Title hopes: Jude Leonards of Bell City aims for national steer wrestling title FR24 News English
- Bell City steer wrestler Jude Leonards won his first state championship in June and is looking to add a national title to the National High School Finals rodeo that begins Sunday in Gillette, Wyo (Kirk Meche/Special to the AmericanPress)
His high school career is winding down, but Bell City executive wrestler Jude Leonards isn’t slowing down.
Last week at the Little Britches National Finals Rodeo in Guthrie, Okla., he finished second and third overall. In Shawnee, Okla., on Saturday night, he placed in the top-15 at the Youth International Final. On Sunday he will go for a national championship at the National High School Finals Rodeo in Gillette, Wyo.
“I just want to go out there and grab them and see what I can do,” Leonards said. “It would be a dream come true. Everything will come together.
The NHSFR runs until July 23.
Leonards makes his first NHSFR appearance. He’s steadily climbed the ranks over the past few years, winning the state average in 2020 and finishing seventh, followed by a sixth-place finish in 2021.
He capped his state title run in June at the Louisiana High School Finals at Sulfur with a solid 4.06-second strikeout in the short round to beat Life Christian Academy‘s Hudson Gros 103.2-92.5 .
“I haven’t really changed anything,” Leonards said. “I just practiced the same thing and changed horses and it’s better.
“It’s all mental. You have to keep it all out of your head, keep your head up and keep going.
For Leonards, he loves the thrill of jumping on a steer that averages between 450 and 650 pounds and trying to stop it dead.
“It gets the adrenaline pumping,” Leonards said. “It’s a challenge to do this specific event. It’s a lot of technique. You just get in there, nod your head and do the best run you can on that direction you’re drawing.
Louisiana has produced more national steer wrestling champions than any other state since 2007 with four, including three in a row from 2014-2016 by Tristan Martin (Sulphur), Gabe Soileau (Bunkie) and Ryan Gotreaux (Lacassine).
Other Southwest Louisiana State Champions looking to be crowned National Champions are St. Louis Catholic junior Katie Schlang (goat tying), DeQuincy rookie Wyatt Lavergne (horse straddle), Bobby Contance of Grand Lake (boys’ cut) and Laney Walker of DeRidder (girls’ cut).
Others to watch from Southwest Louisiana include Gros, who was a state finalist in steer and tag team wrestling, Alyssa Gary, a state finalist in goat tether, and a pair of finalists from Iowa State to Lane Touchet (cutting boys) and Lydia Touchet (rein cow horse).