Your future, our focus
Rachel Kerr’s horse Guinness has not commented on whether he is poised to join the book of records.
But she senses he is definitely ready to start the Northwest College spring rodeo season Thursday.
“We talk all of the time,” Kerr said. “He’s looking really good.”
The horses and riders both are frisky for the resumption of the 2015-16 college season after the months-long winter break.
The Trappers begin Phase II at Montana State in Bozeman, Thursday-Sunday. They left off last fall third in the team race of the Big Sky Region.
Kerr, a sophomore who competes in barrel racing, breakaway roping and goat tying, is part of a veteran crew that is also healthy after nursing some bumps and bruises before the break.
“Everybody’s healthy and ready to go,” coach Del Nose said. “We’ve put in a lot of practice.
Rest, recuperation and practice have defined the winter for the team, although some individuals kept competing wherever they could find rodeos.
Sophomore bareback rider Jesse Nelson found events in Gillette and Kalispell, Mont. to keep active after he put his body back together.
That took some doing because Nelson broke his sternum and three ribs. He was kicked in the back by a horse in Dillon, Mont., in Northwest’s last rodeo of the fall season in October.
“That’s the first time I’ve ever been really hurt,” Nelson said. “I’m as healed as you can be.”
Nelson shrugged off his time off.
“Most of the time I take time off in the fall and winter anyway,” he said.
After weeks of workouts at Trapper Arena the team is excited to get into a big competition again.
“We’ve got some goals in mind,” said freshman Bubba Boots, who competes in calf roping, steer wrestling and team roping and got off to a hot start in the fall.
“We want to be one of those teams that go to the College Finals Rodeo.”
Boots has hooked up with a new team roping partner, freshman Levi Mydland, and they have been working together all winter, ready to see what they can do.
Boots pretty much has the same goal for himself as he does for the team.
“I really want to make the college finals as a freshman,” he said.
Kerr said she practiced with Guinness five days a week during the competitive break and it seemed as if it took forever to get to the second half of the season.
“It seemed like winter dragged on and on,” she said.
Now it’s time to roll.
“You’ve got to get your game face on,” Kerr said.