After several tight decisions, Winner’s Garret Phillips set for NHSFR debut – Mitchell Republic

WINNER, SD — Reaching the national high school rodeo finals was an exercise in patience and perseverance for Garret Phillips.

After finishing fifth at the South Dakota High School State Finals Rodeo as a freshman, sophomore and junior, Phillips missed the national stage by one position for three straight years.

But in the end, Phillips’ dedication to his craft paid off.

The 2024 Winner High School graduate ensured his final high school competition would be a memorable one, earning a spot in the national finals as one of four state qualifiers in the racehorse event. The NHSFR runs July 14-20 in Rock Springs, Wyoming, with Phillips’ first showing coming Tuesday, July 16.

“I went into it thinking it was my senior year and I wanted to have fun,” Phillips said. “And if I can do that, it’s going to be really amazing because that was my dream and my goal.”

While this year marks Phillips’ national finals debut, neither he nor his horse, Fergie, are complete strangers to the national finals scene. Phillips competed at the NHSFR when his older brother, Dawson, also qualified in reined cow riding Fergie. The added connections gave Phillips a little extra motivation to pursue his final high school rodeo opportunity.

“It was a big relief and a lot of excitement to finally see my name in the top four and not on the fifth hole,” Phillips said. “… I had a good run in my last round.”

In Phillips’ eyes, cow horse rodeo, his second favorite event after team roping (Phillips and rodeo partner Seth Heath of Colome were the 11th overall pair at the state finals), is “unlike any other event.” It combines the sport of reining with working cows to create a unique challenge. Plus, while many other rodeo events emphasize speed, cow horse rodeo features races that last several minutes.

To prepare for the national finals, Phillips and Fergie began training in late January. In total, Phillips estimates he has ridden five to seven times a week over the past five months.

“It takes a lot more skill, knowledge and horsemanship to compete in this event,” Phillips said. “You trust your horse a lot and you know what he’s doing, and your horse has to be in sync with you. When you give your horse a voice command, he has to know what you mean and what you’re asking of him.”

Other South Dakota qualifiers in reined cow horse include Ryen Sheppick (Pierre), Chase Brunsch (Pine Ridge) and Jakob Long (Enning).

When it comes to managing expectations for the national finals, Phillips said he’s most looking forward to meeting new people and experiencing rodeo as a competitor as he competes in one last high school competition before heading to Eastern Wyoming College.

“I’m excited to be the only one riding this track,” Phillips said. “I just want to have fun and show people my horse and what he’s all about, the best I can.”

Dierks covers prep and college sports throughout the Mitchell Republic area. His areas of focus include: Mitchell High School football and boys basketball; area high school football, volleyball, basketball, baseball and track and field; and South Dakota State football. He also spearheads Mitchell Republic’s podcasting efforts. Dierks is a Mitchell native who earned his bachelor’s degree in journalism from South Dakota State University in May 2020. He joined the Mitchell Republic sports team in August 2021. He can be reached at [email protected] and found on Twitter at @LDierksy.