Cactus Shadows teens snare trip to Nationals
MARC BUCKHOUT ~ MANAGING EDITOR ~ 6/23/2010

They compete in equestrian events. So it seems only appropriate that incoming Cactus Shadows juniors Georgia Diez and Mike Vines will head to Wyoming, the Cowboy State, for the 2010 National High School Finals
Rodeo next month.
From July 18-24 the top teens from around the United States as well as from countries around the world will find their way to Gillette, Wyoming to compete for a national championship.
In finishing second in barrel racing during the course of the season Diez will make her second straight trip to nationals after earning a bid in goat-tying last year.
“I was hoping to get to go again in goat-tying too, but my horse in that event got hurt, but in barrel racing I was pretty much second all year long,” she said. “If you don’t run with the top competition you can’t expect to improve. I didn’t catch the girl in front of me, but I closed the gap toward the end of the season.”
After accumulating points based on strength of performance at nine events around the state during the course of the season, the competitors’ final chance to move into the top four spots came at the state finals, June 12-14, in Payson.
While Diez went into the event in solid position to advance, Vines sat fifth in his event,
steer wrestling.
“I was nervous,” Vines admitted. “Being a sophomore I wasn’t really expecting to get to go, but I was so close going into the finals. Regular rodeos are worth 20 points, but the state finals are worth 45 points so I knew I had a
real good chance.”
In steer wrestling a horse-mounted rider chases a steer, drops from the horse to the steer, and then wrestles the steer to the ground by twisting its horns.
Needing to move up in the rankings Vines went in with the expectation that he’d need to be perfect in order to advance.
“I knew if I caught all my steers that somebody in front of me would miss,” he said.
Although Diez missed one steer he also had one of his fellow competitors miss once on day one, leaving
him an opportunity.”
The following day he seized the second chance, taking down both steers while two of his fellow competitors were unable to take down their steer. The slip ups allowed the Scottsdale resident to vault from fifth
to third place.
Overall Vines said he was pleased with his effort.
“I didn’t do badly,” he said. “Anytime in the six seconds area is pretty good. Even though I missed one, I also got my personnel best time of 6.17 on another try.”
In earning a bid to nationals Vines is the second member of his family to qualify for nationals, following in the footsteps of his older sister Becky, who qualified in goat-tying during
her prep career.
“I remember when I first saw the event and thinking it would be a lot of fun,” he said. “It takes a lot of practice. Jumping off the horse is an adrenaline rush. Even though the steers weigh about 500 pounds it really doesn’t take all that much strength to get them to the ground. You really just have to know how to use their momentum to
throw them down.”
While Vines will take his four years of experience to nationals, first in shoot dogging before graduating to steer wrestling, Diez has been involved in rodeos for six years.
“When I was real little my dad promised me a horse,” said Diez, who lives just outside of New River in Phoenix. “He thought he was getting me a backyard pony, but I wanted a lot more.”
The 16-year-old started in rodeos at the age of 10.
“I loved the excitement of competing,” she said. “The first few years it was really tough, because I really didn’t know how to ride.”
After getting started in pole bending Diez found success, not only in goat-tying, but also in barrel racing, an event in which a horse and rider attempt to complete a clover-leaf pattern around preset barrels in the fastest time.
“I had to learn how to train a horse,” she said. “That has made a world of difference.”
Not only did Diez acknowledge the strength of her horse, but so did the Arizona Quarter Horse Association, which named it Girls AQHA Horse of the Year.
With her success at the state level Diez said she’s going to Wyoming with the idea that she can be very competitive.
“I’m serious about it,” she said. “It’s pretty good being able to qualify from Arizona. The best run we had this season was in Wickenburg. It was 16.9 seconds. It was so smooth. It felt very fast. You can tell in the shoot before the run. If he’s calm in the gate and agreeable you feel good that you will have a good run.”
Both teens are looking to pursue their sports beyond the high school level looking to compete in college, hopefully on a college scholarship.
“I want to do lots of the events in college, team roping, goat-tying and barrel racing,”
Diez said.
More than anything it just takes the willingness to practice,” Vines said. “I know U of A has a team. That would be cool to get a scholarship down there.”
For information on the Arizona High School Rodeo Association go to www.ahsra.com.