SOCORRO, New Mexico (STPNS) -- Johnny Salvo of Horse Springs has been named to the Wrangler High School All Star Rodeo Team by leaders of the National High School Rodeo Association, the oldest youth rodeo organization in America.

Salvo, an 18-year-old who will graduate from high school in May, has been calf roping since he was a 3-year-old.

He ?earned a position on the first-ever corporate-sponsored youth rodeo team based on leadership qualities, academic eligibility and athletic achievements? reads a press release from the National High School Rodeo Association.



Salvo, who?s been homeschooled most of his life, lives on the Salvo?s Y Ranch at Horse Springs between Reserve and Datil on highway 12 with his parents, Bob and Judy.

In addition to helping on the family ranch, Salvo spends a lot of time each week practicing roping.

He said he?ll spend this summer competing in rodeos and plans to attend New Mexico State University in the fall on a rodeo scholarship.

?I?m just going to be going to a lot of amateur rodeos this summer,? he said, ?and the national high school finals in late July in Springfield, Ill.?

Salvo competes in both team and individual roping events. His regular competition team roping partner is Chase Massengill of Santa Fe, who he?s roped with since before he was 13 years old.

When they were both just 13 they competed in the New Mexico Team Roping Championships and pocketed a substantial amount of cash, as reported in an article that appeared in June 2002 in the Mountain Mail.

When practicing his team roping at the ranch, he said, ?my friend Shane Atwood from Reserve comes to the ranch and works with me.?

When he ropes with Massengill, he?s the heeler. In other words, he takes the right side when the calf comes out of the box, and his job is to rope the calf by its back legs. Their best time for getting a calf roped properly is 4.9 seconds.

Salvo said he?ll probably only attend New Mexico State for a couple of years to ?get the basics? and then he plans to attend a Southern Baptist College. ?I?m kind of wanting to get into youth and family ministries,? he said.

He said the one thing he always wants to make sure he tells people is that ?I give all the glory to God for my talents and abilities.?

?There?s a lot of cowboy churches and a lot of good Christian people involved in rodeo,? he said. As a goal he sees himself ?competing in rodeo events and conducting cowboy churches wherever I?m competing.?

He now attends the Horse Springs Bible Church. The Salvo ranch used to supply roping stock for junior rodeos across New Mexico, but Salvo said his father quit that several years ago and ?now just works on the ranch and my mother takes care of the books. He still provides a lot of practice stock for me, though,? he said.

Members of the High School All Star Rodeo Team receive official competition apparel consisting of Wrangler 20X shirts embroidered with the team logo and two pairs of competition jeans. In addition, team members receive an official team certificate signed by rodeo greats Jim Shoulders and Ty Murray.

?Wrangler?s NHSRA sponsorship is a natural extension of our professional and collegiate rodeo programs,? said Karl Stressman, director of Special Events for Wrangler. ?We are confident the NHSRA partnership will reinforce Wrangler brand loyalty with the youth market.?

?The NHSRA owes much of its success to the support of its national sponsors,? said Kent Sturman, general manager of the NHSRA, ?and we are excited to have a prominent company like Wrangler once again step; forward to help us meet the ever increasing challenges facing our young people today. Cowboys can always depend on Wrangler to support the infrastructure of rodeo, and our members are thrilled to have Wrangler as a sponsor and are proud to wear their products in and out of the competition arena.?