Four Vermont girls from New England’s only rodeo team will face competitors from most U.S. states and abroad
By Juan Vega de Soto/VTDigger
A weeklong junior high rodeo is being held this week in Des Moines, Iowa. Events run Sunday, June 23 through Saturday, June 29 and Vermont had representation on that national stage for the first time.
Four girls — Rianna Bagalio of Randolph, Evelyn Mountford of Washington, Brie Pikkarainen of Wallingford, and Peyton Nichols of Worcester — are competing in the National Junior High Finals Rodeo, the biggest event in rodeo sports for middle schoolers.
“I’m pretty nervous, because I’ll be on live TV,” said 12-year-old Peyton, a rising seventh grader.
The rodeo is one of the largest worldwide, with more than 1,200 competitors from 43 U.S. states and five Canadian provinces, plus Mexico and Australia. The small Vermont delegation is participating in two horseback riding events: the barrel race, which consists of riding around barrels in a clover-leaf pattern, and pole bending, a high-speed slalom between closely spaced poles. Peyton is also participating in the light rifle shooting competition.
– Peyton Nichols of Worcester demonstrates pole bending, a high-speed slalom between closely spaced poles. She will also compete in light rifle shooting.
Say the word “rodeo” and most think of bucking bulls, lasso-swinging horseback riders, and rowdy crowds in jeans and cowboy hats — something definitely Western.
Indeed, modern rodeo sports are based on the skills that 19th-century cowboys — and, before them, vaqueros in northern Mexico — needed for cattle ranching, according to the Texas State Historical Association. In Spanish, the word rodeo means “round-up,” referring to the gathering-in of livestock.
Today, the term is a catch-all for an array of events involving horses or other ranch animals, similar to how “track and field” covers everything from the hundred-meter dash to pole vaulting. In the U.S., youth rodeo sports are governed by the National High School Rodeo Association, which has a presence in most of the country.
Until 2020, the glaring exception was the entirety of New England.
With the founding of Vermont’s rodeo team, however, the sport has acquired its own particular brand — one that is all-female and focused more on fostering a healthy team spirit than on winning events.
“It’s not just competitiveness, it’s more of a team and everybody cheers for each other,” Peyton said.
According to director Beth Davis, making the team feel like a community has been her priority since she took charge in 2022.
“It’s about cheering each other on, treating each other well, treating the horses well,” said Davis.
At the very least, the team has proven that an appetite for rodeo sports exists in Vermont. In just four seasons,
the team has grown from five members to 18, and is expected to take a greater leap this upcoming season, according to Davis.
Not owning a horse, however, remains a significant barrier to entry, which Davis acknowledges. All current team members own their horse, or horses, save for one girl who leases.
For those with the means, however, the team has provided important opportunities for growth. Peyton’s mom, Kathy, credits the team for helping her daughter overcome her shyness and make friends. She also credits it with helping her family find a community when they moved to Vermont a few years ago.
“We didn’t really find our niche here until she got into rodeo,” said Kathy Nichols.
