SPIRITWOOD, N.D. (NewsDakota.com) – 17-year-old Alexa Carlson of Spiritwood, North Dakota and her horse Magnum qualified for the Junior World Finals competition that will be held December 12th – 16th in Las Vegas.
She’s a senior at Jamestown High School, her parents Ryan and Lisa Carlson run a cow calf and feedlot operation in rural Spiritwood, North Dakota.
Her horse Magnum is special, after 12 years as a working horse on the ranch, they took him to a barrel racing competition and that’s where they discovered his true passion, and he’s fast. He’s good in the Pole Bending competition too.
Magnum’s mother, who will be 30 years old next April, was purchased at Kist Livestock in Mandan, N.D. She gave birth to Magnum on the Spiritwood Ranch when Alexa was a year old. The girls rode them both in 4H at the fair and at fun shows when they were younger.
Now back to the rider Alexa Carlson, she’s pretty good too, she and Magnum traveled to four different states to qualify for the Junior World Finals, otherwise known as the Junior NFR. In Montana, Alexa finished first in barrels and poles which punched their tickets for Las Vegas.
To get to the Junior World Finals, the girls must attend at least one of the 30 races held across 17 states and Canada. There they must finish in the top two places to automatically qualify. They must qualify in each event. Places 3rd through 12th at each race for each event get points. 3rd place gets ten points and on down. At the end of August, the top ten girls with the highest points also advanced to Las Vegas.
Alexa and her mother Lisa talked about the excitement of reaching the finals and coming out on top of the other girls she competed against from so many different states. The full interview is available below.
