Your future, our focus
BY REED TOBOL
Northwest Trail
After weeks of preparation and stress, the Trapper rodeo team had solid opening weekend of competition – along with a little bit of injury – to kick off the Big Sky Region’s start.
Between two separate rodeos this past Saturday and Sunday in Cody, Northwest College experienced high scoring, rough stock rides, fast times in timed events, as well as a couple of injuries requiring the team to dig into its roster to fill some spots.
“I am just glad we finally got it under our belts and out of our way,” Rodeo head coach Ryan VanderPluym said after the competition.The best young rodeo talent in the region competed for prize money and team points in the Trapper Stampede at Stampede Park 25 miles west of Northwest’s campus.
NWC bareback rider Jordan Gill rode to the top of the men’s leader board last weekend with two outstanding rides that won him both performances.
“My first horse on Friday night was a little weaker and covered a lot of ground and I was 72 points on her,” the sophomore cowboy told NWC-TV in a Monday morning interview. “Saturday night’s horse was a lot stronger, bucked much harder and didn’t cover near as much ground.That night I was 74 points.”
Gill gathered all 290 points possible and currently leads the region by 86 points over the second place contender.
Also contributing to the bareback riding was Clint Griffis, who also covered both of his horses during the Stampede and greatly contributed to team points. Griffis sits third in the region, going into this weekend with 195 points.
After the Trapper Stampede, the men’s team sits fourth in the region with a total of 592 team points.
Three women carried their team to a third place finish on the weekend with 280.5 team points, 314 from the top.
Sophomore Stephanie Hofrichter clinched the win in breakaway roping Friday night with a 3.4 second run. Also Friday, sophomore Pam Vanek worked for a second-place finish in goat tying with a 9.0 second run.
Saturday was also a night for other performances by the women’s team. A quick 3.9 run earned sophomore breakaway roper Haily Hamlin a third-place finish. Hofrichter missed the fastest time of the night by one tenth of a second with a 9.3 in goat tying. Vanek kept herself in the points with a 10-second run.
“I think we learned a lot from this weekend that will help us for our upcoming rodeos,” Hofrichter said. “It is always nice to get this one out of our way and start really getting after things.”
VanderPluym said weather was another element that affected the competition on both days. Continuous gusting winds plagued both days, as well as cooler temperatures.
“Overall, I was very pleased with how the weekend went,” VanderPluym said. “We missed some great opportunities that could have really made a difference. But, we learned some things this weekend that we can bring to Havre and hopefully come out on top.”
Injuries also stood in the way of the Trappers outcome. Freshman bull rider Jaylee Britt fractured two ribs and Cole Stevenson collapsed a lung. Both injuries occurred late in Saturday’s performance.
“Jaylee should be able to ride this weekend if he takes it a little easy throughout the week,” said VanderPluym. “It’s going to hurt, but I think he can do it.”
Stevenson is out for at least this weekend and possibly longer depending on when he can get a doctor’s release.
Rodeo action continues for the Trappers this weekend in Havre, Mont. Unlike the Trapper Stampede, this weekend will run Friday and Saturday and conclude with a short go-around on Sunday. Points over three performances will cumulate in averages for contestants.
“This weekend will be a little bit harder to gather a lot of points at than last weekend, but this is how it will be for the rest of the fall,” VanderPluym said.