The men and women’s rodeo team are currently first and second in the Central Rocky Mountain Region standings, respectively.
The team traveled to five rodeos during the fall semester and has five more weekends of competition to look forward to this spring as athletes work to qualify for the College National Finals Rodeo.
The Hansen Arena is the indoor facility that the UW Rodeo Team calls home. Each morning the crew at the Hansen, consisting of student athletes, coaches, work study student positions, and the facility manager all take care of the ground and animals.
“We work the ground each morning to protect the horses. The animals are fed every day and some calves get fed twice a day,” said Beau Clark, the UW Rodeo Head Coach.
The rodeo team officially practices five days a week, year around. Some athletes put six or seven days of work in through jackpot competitions on the weekends, which are extra competitions where the winners split all or part of the entry fees. Typically, a jackpot is specific to one rodeo discipline at a time.
Junior Lily VanNess shared that she practices at least six hours a day Monday to Friday.
“Depending on if [we] go to a jackpot that weekend, that’s another six to 10 hours a day,” VanNess said. “Anywhere from 40 to 60 hours a week, it’s a full time job!”
Lily VanNess is at the barn by 6 a.m. to get her horses saddled and warmed up. She gets the calves loaded by 7 a.m. for breakaway roping practice.
Freshman Zane Brackett will be looking to earn points in three events; team roping, saddle bronc riding, and tie down roping. The team travels to Gillette College on the latter weekend of spring break to kickstart their collegiate competitions this semester.
“It will be fun catching up and passing everyone,” Brackett said.
Clark is looking forward to watching the athletes compete and showcase their skills which have been developed over the winter.
“It’s like any sport – if you’re gonna be competitive you have to be committed,” Clark said.
The UW Rodeo Team will close out their regular season in Laramie on April 27-29 at the Hansen Arena.
