Newcastle’s Rylee Hardin to compete in National High School Finals Rodeo

Rylee Hardin, a recent graduate of Newcastle High School, will represent her school one last time at the National High School Finals Rodeo taking place in Lincoln, Ne., July 18-24.

She earned a trip to the 73rd annual event with a third place finish in the Texas High School Rodeo in pole bending.

Hardin will compete with more than 1,650 contestants from 44 states, five Canadian Provinces, Australia, Mexico and New Zealand. In addition to competing for more than $150,000 in prizes and over $200,000 in added money, contestants will also be competing for more than $375,000 in college scholarships and the chance to be named an NHSFR World Champion.

To earn this title, contestants must finish in the top 20, based on their combined times/scores in the first two rounds, to advance to Saturday evening’s final round. World champions will then be determined based on their three-round combined times/scores.

For the rest of the story, see the July 7 edition of The Graham Leader.