Your future, our focus
BY REED TOBOL
Northwest Trail
New faces and a new season have the Northwest College Trapper Rodeo team keyed up for the Trapper Stampede this weekend.
Standing among the new faces is head coach Ryan VanderPluym.
VanderPluym has worked in the rodeo business all over the country throughout his life and surprising to most folks, he was once a contestant in the Big Sky Region.
“I rodeoed for Dawson Community College as well as the University of Montana Western throughout the years of 1994-1998,” said the Montana native. “I’m really familiar with the Big Sky Region and that is another thing that helped make up my mind to come here.”
NWC-TV interviewed VanderPluym last week. They asked the question: what brought him back to the West after living in a variety of states after college? He smiled and replied “It was time to come home and when I saw this deal came open I jumped on it as quick as I could.”
Happily returning to the Big Sky Region, VanderPluym has been working with a solid team that is very capable of taking care of business this year. Though the roster is booming with great cowboys and cowgirls, he can only put six men and four women on the team.
“It’s going to be a dog fight for a spot on the women’s side. Most of them are multi-event cowgirls and will get points every weekend,” said VanderPluym. “On my men’s side, I have a lot of returners that I can fill up my spots pretty easy with the talent that I’ve got. It’s my job is to pick that team each week that I believe will do the best.”
The Trapper rodeo team has implemented many changes this year to the program. Practice routine and teamwork has been one of VanderPluym’s main priorities to focus on.
“One of the big changes we have made this year for practice is making a set time every day and my whole team is there,” VanderPluym said. “Just because they are not working their event that day doesn’t mean they aren’t there. My whole team is together helping each other out at four o’ clock every day. That’s what keeps us together.”
The season opener for the Big Sky Region is the Trapper Stampede, the only home rodeo for the Trappers for the entire year. It will be held this Friday and Saturday at 7 p.m. both nights at Stampede Park in Cody.
“It’s a big dollar amount to produce a show of this size,” VanderPluym stated. “It’s not like producing one football game or one basketball game. I’ve got 100 people involved to put this thing on. Then you think about the livestock and the people traveling… It’s a big dollar amount.”
VanderPluym said it is important to support the Trapper rodeo team this weekend.
“We need your support. What you pay at the gate is going right back into our program, and it’s not a profit, I promise you,” said VanderPluym. “It is also the best show in college rodeo as far as the production side and it always has been.”
“If we can pick the right team and rodeo to rodeo, we have a chance to beat them all. It is going to be a jam-up show for sure,” VanderPluym said.