CJ Day – Staff Writer
The University of Wyoming’s rodeo team’s fall season started last Friday, kicking off a whirlwind month-and-a-half that will see the Cowboys and Cowgirls taking on five rodeos in six weeks.
“This time of year is really busy for us,” said Beau Clark, the rodeo team’s head coach. “I won’t really see my wife and kids again until the end of October.”
While much of the glory of fall sports goes to football and soccer, the members of the rodeo team work just as hard, if not harder, Clark said. This time of year, members of the rodeo team can expect to pull 18-hour days, with demands of the team conflicting with the demands of student life.
“The average day of one of my students starts at 5 a.m., to get up in time for our early morning workouts. Then they have to get their horses all fed and ready, make it to classes, and then come back for practice from 11 to 6. After that, they gotta get their horses all put up, find something to eat, and then they have to do all their schoolwork,” said Clark.
Unlike other student athletes, members of the rodeo team are expected to pay their own way to rodeos. This involves things like transporting themselves and their horses, paying for hotels, paying the entry fee for the rodeo, and other miscellaneous costs that would otherwise be covered by the athletic department. In addition, the equipment for rodeo is some of the most expensive of any sport; a good rodeo horse can cost $70,000 or more.
“It can be hard enough just making rent and feeding yourself in college, and these students have all these other costs to worry about,” said Clark. “You’re looking at feeding and housing four to five horses, getting yourself to rodeos, filling up a diesel truck that gets eight miles to the gallon. It’s easy to spend $1,500 in a weekend.
“To a lot of these kids, it’s a lifestyle. They grew up doing it, and now they’ve got a real passion for it.” he said.
Clark said none of the athletes would be there if they did not enjoy it, and that while it is hard to believe that people could enjoy giving up so much of their lives to it, the program has extremely passionate alumni and fans who still want to be involved with rodeo in some way.
Last year, both the men’s and women’s teams placed first in their division, the first time that’s happened in 13 years. The team plans to follow up that success with another stellar year.
“There’s definitely a lot of pressure this year, we want to be successful. That’s why we commit so much time and effort to this sport.” said Clark.
The team’s first rodeo of the season was Sept. 13 in Chadron, Nebraska. Their closest rodeo this season will bring them to Cheyenne Oct. 11.
