By Tiffany L. Rehbein
Seniors Doug Kallenberger and Denali Solomon will have the opportunity to show off their rodeo stuff this weekend before a hometown crowd.
The Havre High School rodeo will host an event Friday and Saturday at the Great Northern Fairgrounds.
And rodeo talent they have.
Kallenberger is the defending state saddle bronc champion. He is also currently ranked second in the saddle bronc in Montana with 81.9 points.
Solomon, on the other hand, was the Montana High School Rodeo queen in 1999. She is currently ranked sixth in the state in women's barrel racing with 109.01 points.
The spring rodeo season is entering its third week with the rodeo at Havre and the kids are excited.
"It will be nice to sleep in our own beds," Kallenberger said.
The rodeo season, which runs Sept.-Oct and runs resumes in April-June, allows for the team to see a lot of Montana countryside on sometimes not a lot of sleep.
Last year, Solomon was an attendant in a wedding in Havre and a rodeo awaited her in Cohagen a town more than 200 miles away. With her horses in tow, she made the rodeo.
She left Havre at 2 a.m. and slept for about one hour on the road.
"Sometimes we run on a just a little amount of sleep," Solomon said.
The team has competed at Helena and Great Falls already this spring.
Solomon won the average in the barrels at Great Falls and finished fourth in the second go-round of the event.
Kallenberger placed fourth in the first go-round and third in the second go at Great Falls. He and his team roping partner Amanda Dellen of Wilsall, finished eighth in that event.
Other Havre High members include Todd Owens, who will compete in the bareback. Owens is currently ranked third in the state in the event with 38.17 points.
Jestin Brown will compete in the bareback, saddle bronc, and bull riding. Brown is ranked seventh in the bareback with 10.83 points.
Havre High will conclude its season in June, when the season reaches its peak at the state rodeo in Miles City. From there, they will have the opportunity to qualify for nationals, which is slated to be held in Springfield, Ill. this year.
With the saddle bronc title, Kallenberger qualified for nationals last year. Solomon, as the queen, was also in attendance at nationals.
"Last year nationals was the funnest," Kallenberger said. "Everybody is so friendly, you make lots of new friends."
Last year, the national tournament featured more than 1,500 contestants. At two rodeos per day, the event concluded in one week.
"I would love to make it to nationals again," Kallenberger said. "You get to see a lot of new places, and that's pretty neat."
Kallenberger will play football and rodeo at MSU-Northern next fall. Solomon plans to attend MSU-Bozeman and join the rodeo team.
The rodeo will begin at 10 a.m. and will run from three to four hours both days.
Havre High School Rodeo Team
Doug Kallenberger Saddle bronc, calf roping, team roping
Denali Solomon Breakaway, pole banding, barrel racing
Todd Owens Bareback
T.J. Barnett Breakaway, barrel racing
Jestin Brown Bareback, saddle bronc, bull riding
Ryan Chagnon Saddle bronc
Jessica McIntosh Pole bending, breakaway, barrel racing, goat tying
Earl Brown Bareback
Alicia Lairy Pole bending, barrel racing
Nick Johnson Team roping
Jacob Brown Bareback, saddle bronc, bull riding
