Three Weiser High School students, Maddie Cobb, Kash Cobb, and Quinci Marvin, competed in the Idaho High School Rodeo Association State Finals June 4-11 in Pocatello, Idaho at the Bannock Event Center.
 The rodeo season begins in September. Over the course of five weekends throughout the school year, the athletes compete in 12 rodeos to accumulate points to qualify for state. The top 6 from each district qualify for state. 
 Senior Maddie Cobb qualified in barrel racing with a sixth place finish overall in the district, breakaway with a fourth place finish overall, and team roping with a sixth place finish. She also barely missed qualifying for pole bending with a seventh place finish. 
 This year Cobb partnered with her brother, freshman Kash Cobb for team roping. Kash was actually not at all interested in participating in high school rodeo this year, as he felt it would be too busy with also participating in other high school sports. But, his mom, Kelly Cobb knew it would be the only time her two high schoolers would be able to participate in rodeos together, so she insisted that Kash and Maddie pair up for team roping. 
 Kelly shared that while she pretty much had to force the two of them to partner for team roping, they both ended up enjoying working together throughout the season. 
 Maddie shared that sometimes team roping can be hard because working with a partner can come with a lot of pressure, and sometimes it’s hard to tell each other what went wrong or what can be improved after a bad run. As siblings, it worked in their favor that they could be more honest with each other to make each other better. 
 It also helped that the two know each other really well. While they compete as part of the Weiser River Rodeo Club, there is not an official coach or official practice times. With their busy schedules they were able to practice more on their own time. 
 Kelly also shared that even though Kash did not want to compete in rodeo this year, having the one event was perfect. The more he did it, the more he loved it and Kash is now ready to compete in more events next year.
 The state competition went well overall for the Cobbs. Maddie caught all three of her breakaway calves. Kash and Maddie caught their last team roping steer with a 9.47, which was a great time for the pair. Unfortunately, the Idaho High School Rodeo Association  changed the way things were scored this year, so they didn’t make the short go. With the old rules,  they would have, so the Cobbs are still really proud of how they did. 
 Maddie shared that she is sad that this was her last year competing in high school state rodeo, but is excited to be able to compete in the same events for TVCC next year. Maddie shared that she really loves rodeo because she loves the community. 
 “Rodeo people are good people, and I really like that my teammate is a horse,” Maddie said. 
 Maddie is unique because she uses the same horse, “Bullet” for all three events. Many athletes have different horses for different events, but Bullet is extra special because he has helped Maddie and her older sister Sydney qualify for state eight times. 
 Kelly Cobb shared that the Idaho High School Rodeo is pretty competitive because so many athletes are able to work with their horses all the time. They don’t just work on their events for rodeos, but they ride and train constantly. No one gives the athletes official coaching or practice schedules but they are skilled athletes because their practice is built into their lifestyle. 
 Junior Quinci Marvin also represented Weiser in district in three competitions this year: breakaway roping, team roping, and barrel racing. She entered ten district rodeos competing against about 25 other girls in each event. She finished the season in 10th place in barrel racing, and she and her partner Rhianna Iveson finished seventh in team roping, so she did not qualify for state in either of those events. She did however, qualify for state in breakaway roping with a sixth place finish.
 Marvin did have some tough luck at state. She was not able to rope two of her breakaway calves, but was able to score a 4.11  in the second go. This was a great time for Marvin, and she was in the top 13 for athletes in that round. 
 Marvin ropes with her horse, Oscar. She practiced hard every day, went to roping jackpots around the area, and received a few lessons from a local college rodeo coach. For next year, Marvin plans to start riding a new barrel horse and possibly begin competing in a few more events than last year.
 “Next year is my senior year and I have high hopes of qualifying for the State Finals in my main three events of breakaway roping, team roping, and barrel racing,” Marvin said. 

Category:

Signal American

18 E. Idaho St.
Weiser, ID 83672
PH: (208) 549-1717
FAX: (208) 549-1718
 

Connect with Us