Moses Lake's Frensdorf named Rodeo All-Star

DENVER — Leaders of the National High School Rodeo Association (NHSRA), the oldest youth rodeo program in America, appointed Matea Frensdorf of Moses Lake to the Wrangler High School All-Star Rodeo Team,  a corporate-sponsored youth rodeo team.

The Wrangler All-Star Rodeo Team is fashioned after Wrangler’s Champion Pro Rodeo Team, which included superstars like Trevor Brazile, Stran Smith, Kody Lostroh, Guilherme Marchi, Kaycee Field, Will Lowe, Rod Hay, and Hall-of-Famer, the late, Jim Shoulders.

Frensdorf, 17, has been active in rodeo competitions for the past seven years and competed at the junior, high school, and amateur levels.

She was one of 13 girls from the state to earn the All-Star honor.

“I knew it was coming because last year in the cow-cutting I was second and the girl who won was a senior and had graduated,” Frensdorf said. “I am really happy to get it of course and it is quite an honor. To be called an All-Star in my competition is really cool to think about.”

Frensdorf has been active in performing at a high level, finishing in the top 20 of the girls cutting at the NHSRA in Farmington, NM in July.

She has also been a four-time Washington Barrel Racing Association year-end champion.

“We were ecstatic about her making the top 20 and the wrangler all star team,” Matea’s mother Sonja Frensdorf said. ”It opens a lot of doors and gives her a lot of opportunities for scholarships in the future. She works very hard.”

The Moses Lake High School senior, who made the All-Star team her sophomore year, plans on going to Big Bend Community College and earn a commerical pilots degree.

Matea hopes to earn her professional rodeo license when she turns 18 and try to manage her studies and competitive obligations even as her schedule gets bulkier.

For the foreseeable future, Matea plans on making her mark once again in barrel racing.

“My horse is hurt but once she recuperates I hope to compete really hard this spring and make it to the NHSRA nationals in barrel racing,” Matea said. “I’ve never made it before and so I’ll have to ride every day to get mentally and physically ready. I have to be always focused and thinking about my goal.”

Nationals are in July.

Her nine-year-old horse, Cinco - suffering from a strain in her leg - is an Appendix - a quarter-horse/thoroughbred cross.

Matea also competes for the North Central Washington rodeo team.

Members of the Wrangler High School All-Star Rodeo Team receive official competition apparel consisting of two Wrangler Twenty shirts embroidered with the team logo and two pairs of competitive jeans.