Hollie Kucera of Atherton, 16, finished 11th at the recent National High School Rodeo Association championships in cutting, a rodeo event in which the rider tries to keep a cow from returning to the herd by positioning a horse between them.
Competing in a field of 119 riders, Hollie finished the first round tied for 16th. She then tied for third in the second round, sending her to the championship round of 20 riders.
But after posting scores of 218 and 220 in the first two rounds, she lost steam in the final round and scored only 197 points to finish 14th in that round. That dropped her to 11th overall.
The event ran from July 24 through July 30.
Hollie had won the California state championship in cutting at the state finals in Bishop on June 24. Though she has been involved in rodeo for about eight years, she only began cutting two years ago.
Hollie will be a junior at Palo Alto Prep next year.
