There were plenty of thrills at the Junction City Rodeo Saturday night.

The bleacher seating was full to overflowing as the fans watched the cowboys and cowgirls show their rodeo skills.

No one successfully rode a bull the allotted eight seconds in the senior division, but in the mini-bull riding Blake Vercher, 15, captured top honors in that competition both Friday and Saturday. He rode for the full eight seconds both times. On Saturday night’s ride he said,  “Mostly he bucked off pretty smooth.  I was spurring him which put me in the lead by one point.”

Vercher said the mini-bulls weight about 800 pounds.  The excitement of riding the bulls is a draw for Blake. “Mostly for the adrenaline rush, that it feels great, bucking, it feels like flying some times.”

In the barrel racing junior division nine-year old Taylor Gustafson captured top honors with a time of 18.3 seconds. That drew a big round of applause from the large audience. Junction City Rodeo Association Vice President Jason Lankas noted Gustafson defeated the older girls who were riding. “That’s pretty impressive.”

Emmie Noyes, Holyrood, was named the Rodeo Queen.

There were some minor injuries including one case where one person was hit by a horn in the back, but no one had to be transported to a hospital.