HANSCHEN TAKES 'POLE' POSITION AT STATE MEETS

Entering her senior year at Jackson High School, 17-year-old Brittany Hanschen's summer vacation was hardly typical.

"Some people go on vacations to the beach," said Hanschen of her family, which includes twin sister Leslie. "But we rodeo."

Considering her success on the high school circuit, Hanschen wouldn't have wanted to spend her summer days any other way.

Riding her 14-year-old quarter horse Sheena Glo, Hanschen rode off with the Missouri State High School Pole Bending Championship this summer. Hanschen won 12 of 22 state competitions in different venues throughout the high school season starting last fall. A string of 10 consecutive victories earlier this spring helped propel her to the state title over 26 other riders.

"I like the high school (events) because you move around every weekend to different towns," Hanschen said. "You camp in your trailer and have different neighbors. It's so much fun; it's a different atmosphere."

Plus, she gets to ride her horse fast.

Hanschen and Sheena Glo started out competing in Western Pleasure horse shows five years ago, but the slow pace of these events bored her.

"Brittany was tired of the slow stuff and wanted to move onto something faster," said her mother Cheryl. "Basically the goal in Western Pleasure is to go very slow and Brittany didn't like that slow stuff."

Pole bending added the speed and excitement Hanschen was looking for.

In pole bending, a rider races through a straight line of six poles placed 21 feet apart and weighted at the bottom. The rider begins with a straight dash to the final pole on the far end and then weaves in and out of the poles like a slalom skier, going through the line of poles twice. After the second weave through the poles, the rider makes another straight dash to the finish line. Five seconds are deducted for every pole knocked over, with a good pole-bending time considered 20 seconds.

Judging by her success since she started competing in high school rodeos her sophomore year, Hanschen has been posting a lot of 20-second times. Last year, Hanschen completed her first season on the high school circuit with a third-place state finish in pole bending.

She's also coming off her second appearance at the National High School Finals Rodeo held in Gillette, Wyo., this past July. Comprising individuals from 38 states and four Canadian provinces, the national rodeo is the world's biggest participant rodeo. In pole bending alone, Hanschen competed against 200 other riders.

Though Hanschen hopes to continue her rodeo career after high school, that career will have to be built in another event. Pole bending is not an event in college or professional rodeos so barrel racing is where her rodeo future lies.

That shouldn't be a problem for Hanschen because she is also an accomplished barrel racer.

"I love this sport," Hanschen said. "The competition, the horses and the people are great."