Clay Wines, an eighth grade student at Fayette Christian School, finished in the top 10 in the nation in the “1st Go-Round in Boys Breakaway Roping” during the 17th-annual National Junior High Finals Rodeo (NJHFR) in Perry, Ga.
Wine was one of approximately 200 entries in the breakaway roping category. The week of June 19-25, he competed in the team roping, ribbon roping, chute dogging, breakaway and light rifle competitions.
Featuring roughly 1,200 contestants from 43 US states, five Canadian provinces, Australia, Mexico and New Zealand, the NJHFR is the world’s largest junior high rodeo. In addition to competing for more than $80,000 in prizes, NJHFR contestants also competed for more than $200,000 in college scholarships and the chance to be named a National Junior High Finals Rodeo World Champion.
To earn this title, contestants had to finish in the top 20 — based on their combined times/scores in the first two go-rounds to advance to Saturday evening’s final round. World champions were determined based on their three go-round combined times/scores. Added money for the optional jackpot increased to $100,000 and was available to everyone at finals who entered the jackpot in their event.
