Chasing A Dream Deer Park 16-Year-Old Heads To Second Rodeo Finals

A veteran as a sophomore, Mike Phillips hopes experience plays a part at the National High School Finals Rodeo next week.

“Experience always helps,” Phillips said. “The more you go, the easier the pressure gets. It was good to see what kind of competition (is there); see what you’re really up against. It’s really good. There’s some really talented kids down there.”

Phillips, 16, a student at Deer Park High School, is headed for Pueblo, Colo., where the NHSFR begins this weekend and runs through the next, hoping a second trip makes it easier. A calf roper, Phillips went to the Finals in team roping with Buck Rodolph of Cheney after his freshman year.

Phillips is ready, confident in his horse and his ability. There’s just the matter of keeping score.

To be successful, he said, a roper has to be aware of the score, which isn’t the same as the time it takes to rope, catch, throw and tie his calf to be competitive.

The score is the distance the calf gets for a head start before the roper can take off after it.

“Paying attention to what the score is and how much you have to let (the calf) out (is) probably the key to calf roping,” Phillips explained. “The score depends on how long the arena is and how long the boxes (the roper’s horse is backed into) are. It’s different everywhere you go pretty much. The average is 10 feet, (but) I do different ones so I’m ready for everything.”

At 5-foot-11, 220 pounds, Phillips is confident when it comes to jumping off his horse and running down the rope to catch a 280- to 300-pound calf and flanking it - picking it up and dropping it to its side - before tying three legs together.

“It takes lots and lots of practice,” said Phillips, a regular weight lifter. “It takes lots of repetition doing the same thing, going to a lot of schools and just lots of practice.”

Another important factor was getting comfortable with his horse.

Phillips bought his horse from a roper in Oregon 2-1/2 years ago and it took more than a half-year to get acquainted.

“He’s got his way and you’ve got your way,” he said. “You have to get your minds together. Horses (cue or start) different. Some go off your feet, some go off your hand, some go off both. My horse before goes off hand. Sitting there ready to go, I would push down on his neck and he’d go. The horse I bought goes off my feet. Now he goes off both, he kind of got used to me and I got used to him. That’s the hardest part.”

Except maybe for the name.

“Mom (Cindy) calls him Chance and I call him the black horse,” Phillips said. “Call him Chance.”

The duo is comfortable and Phillips won the state title in calf roping, leading the Washington contingent to Pueblo.

Team roping was a different story. He paired up with Geana Bruce of Farmington, who goes to school at Oakesdale and is going to Pueblo as the state champion in goat tying.

“We didn’t do too well,” said Phillips, the heeler. “It was a long ways to go and practice. We just didn’t have our ducks in a row, I guess. Sometimes it works, sometimes it don’t. It’s kind of tough, really (to find a partner). The majority of (good ropers) are in Ellensburg or Wenatchee. It’s hard to get with them and practice. Hopefully next year I might rope with somebody here.”

Rodolph graduated last year and competed at the University of Montana this past season. Phillips hopes to some day go south for his collegiate career so it’s easier to practice year-round.

Andy Bolich, who will be a junior at Mount Spokane in the fall, is also headed to Colorado as the state bareback and saddle-bronc riding champion.

Phillips has always been a roper, like his father, Jim, beginning when he went to “peewee” rodeos.

He likes other sports, but only participates in rodeo.

“I’ve got one bad knee already I hurt a couple years ago. I want to save it,” he said. “I like playing other sports, but they don’t interest me as much as tying calves. And there’s more money in it.” , DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color Photo

MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: ON DECK The National High School Finals Rodeo begins this weekend in Pueblo, Colo.