There likely isn’t a sport on campus that more encapsulates the essence of Wyoming than rodeo. With the rough and tough nature of the sport, the term “cowboy tough” doesn’t find a greater meaning than in rodeo.
Those athletes competing on the rodeo team are quite good at what they do as well, with the Cowboys topping the standings and wiping the floor with the competition in the Central Rocky Mountain Region last season and the Cowgirls coming in a close second to Gillette College on their side of things.
“I’m really proud of our students,” Seth Glause, head rodeo coach, said. “Both qualified for CNFR, [College National Finals Rodeo] both teams ended up top 15 in the nation.”
Being national competitors is no odd occurrence for Wyoming rodeo, as the men’s team has won their region for six years straight and both the men and the women always put on a good show at the CNFR.
This year, though, Glause believes that his team can rise to new heights beyond just placing at the CNFR, but chasing after a national title.
“We have a good group of returners that have been CNFR qualifiers and we’ve added pieces with incoming students that are going to really help us build towards a national championship caliber team,” Glause said.
Glause mentioned the name of 14 competitors from last year that made the CNFR. Glause brings back a lot of that talent with an extremely experienced group littered with seniors and juniors who have all contributed towards the success of Wyoming rodeo in one way or another last year. Glause also mentioned the amount of talent being brought into the program this year as well.
“This year, we brought in some CNFR qualifiers that we recruited from [other] schools [and] junior colleges within our region,” Glause said. “We’re pretty excited. We should have a good group that should be very competitive.”
Much of the rodeo team don’t take much time off during the year, either, as many members of the team will compete in professional rodeo circuits throughout the year alongside competing collegiately. For these Cowboys and Cowgirls, there really is no off season.
“A lot of our students can compete in professional rodeo and college rodeo at the same time,” Glause said. “The majority of our students have been competing since we left school in May and have been going to rodeos throughout the summer.”
Rodeo is a huge part of the teams’ life and Glause just wants to see his athletes succeed, not only in rodeo but in life as well. For him, being the rodeo coach is more than just taking his team to the CNFR.
“It’s fun to see them excel,” Glause said about his team.
Wyoming rodeo begins their season with their first rodeo competition at Chadron State College on September 6, where their road towards a regional title will begin once again and Glause and his team is fully prepared to make it happen.
