Each summer, South Dakota Farmers Union feeds hundreds of rodeo athletes and their families during the South Dakota High School Rodeo Finals in Belle Fourche. Read on to learn more about one of the many families who will compete during the June 11-16 event.

Peering through the arena fence, eight-year-old Mason Moody couldn’t wait to rodeo.

“I always wanted to be a rodeo cowboy. My older sisters were in the arena and I wanted to be in the arena with them,” explains the youngest member of the Moody family.

After his ninth birthday, he finally got his chance to compete in 4-H Rodeo. Like his three older sisters, Logan, Bailey and Madi, he was hooked.

Now 16, his sisters will be outside the arena cheering him on during the State High School Rodeo Finals. Mason recently qualified to compete in bull riding, team roping and calf roping during the June 11-16, 2019 event held in Belle Fourche.  

“Winning takes a lot of practice and work in our homemade arena,” Mason explains. “Whenever there is a free moment, we saddle up, get on a horse and practice roping.”

In fact, Mason and his sisters spend anywhere from two to six hours each day practicing. And their efforts have paid off. All four siblings have qualified for the National Finals Rodeo. “We are all passionate about rodeo,” says Bailey, 21, a Dakota State University elementary/special education major.

…Read on and see pictures in this week’s issue of the Sanborn Weekly Journal.