Grant County high school students Sarah Clark and Jack Strong both brought home first-place novice buckles in their respective events at the Ukiah Rodeo last month.

UKIAH — Two Grant County high school athletes brought home a pair of first-place novice buckles on July 2 from the Ukiah Rodeo, which was held for the first time after a 55-year hiatus.

Jack Strong, a senior at Grant Union High School, edged out the competition in bull riding, while Sarah Clark, a Prairie City High School junior, beat out roughly 30 other riders in barrel racing.

In bull riding, the rider must stay on the bull for at least eight seconds while only touching the animal with their riding hand. In barrel racing, a horse and rider attempt to run a pattern around barrels in the fastest time.

Strong, who stayed on his bull for longer than eight seconds, bested the time of the rider before him.

Winning a buckle, he said, is something he had dreamed about since he was a kid.

“Being raised where we are at,” Strong said, “ever since you’re a little kid, you always want to win a buckle.” So to win one, he said, came as a relief.

He said it meant a lot to win the prize in front of his dad, Mike Strong, and stepmother, Trista Strong, especially since Mike and Trista built an arena where he could practice and improve his skills.

Not only that, Jack said, but his dad helps keep in contact with bull riders from the Professional Bull Riders organization. Jack said he sends the more experienced riders videos of his rides and asks them for tips on what he needs to fix and where he can improve.

“(They) helped me win the buckle,” Jack said of his father and stepmother.

For her part, Clark said this was her first year competing in the Idaho Cowboy Association, the organizer of the event, but said she competes at other rodeos.

As for winning first place, she said things came together for her at the Ukiah Rodeo.

“Sometimes you have a good weekend,” Clark said, “and then sometimes you have a bad weekend.”

Clark, who has been on the back of a horse since she was 2 years old, trained the horse she rode in Ukiah herself. She said she has had the former racehorse, a Thoughbred, for about two years. Clark added she has trained all of the horses she rides for barrel racing herself.

She said the Ukiah Rodeo was a lot of fun.

“Everybody was super kind,” she said. “They had great vendors, and they put on a really good rodeo.”