Last Thursday and Friday, a couple of Polk County cowgirls took up the reins as two of the top rodeo competitors in Georgia.

And they haven’t even started high school yet.

Sarah Benefield, Cedartown, and Taylor King, Rockmart, are two members of the Wrangler All-Star Rodeo Team and take part in the Georgia High School Rodeo Associations Wrangler Division Junior Rodeos.

King will be an eighth-grader at Pepperell Middle School in the fall while Benefield is competing in her final season of Wrangler rodeo before joining the high school ranks as a freshman in August.

Last Thursday and Friday, the duo were among some of the top contestants at the Georgia Wrangler Division Finals Rodeo in Perry. No results were available as of press time.

On May 20 however, they got to show off in their own back yard.

A GHSRA Wrangler Division Rodeo was held on that Saturday at Larry Haney Arena as the final chance for junior high competitors to get points and make it into the top 20 in the state and qualify for the trip to Perry.

Benefield placed first in the girl’s breakaway in the second performance of the day and is in the state top ten in the standings.

“That’s probably the most fun event for me,” she said. “I like the speed of it and today I did okay ... I’m happy about that.”

But according to her, goat tying, which she won the state championship for in 2005, still seems to be her strong point.

King came away with a first overall win in the girls’ breakaway roping after both of the day’s performances.

“I’ve done good today,” she said while she waited on her horse for the team roping event to get underway. “I’m pleased.”

King currently stands as the top girls’ breakaway roper in the state and will look to improve her second place finish at last year’s finals.

Benefield and King actually tied in the event overall at the Rockmart rodeo, with Benefield coming in second and King finishing fourth in the first performance and then the girls swapped for the second performance.

Benefield headed into last week’s finals as the No. 2 qualifier in the event. King was No. 3.

Both girls were also scheduled to compete in barrel racing and pole bending while in Perry after both finished in the top 20.

After last weekend, the top four finalists in each event qualify for nationals in Gallup, N.M. July 10-15.

Benefield and King are no strangers to that stage either.

“You learn form your experiences,” King said. “Nationals is great because it lets you show off your talents and let everybody know what you can do.”

She added that the friendships made getting to know people from the rest of the country also makes the excitement of the week even that much more special.