Four native Gonzaleans will compete in TJHRA Finals

The Texas Junior High Rodeo Finals are coming back to Gonzales with opening ceremonies to be held this Saturday, May 25. Four Gonzales residents will represent their hometown in the finals.

Jaxon Beck, 13, Dyllon Richardson, 14, Emme Albert, 12, and Rhett Richter, 10, all of Gonzales, have qualified for the THJRA Finals; Albert returns for the second year in a row.

All four are excited to be in the finals.

“It's pretty cool. Its what I've been working for for a year or two now and I'm glad that I've accomplished that goal,” Beck said,

“It feels really good and I'm thankful I have really good horse,” Albert said.

All four have been doing rodeo since they were young and are glad to continue it.

“Both sides of my family always rodeoed. I've been around it since I was little bitty. And it just, there's something about it that feels right,” Beck said.

Richardson has been showing goats for seven years and has been around all over Texas and he decided to join the rodeo as well, he said.

Albert’s father and brother have been doing rodeo, and she said that inspired her to join the rodeo too.

Richter said he goes out there and practices and he enjoys the rodeo a lot.

The four rodeo finalists will be competing in several events throughout the week; Beck is competing in team roping, Richardson in chute dogging, Albert in goat tying and Richter in the junior breakaway and tie down.

“The hardest thing about it [team roping] is probably the score which is given the steer of the appropriate head start. You have to hold your horse just at the right amount of time and at the same time, you have to set it up yourself in that half a second for the rest of the run,” Beck said.

“My favorite thing about that event is when I actually throw my head loop. It just feels like everything is coming together for the rest of the run,” Beck added.

Richardson described his experience in the chute dogging competition.

“It's pretty much exactly steer wrestling but without the horse. You're sitting in the chute. You have one arm around the steer and there's a 10 foot line that you have to pass and there's a whistle blown. You hook up to the steer and then you throw it. As soon as you throw it there's a flag drops and your time,” Richardson said.

Albert competed in the goat tying in last year’s finals and she described her event.

“You have to run down there, hang and get off and run and flag the goat and tie it and whenever you put your hands up, the time stops.” Albert said.

The one thing that these four have in common is having the home advantage versus the other finalists.

“It feels great mainly because I can sleep in my own bed, but it's feels cool that I can get to represent Gonzales from Gonzales,” Beck said.

“We get a hometown advantage. We get to sleep in a little bit later. Instead of having to go up there, wake up super early and do all this. You have hometown advantage; you know what you're doing in your arena,” Richarson said.

“It feels really good to be able to compete in my hometown and to be able to know everybody and have a crowd cheering for you,” Albert said.

Richter said it feels really good to have finals in his hometown and he doesn’t have to travel far for the finals.

The finals start May 25 through Saturday, June 1 and all four are excited to be in the finals.

“I'm looking forward to kind of prove myself. I've started pretty much to make it to this event and I just look at looking forward to being able to prove myself and see if I fit in with the rest of the kids in the state and just have fun,” Beck said.

“I'm ready to go to finals to try and make it to Nationals and just do as good as I can this year,” Richardson said.

“I’m ready to go to finals to try to make it to Nationals. And see all my friends and hopefully everybody does good,” Albert said.

Richter said he is looking to have fun in the finals and rope very well.