5 Diné compete at Wrangler junior high finals rodeo

After a week of competition against 600 other contestants at the Wrangler National Junior High Rodeo Association Finals, Tee O'Brien Jim placed 12th in the goat-tying event.

Jim was a member of the New Mexico team and was one of five Navajos who qualified. Jim's cumulative time was 36.27 in three attempts in the goat-tying event.

The Wrangler rodeo is one of the top national rodeos for kids who are in middle or junior high schools. To qualify for nationals, they have to finish in the top four in their respective event at their state qualifying event.

Jim, who completed his 8th grade year at Tse Bit Al Middle School in Shiprock, qualified for nationals in two events. He placed first in the breakaway roping and was runner-up in the goat-tying event at state in Lovington.

For Jim, the Wrangler rodeo was his second time as a member of the New Mexico team. The breakaway event is Jim's best event but unfortunately he did not place in the top 20.

Waiting his turn among 100 other contestants in the goat-tying event, Jim looked calm with his father, Jeffery Jim.

Finally after hours of waiting his turn came and he raced down the arena in less than eight seconds, jumped off his horse and raced to the goat and tied its three legs. He was timed at 12.34, which was enough to qualify him for the finals and he was in the top 20.

"I feel great competing with the best," Jim said. "It's like a stepping stone to be better. I was competing in breakaway and I didn't do good but I'm still doing good in goat tying. You have to be the best and I think I'm doing good for New Mexico."

Jeffery said that it was an experience that his son was able build on for future rodeos to come.

"It feels good that he's competing here," Jeffery said. "He's learning and experiencing it. He's determined and as a young adult it's making him get strong. He's building his foundation in what he enjoys doing."

"He does his best," he added. "It makes us proud. We've been through the Little Britches Rodeo, Indian junior rodeos on the reservation and off the reservation. I always tell him it's just like at home, son. Just like him competing against his little brother, Trevor Jim. They always compete against each other in the morning, every night, at school and they're just having fun. That's what rodeo is all about, just having fun."

Tee and Jeffery thanked their team coach, Mike Swaezea, a member of the junior high rodeo association for New Mexico.

"Having coach Swaezea, he's always coming up to us at every rodeo to make sure we're always squared away with Tee," Jeffery said. "He's always helping the kids out, especially from the north.

"You have to have a 2.0 GPA, so these students are going to school and keeping their grades up," he added. "That's what it's all about these days with education. With an association like this, you have to keep it up in order to make it this far. They know they need to keep up their grades in order to compete."

"They compete in eight regular season rodeos and the top four contestants in each event, cumulative for that season, qualify," Sweazea said. "Thirty-four of the kids have qualified from New Mexico at the nationals. They all deserve to be here today. I'm real proud of them and it's been a privilege for me to have them here."

Regardless of the outcome at nationals, Jeffery said there other rodeos in the future for Tee.

"My son is doing what he does best and he excels in it, it's all worth it," Jeffery said. "I tell him to just leave it out in the arena. Good or bad, he picks himself up. If my son doesn't do good, we pick him up. It doesn't stop at one rodeo, there's always another one. I always tell him to keep his head up. He always has a rodeo family to help him up."

"Rodeo, it's all I do," Tee said. "Just go to school and go to rodeos. I've been competing since four years old."

Team ropers

Also members of the New Mexico team are Navajo team ropers J.R. Becenti and Karlex Capitan. Unfortunately for the duo, they failed to get a time on Friday and missed their chance to qualify for the finals.

"It feels good. It was an experience," Becenti said. "It's fun. It's exciting and just make the best out of it. We just tried to catch all our steers but we didn't."

"I felt nervous," Capitan said. "I've been nervous because there's too many people. I'm used to competing against other Navajos, but not this."

"The huge crowds, 4,000 people watching, it was just a little overwhelming for the kids, especially on their first trip coming to the nationals," Sweazea said. "It could be really imposing and having to compete in front of that many people. We have 835 contestants, so it's kind of overwhelming for them sometimes. So all I tell them is just compete like you would do at other rodeos at your hometown."

Both young cowboys are from Brimhall and attended Tohatchi Junior High. Becenti, 14, the heeler, just finished his 8th grade year and is going to be a high school freshman this fall. Capitan, 12, the header, will be a 7th grader this fall.

"This week, we didn't do too good. I'm missed my heel catch today. I just missed and it's not pretty good," Becenti said on Friday after their second attempt.

Karlex's father, Alex Capitan, says despite the outcome he was proud of them.

"They've done pretty good. We had a good draw in the first round. Second round, we didn't draw good. I still give them a lot of credit. I'm proud of both of them," Alex said. "For four years they've roped together, they've been improving everyday. It's not their last one, so they'll be down that road again."

"I think they did pretty well. This is their first time here," J.R.'s mother, Johanna, said of the cousins. "They got the experience and they were excited.

"I told them to try hard, do the best they can and try catching them, because it's pretty much wide open and if they can catch it, we have a chance," she said after the team's second attempt. "I'm proud of them. It's an honor for them to make the New Mexico team. I know they were a little nervous and they wanted to do better in the second round."

Both the parents say that the experience at the national level was well deserved for the two, but it was only possible by them keeping up with their grades.

"They do checkups at the beginning," Alex said, "then they do a progress checkups at the finals. I tell him to keep up his grades, to do his best in school so it won't give him any problems down the road. Education is the number one deal for rodeo, so we try and keep him in school and do his best."

"That's a priority," Johanna said. "They struggle now and then, but that's priority in any sport, in school, even in college. Just need to keep your grades up if you want to compete."

Also members of the New Mexico Team were Wacey Carviso of Wingate who finished 77th overall in the breakaway event. Ryan Cody of Shiprock finished 94th overall in the goat-tying event.

"I hope they got along and spent time together," Alex said of the five Navajos. "Knowing that some other Navajos qualified, they went through the whole New Mexico rodeo competing against each other, it's pretty neat."

"They're all excellent young men. They're real good competitors. They all rope good, tie good," Sweazea said of the five. "They're real good Navajos. I've known about them from other rodeos throughout the year.

"The Navajo kids have always been tough," he said. "It was great to have them on the team, they all got along and I'm just really proud of them."

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