South Dakota High School Rodeo Association to discuss possible fall rodeo and other issues at upcoming meeting

The South Dakota High School Rodeo Association will discuss several proposed significant changes at its upcoming meeting.

The proposed changes to the bylaws will be discussed and voted on at a meeting to be held on September 28, 2024, at the Ramkota Hotel and Convention Center in Pierre.

According to the website, these proposals include:

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1. Added fourth student officer. With this change, each region will have its own officer. Currently, the student officers are the president, vice president, and secretary. The proposal, proposed by Brad McGirr and Penny Schlagel, would add a treasurer position, bringing the total to four student officers.
2. Allowing 5th grade students to participate in high school rodeo. In accordance with applicable regulations 6^t7^t and 8^t classes participate in middle school rodeo. Add 5^t The assessment would bring South Dakota’s rules into line with new National High School Rodeo Association regulations.
3. Introduction of a 3-year term limit for the president, vice president and members of the management board. Currently, the term of office for these positions is 3 years, and the number of terms that can be served is unlimited.
4. Audit by a certified public accountant every three years. The board of directors is currently conducting its own audit of the accounts.
5. Change of date/location of annual meeting to: on the Sunday that the high school finals are held in the city that hosts the state finals. Currently the annual meeting is held the last Saturday in September in Pierre/Ft. Pierre.
6. Changes to how state finals locations are selected. Requiring that the board may extend the previous two-year contract for the finals location for an additional two years ONLY IF the board has presented the idea to the membership at the annual meeting AND requiring that the finals location be determined by the board at the annual meeting.
7. Addition of 2 regional rodeos – to be held in the fall. Currently, each region holds 4 regional rodeos over two weekends. The Saturday and Sunday rodeos are considered separate rodeos. The rule would add two rodeos (one weekend) in the fall.
8. Detailed rules for maintaining the grounds to ensure the safety of competitors and horses.

Dee and Tyler Haugen of Sturgis have put forward numbers 2-8. Most of the proposals (1-7) will be bylaw changes and will be voted on by the entire membership at the annual meeting. The eighth proposal, concerning land management, is not a bylaw change and will be voted on by the board rather than the entire membership.

South Dakota High School Rodeo Association President Lance Lesmeister, Eagle Butte, said any adult 18 years or older is welcome to join the SDHSRA. The annual meeting is open to all members, and any adult who wants to join the organization can do so on-site before the meeting.

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Dee Haugen and Lesmeister told TSLN that 2^and pursuant to a motion to change the law (to allow 5^t (Making it mandatory for third-graders to participate in high school rodeos is essentially a formality they must go through, since the National High School Rodeo Association has already adopted such a policy.)

Dee said she made these proposals because she had spoken to members who had concerns about a number of different issues.
Regarding the annual meeting, she said she believes holding the meet during the state finals rather than in September will encourage greater participation since many SDHSRA members are already present at the finals.

As for adding fall rodeos, Dee explained that there are a few different options for the four regions (Northwest, Southwest, River, East). She said the proposed rule would allow the two regions to jointly host fall rodeos. For example, the Northwest and Southwest regions could jointly host a rodeo in Rapid City, and the River and East regions could team up to host a rodeo in Huron. If the regions prefer to host their own fall rodeos, they have that option as well.

She said that if the rodeo is co-run, the top competitors from each region can earn points just as if it were separate rodeos. “For example, if Johnny from Northwest wins the saddle bronc and Billy from Southwest comes in second, they can each earn 10 points,” she explained.

This isn’t the first time the concept of fall rodeos has been discussed. In the past, some SDHSRA members have expressed opposition to the idea because they feel that rodeo athletes are already required to work on a ranch or compete in fall sports this season.

Dee said she doesn’t care if fall rodeos are added. “It doesn’t matter to me. Rain, shine, whatever, my family will still go to the rodeos. It’s just something that keeps coming up,” she said.

She said adding fall rodeos would help South Dakota “keep up with the times.” She said the proposal could allow athletes to skip one spring rodeo if they compete in a fall rodeo. She added that the current 15-day spring rodeo schedule is “grueling” for athletes, parents and rodeo committees.

Robyn Floyd of Buffalo does not support the introduction of fall rodeos because many rodeo competitors form sports teams in their small towns.

“I think it’s important to have well-rounded athletes, and in small schools we need as many athletes as possible to play all sports so they can develop. Having rodeos in the fall can discourage kids from playing fall sports. I would like to see more regional rodeos in the spring to give our athletes the opportunity to earn more points, which will help ease the pressure on them, especially if they have an injury to their horse or themselves,” she said.

Dee said she hopes the ground rules will be implemented. “The number one reason we go to the meeting is to ask for a safe area for our children and horses,” she said. She believes a petition calling for a change to the ground rules has already collected about 350 signatures.

The detailed wording of the proposed basic principle is set out below:

Changes to Basic Rules (may be approved at the discretion of the SDHSRA Board)).

29. All committees and/or hosts will work to ensure safe arena conditions for participants and animals prior to the start of the rodeo. If at any time arena conditions deemed unsafe by the arena director, judge or head performer, the event may be suspended until arena conditions are deemed satisfactory by the person or persons who collectively determine arena conditions to be unsafe.

30. In barrel racing and pole vaulting there must be no more than 5 pulls. In situations requiring more ground preparation or during short runs pulls may be less frequent than every 5 (i.e. 3 etc.). Exclusions will apply if it is not possible to drive the tractor into the arena due to weather conditions.

31. All rodeo committees and/or organizers will be required to have the necessary and appropriate equipment in the arena to safely prepare the area prior to barrel racing and pole bending (i.e. tractor, water truck, and ground equipment).

Lesmeister encouraged anyone interested in these issues to attend the meeting. He said elections would be held to fill some of the board seats for board members whose terms had expired (under current rules, a board member can be re-elected for an unlimited number of three-year terms).

He added that each region is represented by two directors, and their terms of office are staggered to prevent both of them from being dismissed in the same year.

“It’s all going to come down to what people vote for. That’s what it’s all about. People can come and buy a membership if they want to. We hope people will come and participate. No matter what happens, it’s going to be a good end result if everyone puts their two cents in and we can move forward,” he said.