SELINSGROVE -- One of the most well-decorated athletes in Pennsylvania is slowly winding down her illustrious high school career.

Not on a softball field. Or on a track.

Robbi Nace, a Selinsgrove High School senior who lives in the heart of the Susquehanna Valley, excels in a sport more commonly associated with the dusty southwest or the midwest plains. Her sport is rodeo.

"People react kind of funny when I tell them," Nace said. "They say things like, You've been riding a horse for how long? Where do you do that?' But I like being with the horses.

"It's very traditional. We care about it, and make a living on our livestock."

Nace, who trains at her family's horse farm just south of Winfield, was first introduced to rodeo at the age of 4, when she attended competitions to watch her older sisters. Of course, the youngster couldn't help but be intrigued by the spectacle before her and has been involved in rodeo ever since.

A short laundry list of her accomplishments up this point is quite impressive. Three-time Pennsylvania High School Rodeo Association all-around champion. Miss Pennsylvania High School Rodeo 2007. Ninth place overall at 2007 National Championships in Illinois. Out of 1,500 competitors, from all across the country, has placed in the top-20 at nationals each of the past two years.

Since Pennsylvania is hardly considered a rodeo power on a national level, Nace is more than happy to compete and change people's minds wherever she goes.

"I enjoy measuring myself against others, really comparing my skills," she said.

Nace has placed highly in multiple rodeo events, including pole bending, team roping, breakaway roping, and goat tying. But her favorite is barrel racing, of which she took 13th place out of 180 contestants at nationals last summer.

"That's my best event. Basically, you ride around three barrels and the fastest horse, the cloverleaf, wins," Nace said. "It's tough because you need a combination of a good rider and a fast horse."

This weekend, Nace will travel to Harrisburg to compete in the Mid-Atlantic Invitational Rodeo, featuring contestants from Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, West Virginia and Virginia, to be held at the Farm Show complex.

Along with Nace, Chelsie and Alainie McDade, of Selinsgrove, will also compete in the Mid-Atlantic event, as will Jake Wenrich of Beavertown.

Chelsie participates in breakaway roping, goat tying, and team roping while her younger sister, Alainie, competes in the junior high wrangler division in barrel racing, pole bending, goat tying, and breakaway roping. Wenrich's events include steer wrestling, calf roping, and team roping.

In addition to her tough cowgirl exterior, Nace is also a member of the National Honor Society and will soon pass her Miss PA High School Rodeo crown on to the next queen in July.