Tim Williams has some big boots to fill, but he's up for the challenge.

Kirstin Harmon is hoping her boots will help her win a national rodeo championship.

Williams, who will be a senior at Solanco this fall, and Harmon, who recently graduated from Penn Manor, will be riding for Lancaster County at the National High School Rodeo Championships, which will be held July 19-28 at the Illinois State Fairgrounds in Springfield, Ill.

The duo qualified for the event with strong showings in the state championships last month at the State Farm Show Complex in Harrisburg.

Williams' older brother AJ had a pair of fourth-place finishes in the national championships last year. It is his first trip to Nationals. Harmon is making her second trip.

Williams, 17, finished as the reserve all-around champion in the state competition, and he finished tied for second in steer wrestling for the 2007 season, which began Jan. 6 and featured eight events, including the finals June 8-9 in Harrisburg.

"I've been to Nationals, but I've never competed," Williams said. "I always went to watch my brother. And now I hope to accomplish what my brother couldn't. I saw how much fun he had competing, and I've always had fun watching him compete.

"Now it's my turn."

Harmon, 18, finished as the reserve rail racer champion in the state competition, and she finished as the reserve barrel racer champion for the season after finishing second in that event in the state competition.

In the national competition, Williams will participate in steer wrestling and Harmon will compete in barrel racing.

What makes a good steer wrestler? You need a fast horse and quick instincts. Muscles will come in handy, too.

Here's how it works:

A steer is released from a chute, and the contestant, mounted on their favorite horse, must slow the steer down, just enough so they can jump off their horse and wrestle the steer to the ground by twisting its horns.

This is a timed event.

"Hopefully I've learned from what my brother taught me," said Williams, who will be riding his 10-year-old horse, Lakoda, in the national competition.

"I'll try and be as quick as I can on my first run," he said, "and then go all out from there."

Barrel racing is another timed event, and features the rider and their horse — for Harmon, her 16-year-old quarter horse, DJ, the reigning state horse of the year based on points accumulated during the season — and three 55-gallon metal barrels, which are placed in a cloverleaf pattern in the arena.

The rider must navigate their horse around those metal barrels — as fast as possible.

"I like to go fast," said Harmon, who started barrel racing four years ago.

"DJ has been doing barrel racing since he was 2, so it's going to be nice having a horse that has done this. He has a passion for it."

Williams and Harmon both have a passion for rodeo.

Williams, who lives in New Providence, grew up around it — his parents, Ralph and Diana, were both involved in rodeo growing up, and AJ continues to perform at the Cowtown Rodeo in Woodstown, N.J.

Harmon, whose parents, Rick and Pam, have eight horses on their property in Safe Harbor, started out riding pleasure horses and worked her way up to jumping before falling in love with barrel racing.

She enjoys rodeo so much, while studying agricultural business and animal science at Penn State this fall, she hopes to join the American Pro Rodeo Association and the Professional Rodeo Cowboy Association so she can compete for cash prizes.

Williams, meanwhile, can also compete in high school States and Nationals next year, and said he's still contemplating his future — which will include college, he said, and, of course, rodeo.

———

ON THE WEB: You can find more information about the state high school rodeo competition at phsrarodeo.org, and you can find more information about the national high school rodeo competition at nhsra.org.

CONTACT US: jreinhart@LNPnews.com or 291-8777