Rodeo: Belgrade freshman back in saddle after winning national title

By JIM CNOCKAERT Chronicle Sports Writer

BELGRADE - It might have been tempting to take it easy, to rest on her laurels.

Sean Sperry/Chronicle Belgrade freshman Niki Baumann, 14, recently won the national junior-high goat-tying championship. After all, she'd just won a national championship, and she had the saddle to prove it.

But it speaks volumes about Niki Baumann's competitiveness that as soon as she returned to town in early July after winning the goat tying at the Wrangler Junior High National Finals Rodeo, she was back in the saddle practicing.

Her championship saddle.

“It's definitely getting used now,” Baumann said Tuesday night during a practice break at her family's arena. “I've never won anything like that saddle. It's really cool. But I'm going to use it.”

Indeed she does, because goat tying is just one of her events. An all-around cowgirl, the 14-year-old Baumann also competes in team and breakaway roping, barrel racing, pole bending and cutting.

A Belgrade High freshman and a member of the Bridger Mountains High School Rodeo Team, Baumann will demonstrate her growing proficiency in those events this weekend during the Bozeman High School Rodeo at the Gallatin County Fairgrounds' Anderson Arena. The high school rodeo, the first in Bozeman in two years, is scheduled Saturday and Sunday.

Baumann returned from the junior high nationals in Gallup, N.M., more determined than ever to compete at as high a level as possible, and that doesn't surprise former Montana State goat tyer and current graduate assistant, Jyme Peterson. The ex-Bobcat has worked with Baumann at camps and clinics the past two years and has seen her improve dramatically. Peterson also invited Baumann to compete this summer in a goat-tying jackpot series against older women. Baumann did more than just hold her own; she was a regular winner.

“For as young as she is, she is an outstanding competitor,” Peterson said of Baumann. “She has a lot of work ethic and try. When you pair that with her ability and athleticism, she's right up there with all the college girls.”

Asked what sets Baumann apart, Peterson said: “I really think it's her desire to be in the practice pen. She seeks out help. She never thinks she's good enough.”

Baumann probably would not argue with that last comment. Two months after winning her national title, she admits she still has a hard time believing it actually happened. That could explain why she doesn't make too big a deal about the championship.

But around town, particularly at school, her accomplishment has gotten her noticed.

“Teachers and my classmates will say, ‘Good job.' ‘That's cool.' Awesome.'” she said. “It's nice to get recognition for something like that.”

Her dad, Brent, a former Dawson Community College and MSU rodeo cowboy, said he is glad to see her get that kind of recognition, but he knows how hard she has worked to improve. For instance, he said, she practiced goat tying three hours a day in the weeks leading up to the nationals.

“She's a hard-working young lady. To compete in six events, you have to be,” Brent Baumann said. “She's fortunate to have an arena and a dad to help her, but she's taken advantage of it.

“In juniors, you could get by with eight-second runs (in goat tying), but in high school, you have to tie in the sevens, at least on a few go-rounds,” he continued. “She's made that jump. She's proven she can compete with anybody in the state and beat them. Her expectation are high.”

She's made the jump, in part, because she now has more competitive horses. Her goat-tying horse, which she also uses for team and breakaway roping, is regarded as one of the best in the state. Her second horse has taken her up a notch in barrels and poles, and she'll use it Sunday morning for cutting.

Not surprisingly, she said her favorite event is goat tying, which also is her best event. She likes it best, she said, because the horse does not have to do all the work and because it gives her the opportunity to demonstrate her own athleticism.

Niki Baumann said she's eager to compete this weekend in a home rodeo. It's close, she said, so her friends and classmates will get a chance to see her compete.

Not all that long ago, the prospect of competing in front of a home crowd would have made her really nervous. As it is, she said, she's always a little nervous any time she's preparing to ride into a rodeo arena. But, after her experience at nationals, she said the jitters are not nearly so bad.

Her dad agreed: “It's still a big deal to rodeo at home, but compared to competing at the national finals, maybe it's not the same as it might have been before. She has learned that every rodeo is a competition. Her goal is to keep focused and always do the best she can.”

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