Arena rides in first Boots rodeo

The opening Phillips County Saddle Club Boots and Saddles Rodeo was moved to the Milk River Pavilion on Saturday, June 10 but that didn't stop 12-year-old Arena Niebur from riding in her first rodeo.

Niebur participated in several events including the Barrel, Arena and Key Races.

She thought that things were going pretty good that day despite a couple of hiccups by her horse, Straight to the Bar (Straight), a 24-year-old Quarter Horse.

"He stumbled the first barrel because of the cover that was on it," Niebur said. "The second barrel he got spooked but the third barrel was good."

Niebur also faced adversity in the key races when Straight stopped in his track upon entering the red white and blue poles. The young Niebur showed quite the horsemanship in getting through the event even avoiding a near foul as Straight nearly overshot his pattern.

"I just pushed him through it, spurred him a little and he went through it after he figured out what it was," Niebur said.

Though Straight is an older horse, the Boots and Saddles Rodeo was brand new to him, given that he has been a team-roping horse with Tom Niebur in previous years. It was Straight's first time seeing the red, white and blue obstacles he faced last Saturday.

Though it was their first rodeo together, Arena has known Straight for a long time.

"He was born on our property, so yeah I have pretty much grown up with him my whole life," Niebur said. "This is my second year of fully riding him all of the time but we have a second horse at home that I ride sometimes."

Though the duo has been riding together for a couple of years, they have only been training since spring.

"We have an arena in our backyard and we started getting him in shape a couple of months ago," Niebur said.

She has also paid attention to his demeanor.

"He is really friendly," she said. "He is the first one we catch in the pasture every time we go catch him. He loves kids."

Her parents Tom and Darla have done their fair share of rodeos in previous years.

"Tom was a team roper," Darla said. "That's how my twins got their names Arena and Dally. I used to rodeo in junior high, not so much in high school."

Darla, the owner of Darla's 3 Sisters in Malta didn't get into specifics of what she but she was proud of her daughter.

"She did great for it being her first time performance," Darla said. "We're just here to have fun, smile and do the best you can."

Tom was proud of his daughter and his old horse.

"He did fine," Tom said. "He hasn't been rode on much in the last (decade). He has been ridden on last year but before that it was nine years since he has been ridden a lot. He has been out to pasture and he has kind of forgotten things and this was a whole new deal for him."

Tom was sure that if he was needed for calf events, he would remember how to perform.

"When there are cattle involved he knows exactly what to do but when you're running four poles or running around barrels it's a new experience for him. He is a little bit shy of everything so it's going to take him some time to get used to it before Arena can get much better. And it won't take him but a week to get used to it."

He admired his daughter's treatment of Straight and composure when things didn't go perfect.

"She did very well, she did excellent," Tom said. "She knows that he is not going to act up and do something stupid because he is a 24-year-old. My favorite saying is you put a green on a green horse and they both end up black and blue."

He went on to say that if you put a young kid on an old horse, the horse knows what it is doing and it is safe.

"She did excellent today," he continued. "The key race was perfect he balked going through them and she just kept at him and he realized that she wasn't going to quit so he walked right through it."