Before they compete under the bright lights at the National High School Finals Rodeo, the world’s top youth rodeo athletes have already spent months proving themselves far from the spotlight.
The more than 1,700 contestants headed to Lincoln for the 2026 National High School Finals Rodeo didn’t simply qualify through talent. They earned their spot through a year of caring for livestock, hauling horses across state lines, balancing schoolwork and spending countless hours practicing.
“They started in September rodeoing with the goal of getting here,” said National High School Rodeo Association Executive Director James Higginbotham. “They have qualifying rodeos in their home states, then a state finals, and the top four get to come here.”
But the competition itself is only part of the journey.
“What they have to do to get there is take care of the animals. They’ve got to water, feed, exercise and practice,” Higginbotham said. “A lot of kids would get out of school and be goofing off. They’d go home and clean a stall.”
Those daily responsibilities, he said, help shape competitors long before they enter the arena.
“The behind-the-scenes things that people never see — where others might go to the pool hall and be playing pool, they’re home exercising their horse,” Higginbotham said. “It just instills in them the responsibility. If you want to do something, these are the things you’ve got to do to get there.”
The National High School Rodeo Association includes about 15,000 members representing 43 U.S. states, five Canadian provinces, Australia, New Zealand, Mexico and Guatemala. This year’s finals, July 19-25 at the Sandhills Global Event Center in Lincoln, will feature competitors who advanced through months of qualifying events.
While the rodeo showcases elite athletic ability, Higginbotham believes the character of the contestants stands out just as much.
“We talk to merchants, and they say to us, ‘You have some of the most polite “yes, sir” and “no, sir” and “thank you” young people there is,’” he said.
He also credits the sport with strengthening family relationships, as parents and children spend hours traveling together to rodeos across their states.
“What our sport does is force a family to get in an automobile and go five hours to a qualifying rodeo, and they have time and conversations that they don’t have the rest of the week,” Higginbotham said. “We’re pretty proud of that.”
That work culminates in a weeklong championship at Lincoln’s Sandhills Global Event Center, where contestants will compete in 12 rodeo performances, daily cutting and reined cow horse competitions, queen contests, shooting sports, educational clinics, career fairs, scholarship events and trade shows. Evening rodeo performances begin Sunday, July 19, with the championship Short Go on Saturday, July 25.
“We’re pretty proud of the fact that not only do we try to improve their rodeo skills, but we try to instill in them the value of the family and making good citizens for our country.”