Don't think for a moment that Shelby Rita can't hear you.

Rodeo isn't a sport.

Cowgirls aren't real athletes.

Teenage rodeo stars are nothing but sideshows.

Yuck it up, rodeo cynics. The junior from Kahuku High School knows the deal. She knows exactly how most of us would fare attempting to do what for her is as natural as breathing.

"A lot of people just don't know," says Rita, already one of the top female rodeo performers in the state at age 16. "They don't realize how much work it takes. It's not like picking up running or football or other sports. You can't just come in off the street and rope a cow."

But Rita is content to leave the ignorant in their bliss. Between local and national competitions, her duties with a California-based performance team, endless hours of practice, the care of her animals, and a full academic load that includes Algebra II, chemistry, agriculture, Hawaiian history, Spanish and language arts, she has quite enough to occupy her thoughts.

If she had more time, she might bother to count the number of winner's buckles she's collected over the years — roughly 90 in all, give or take a few she's given to her younger cousins.

Among her ever-expanding list of accomplishments are three consecutive overall high school championships and an overall win at last month's All Girls Rodeo.

"I like (rodeo) because it's something different," Rita says. "You're on your own and it's a challenge."

Like the horses she nurtures and trains, Rita comes from solid stock.

Her father, Robert, competed in the Hawai'i Rodeo Association and and U.S. Team Roping Championships.

Mother Kathy was raised on the North Shore, on a ranch owned by Meadow Gold that her father tended. From a young age, she competed in 4-H and Women's Rodeo Association rodeos around the state.

It was through rodeo competitions that Robert and Kathy met and fell in love. Thus, it was only natural that the couple would share their love and understanding of the sport with their children.

Shelby, in particular, thrived on the North Shore ranch her grandfather now leases. She participated in her first rodeo at the age of 3, quickly developing a taste for competition and, more specifically, for winning.

"Ever since she was little, she was very competitive," Kathy says. "She always liked to ride, and she had a natural ability to perform well in competitions."

Rita's development was accelerated by her close relationship with local rodeo legend Fern White, winner of more than 50 overall championships.

White was one of the first to recognize Rita's rare combination of talent and athleticism.

"She always picked Shelby out from the crowd," Kathy says. "At rodeos, she'd always take her off to the side and give her tips. She felt that (Shelby) would follow her."

Rita's skills, and the impressive resume of accomplishments that have ensued, eventually caught the attention of California rodeo star Sharon Camarillo, who invited Rita to join her elite performance team.

"I guess she spotted my potential," Rita says. "I'm very lucky to be on the team."

But, as it is with most of her rodeo achievements, Rita, who spends up to three hours a day training in preparation for events, is loathe to share her good news beyond her immediate circle of friends and relatives.

Rita says she's considering Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo and other colleges that offer rodeo programs. If all goes well, she may eventually earn a spot in the highly lucrative National Rodeo Finals.

"If it it happens, it happens," she says.

In the meantime, Rita says she'll continue working hard to refine her skills.

"Sometimes I do ask myself if I really want to keep going at this," she says. "But I remember that the most fun times are when I'm at a rodeo with my family around me, meeting different people and having new and different experiences. I don't want to give that up."