Jade Maginnis wins in her junior high school rodeo debut

Jade Maginnis made her junior high school rodeo debut in Brawley on Saturday and won the team roping event.

Maginnis, a seventh-grader at Olive Peirce Middle School, partnered with Brayden Israel of Apple Valley in the event. A time of 13.0 seconds gave them first place.

The 12-year-old Maginnis practices at Mountain Valley Ranch and used Scout, a horse owned by Markie Battaglia at Mountain Valley Ranch, at Brawley. Scout is a 13-year-old quarter horse gelding.

Maginnis also rode Scout for the breakaway roping event. Originally from North Dakota, Scout has been used in Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association competition.

The California High School Rodeo Association includes a junior high school division. The CHSRA season runs from September to May with no rodeo in December and two rodeos on consecutive days in January in Brawley.

In addition to her equestrian skills, Maginnis plays volleyball for Olive Peirce and did not compete in the September, October, or November rodeos.

While she was unsuccessful in the breakaway roping competition on Saturday, she had a time of 4.2 seconds on Sunday and placed third. Israel missed his roping attempt during the team roping activity on Sunday.

The Maginnis family moved from Salinas to Ramona when Jade Maginnis was 2 years old. She began riding horses when she was 6 months old and won her first dummy roping buckle on her second birthday when she still lived in Salinas.

Maginnis also competes in the California Junior Rodeo Association, which has Pee Wee, Junior and Senior age divisions. The CJRA utilizes a February through November schedule. The first competition of 2018 will take place Feb. 10 in Riverside.