Howard finishes in top half at nationals

In her first-ever appearance at the College National Finals Rodeo, Fallon’s Sydney Howard hung around with the best in Casper, Wyo.

Howard, a freshman at Feather River College, finished in the top half of the field in goat tying in the first two days but didn’t score high enough to place in the top 12 for the short go. Nevertheless, Howard posted identical scores of 7.1 seconds in the first two of three rounds to finish as high as 21st and as low as 24th out of 50 cowgirls. Howard didn’t record a score on the final day.

The best time of the CNFR came on the first day when Macy Fuller (Central Arizona) won the round with a score of 5.9. On Day 2, Loni Pearce (Southern Arkansas) posted the top score of 6.2 while Hayden Todd (Eastern New Mexico) was the victor on the third day with a 6.2.

Shelby Freed (Idaho State) won the goat tying event after posting a 6.4 time in the short go. Freed also placed fourth in the women’s all-around. Although Howard didn’t qualify in the top 12, her teammate, Courtney Wood, took fifth with a 7.0.

Feather River finished 10th out of 35 teams with a score of 193.3. Blue Mountain won with 517.5 points.