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BATTLING IT OUT

N.D. Winter Show hosts high school rodeo for North Dakotans, Minnesotans

The second annual Battle of the Border High School Rodeo took place on March 13 at the 2021 North Dakota Winter Show in Valley City, N.D.

High school rodeo athletes, the best in their respective events, battled it out, North Dakota versus Minnesota.

Bareback rider Chance Isaak, Richardton, N.D., won his event at the 2021 Battle of the Border High School Rodeo.

In the bareback riding, Richardton, N.D. cowboy Chance Isaak scored 68 points to win his event. The 16-year-old is a junior in high school and has been riding bareback horses since eighth grade.



Isaak is the third generation of his family to compete in the sport. His dad, Daryl, was a North Dakota Rodeo Association (NDRA) bullfighter and his dad’s uncles also competed. His granddad was a pickup man for the NDRA for years.

In high school, Isaak plays basketball. He is the son of Daryl and Bobbi Isaak.



Tie-down roper Weston Klatt won his event at the Battle of the Border High School Rodeo, held in conjunction with the N.D. Winter Show.

Tie-down roper Weston Klatt bested his fellow competitors to win his event with a time of 16.25 seconds.

The 16-year-old, a sophomore at Dickinson High School, rode a white horse named Chrome the family has owned for two years. “He’s a great horse,” Klatt said. “He’s definitely really quick, and he will leave off my hand (command), which is good. He waits for me. I love him. I don’t know what I’d do if anything happened to him.”

Klatt is the son of Delvin and Nancy Klatt.

Kelly Bang, Killdeer, N.D., won the breakaway roping at the N.D. Winter Show’s Battle of the Border High School Rodeo.

Kelly Bang, Killdeer, N.D., was the fastest breakaway roper among the field of eighteen. Her time of 2.68 seconds won her the title.

The seventeen-year-old, a resident of Killdeer, N.D., is a senior at Killdeer High School. She participates in basketball, track, FFA, is a member of the National Honor Society and president of the Killdeer High School Rodeo Club. In rodeo, she also competes in the pole bending and barrel racing. She is on her school’s A Honor Roll.

In Valley City, she rode her seventeen-year-old sorrel gelding named Stubby. “He’s amazing, and he always does his job. He’s the best.”

When she graduates from high school, she will have earned 23 dual credits for college. She will attend Dickinson (N.D.) State University this fall, majoring in business management.

She is the daughter of Taylor and Kara Bang.

Cael Hilzendeger, Baldwin, N.D., won the steer wrestling with a time of 6.31 seconds, and won second place in the team roping with Weston LaPierre, Killdeer, N.D. Hilzendeger is currently ranked first in the N.D. High School Rodeo Association steer wrestling standings. A junior at Wilton High School, he plays basketball, is secretary of the school’s student council, and is on the A Honor Roll. He is also a member of the National Honor Society.

Cael is the son of Randy and Cori Hilzendeger; last year, at the inaugural Battle of the Border, he won the tie-down roping.

Hoople, North Dakota’s Megan Larson won the pole bending at the Battle of the Border High School Rodeo in Valley City at the 84th annual N.D. Winter Show.

Hoople, North Dakota’s Megan Larson is the pole bending champ with a time of 18.82. The fifteen-year-old had a little help from her older sister, who gave her advice on the ground conditions. Her older sister had watched the events prior to the pole bending. “My sister told me that (the ground) was really grippy so my game plan was to keep my horse moving,” Megan said. “She was watching the other events ahead (of the poles) and telling me what it was like.”

A sophomore in high school, Megan plays basketball, is secretary of her school’s FFA chapter, and is on the A honor roll.

She rode her fourteen-year-old sorrel, who is half-Arab and half-quarter horse and is named Izzy. Izzy does the barrel racing, too, but prefers the poles. “She’s very quick on her feet and she loves poles so much,” Megan said. “She could be a really good barrel horse but she doesn’t put her heart in it like she does the poles.”

Megan is the daughter of Brandon and Sally Larson. She is currently ranked fourth in the state standings.

Tyler Villareal celebrated his sixteenth birthday with a bull riding win at the second annual Battle of the Border High School Rodeo. The Foxholm, N.D. man celebrated his birthday on March 12.

Bull rider Tyler Villareal got a nice birthday present.

The Foxholm, N.D. cowboy celebrated his sixteenth birthday yesterday, March 12, and the next day scored 67 points to win the bull riding at the Battle of the Border high school rodeo.

A sophomore at Minot High School, he and fellow bull rider Brody Nelson are the only two students who ride bulls at their school. He and Brody own bucking bulls together, and after high school graduation, Tyler plans on competing in college rodeo and pro rodeo.

This is the second year he’s competed at the Battle of the Border; last year, he bucked off prior to the eight second buzzer.

He is the son of Robby and April Villareal.

Other event winners include barrel racer Jayda Miller, Bowman, N.D. (12.69 seconds); saddle bronc rider Cody Owens, Truman, Minn. (68); goat tier Molly Rotenberger, Ludlow, S.D. (10.27 seconds); and team ropers Chasyn Ystaas, Dickinson, N.D./Trey Bohlman (10.3 seconds).

For more information, visit http://www.NorthDakotaWinterShow.com or call 701.845.1401.

—North Dakota Winter Show

Unofficial Results, Battle of the Border High School Rodeo, March 13, 2021

Bareback Riding

1. Chance Isaak, Richardton, N.D. 68 points; 2. Cash Owens, Truman, Minn. 63; 3. Cayden Kling, 60.

Breakaway Roping

1. Kelly Bang, Killdeer, N.D. 2.56 seconds; 2. Dani Fladeland, Minot, N.D. 3.62; 3. Cassidy Davidson, Mandan, N.D. 4.10.

Tie-down Roping

1. Weston Klatt, Dickinson, N.D. 16.25 seconds; 2. Chaysn Ystass, Dickinson, N.D. 21.20; 3. Cole Gerhardt, Mandan, N.D. 21.28.

Barrel Racing

1. Jayda Miller, Bowman, N.D. 12.69 seconds; 2. Dani Fladeland, Minot, N.D. 12.73; 3. Allie Bopp, Stirum, N.D. 13.09.

Saddle Bronc Riding

1. Cody Owens, Truman, Minn. 68; no other qualified rides.

Steer Wrestling

1. Cael Hilzendeger, Baldwin, N.D. 6.3 seconds; no other qualified runs.

Goat Tying

1. Molly Rotenberger, Ludlow, S.D. 10.27 seconds; 2. Cassidy Davidson, Mandan, N.D. 10.63; 3. Lauren Riehl, Bismarck, N.D. 10.87.

Team Roping

1. Chasyn Ystaas, Dickinson, N.D./Trey Bohlman 10.3 seconds; 2. Cael Hilzendeger, Baldwin, N.D./Weston LaPierre, Killdeer, N.D. 12.81; 3. Danielle Fladeland, Minot, N.D./Tel Sorenson, Watford, N.D. 13.9.

Pole Bending

1. Megan Larson, Hoople, N.D. 18.82; 2. Dani Fladeland, Minot, N.D. 19.47; 3. Stella Oland, Fergus Falls, Minn. 19.82.

Bull Riding

1. Tyler Villareal, Foxholm, N.D. 67 points; 2. Trevon Coonradt, Killdeer, N.D. 55; no other qualified rides.


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