Teens no strangers to the saddle

Usually, talk about underclassmen is naturally coupled with words like "inexperience" and "youth."

For a pair of high school sophomores from Douglas County, though, this weekend's National High School Finals Rodeo in Farmington, N.M., will be anything but new.

Becka Glocknitzer qualified for nationals in cutting, the same event that her brother, Jonathan, competed in at nationals over the past two seasons.

Grant Denny will be making his second appearance at the national championships after qualifying in steer wrestling last year. He'll compete in three events this year - steer wrestling, bull riding and bareback riding - which could put him in the running for the all-around competition.

"It's so difficult to qualify for multiple events at nationals, that getting a spot in three events makes you a legitimate contender for the all-around," Cindy Denny, Grant's mother, said.

"The all-around isn't really on my mind," Grant Denny said. "If it is, I won't do well. I'm just focusing on practicing well and trying to complete all of my rides."

Glocknitzer took third in cutting for the season to clinch her spot at nationals. Denny took second in steer wrestling, third in bull riding and third in bareback. They will both be competing for Team Nevada at the seven-day event which annually draws more than 1,500 contestants from 41 states, five Canadian provinces and Australia.

They'll be competing for over $200,000 in prizes and more than $325,000 in college scholarships.

"It was fun last year," Denny said. "There are a ton of people. They have two main grandstands and they are totally packed with people.

"People are standing all the way around the arena because there aren't any seats left."

Glocknitzer has been in those seats for the past two years.

"It's huge," she said. "You meet a whole bunch of different people who have a common interest and it's a lot of fun.

"The event kind of takes the whole town over. You see the whole town in the stands, not just the parents. It's a big deal.

"I felt really accomplished to make it there. I feel like it's my turn now. Jonathan got to do it, and I was so happy for him. Now I get a chance to try it out."

The sheer size of the crowd was something that took Denny by surprise last year.

"I was a little intimidated," he said. "I had some nerves going in. It's totally different from the rest of the season. It gives you a bit of a charge when you go out there."

It was those nerves that almost kept Denny from qualifying in the bulls this year.

He'd fallen off 14 consecutive bulls toward the end of the season, but got out of the rut during a doubleheader during which he completed four rides.

"The next few weekends I did really well," he said. "I came into state strong and ended up winning all three go rounds."

The performance bumped him up three full places in the season standings, clinching the national berth.

"I think I just kept getting in a weird mindset and trying too hard," he said. "If I'm nervous when I'm waiting in the chutes, I'm not going to ride very well. If I'm excited and I don't think too much about it, I'll end up having a good ride.

"I know I can do better at nationals this year."

The nervousness is something that's been weighing on Glocknitzer's mind as well.

"It's something you hope won't affect you," she said. "I hope since I've been there and seen it, I won't be as star struck, but I'm pretty sure I will have some nerves once I start getting ready to cut."

The two have similar goals for the week - to win their respective go rounds (rounds consisting of 20 competitors) and to advance to the short go (the top 20 from the preliminary rounds) - but they both agreed making it to nationals was quite an accomplishment of its own.

"It's kind of the reward for the work we put in during the year," Glocknitzer said

Denny spends most of his weeks during the season criss-crossing the state just to find practice time. He goes to Reno for roping practice, goes to Fernley and Fallon for bull and bareback riding and spends a significant amount of time working on the family ranch as well.

Glocknitzer, who also competes in poles and barrel racing, spends most of her week working at the Paul Barnes Training Stables in Minden.

She said while there may have been some sibling rivalry when Jonathan was in high school, he has been very supportive this year.

"I'm using his horse (Doc) and he's been giving me a lot of advice and helping me a lot," she said. "I think there was more of a rivalry between us when I was showing my own horse. I think now he just wants me to do well.

"I started showing my horse (Scarlet) at the beginning of the year, but she's so young (6 years old) that she started to fall apart. My brother let me use his. Hopefully next year I'll be able to make it with her.

"I'm just very thankful to Paul Barnes for all of his help. The same goes for my parents, who are there with me through all the tears and all of the happy times and haul me all over the state during the season. I couldn't do any of this without them."

Anyone interested in helping the Denny or Glocknitzer families in getting to the national championships can contact Cyndie Glocknitzer at 721-4722 or Cindy Denny at 691-7098.

"It's funny, people don't really understand how big the national finals are," Denny said. "It's not like a normal high school rodeo. It's televised. It's the largest rodeo in the world. It's a pretty bid deal."

For more information on the rodeo, visit www.nhsra.org.