craigdailypress.com

When people talk to Sharina Simpson about her performance at the National Little Britches Finals Rodeo one question always comes up.

"Everyone wants to know that answer," Simpson said about being asked which of her 11 new buckles she likes the most. "And I really don't know which one."

The freshman-to-be at Moffat County High School won buckles at the rodeo in Colorado Springs for her performances in: breakaway roping, trail course and dally ribbon roping in the first round; ribbon roping and trail course in the short go; the average in trail and ribbon roping; the season totals in the ribbon roping and trail course, as well as a buckle for finishing second in overall points at the finals and second for all-around points during the season.

"I would trade any of the buckles for a saddle," she said.

A saddle is the prize for a first-place finish in the overall points for any one of the six events or for all-around points for the season.

The closest Simpson came to a saddle was in dally ribbon roping. She and her partner, Cody Miles of Rifle, were .03 of a second from winning the world championship in the event. They missed placing in the second go by the fraction of a second.

That seventh-place finish (the top seven score points) would have earned them 15 points and it would have been enough for a title.

Simpson wasn't dwelling on the ifs and buts.

"I'm not disappointed by anything," she said. "I was excited to be in second."

Simpson also finished second, or the reserve champion, in the overall point standings for the season. Little Britches doesn't rank its overall champion by the total points a competitor earns during the season -- if that was the case Simpson would have defeated the overall winner, Britney Short, by more than 2,000 points. The LBR adds the scores of a competitors' five best rodeos during the season and then tacks on the totals from the finals.

"The second go made the difference for me," Simpson said.

She didn't score any points in the second round of competition.

She ended up finishing 105 points from the all-around title.

While not scoring any points the second day was a surprise, even more of a shock was that she didn't score in barrel racing.

"I went in ranked high in barrels and it was probably my best event," she said.

She hit a barrel in the first go and never raced well.

"She came over and looked shocked," her dad, John, said. "She couldn't believe she hit a barrel."

A pleasant surprise in breakaway roping offset the barrels for Simpson. This was her first year to try the event and at the finals she earned a third-place finish and 55 points in the first go.

Her three top-three finished in the first round earned her the all-around title for the opener.

This was Simpson's last year in the junior girls division and she will move up to the senior division when the new season starts on Aug. 21. She really went after the title this year by traveling to as many rodeos as she could.

Simpson's father, John, predicted they had been to at least 20 LBR events since last August and she had competed in more than 70 rodeos.

"We went after it this year and went to as many rodeos as we could," he said.

In the fall Simpson will join her senior-to-be sister, Shamra, in the Colorado State High School Rodeo Association series.

Until then, she has some time to decide which outfit goes with which belt.