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Pearl River rodeo members Blake Lyons (Ethel; Silliman Institute) and Jeb Stewart (Hurley; Homeschool) have had a tremendous amount of success in their rodeo careers and can now add World Champion to their list of accomplishments.

The duo recently competed against the top 129 teams in the nation at the National Little Britches Rodeo Association Finals Rodeo in Guthrie, Oklahoma. The pair blew out their competition, winning the World Championship by 92 points.

“This is a huge accomplishment for them because they were competing against the top teams in the nation,” coach Frank Graves said. “That’s why I recruited them to come here. They’re really talented, and I knew they were winners. As we move forward, this win will help them be a little better.”

Although Lyons and Stewart are partners at Pearl River, they each had a different partner at the beginning of the NLBRA season. After their partners decided to go in another direction, the pair reunited and the decision paid off.

“Jeb and I got together and decided to rope together like we do in college,” Lyons said. “We started winning and kept winning, so we were looking good going into nationals. We made two good runs in Oklahoma and were able to compete in the third round. We went out there and made a clean run and won.”

Stewart was proud of the accomplishment but feels like he still has work to do.

“It’s a big accomplishment,” Stewart said. “I’m happy that it happened, but it doesn’t change the way you think or the way that you put your pants on in the morning.”

Lyons felt that the win put them on the map.

“It’s pretty cool,” he said. “We definitely have put our name out there. Now everyone knows who we are and knows that we are world champions.”

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