Terrebonne cowgirl Riley Rae Sappington loves racing barrels.

She is pretty sharp in breakaway roping, too.

And pole bending. Oh, and don’t forget about goat tying. Or team roping.

“Yeah, it’s a little crazy,” says Sappington, the girls all-around leader heading into today’s final go-round of the Oregon High School Rodeo Association state finals at the Crook County Fairgrounds in Prineville. “I have to have my horses saddled all day. Everyone helps out.”

Yep, that’s “horses” in the plural. Sappington, who just completed her sophomore year at Redmond High, takes four different horses to rodeos. Five if she competes in cutting.

“It’s fun and I enjoy it a lot,” Sappington says about competing in multiple events.

Last year as a freshman, Sappington was the OHSRA girls all-around rookie and finished first in the girls cutting standings. This season she has been even more impressive, racking up 273 all-around points before the start of this week’s state finals. Stanfield’s Kaci Kamm ended the regular season in a distant second place with 161 points. Heading into Thursday’s first finals go-round, Sappington was tied for second place in breakaway roping standings (53 points) and was fifth in the barrel racing (57 points), fifth in goat tying (57 points), eighth in cutting (10.5 points) and 14th in pole bending (28 points). She and roping partner Nolan Walker, of Merrill, were tied for second overall in team roping with 122 points.

“Breakaway and barrels are probably my two favorites,” Sappington says. “My mom (Laina Sappington) has always been a breakaway roper, she taught me how to do it. I’ve got good competition at home, which helps.”

Sappington expects to stay busy this summer, as the top four finishers in each OHSRA event advance to the National High School Finals Rodeo next month in Rock Springs, Wyo. Contestants who place fifth through 15th are eligible for the Silver State International Rodeo later this month in Winnemucca, Nev. Last year Sappington competed in both summertime rodeos, taking third in the average in goat tying at Silver State before finishing 23rd in the barrel racing average at the NHSFR.

“I’d love to make it to nationals in all the events,” Sappington says. “Silver State’s about a week before. I made it to both last year; we had about three days in between rodeos.”

While Sappington is expected to capture her first all-around state title, Redmond roper T.J. McCauley is looking to clinch his third straight boys all-around championship. McCauley, who ended the regular season leading the state tie-down roping standings as well as the team roping standings with his brother A.J., posted 17 wins in three different events during the regular season.

The final go-round of the OHSRA gets underway today at noon.