A blood-gushing, bull-flipping, barrel-racing weekend for the Colorado State rodeo team led to some individual rankings within the region and top-scoring performances at the Skyline Stampede.
The three-day extravaganza started 6 p.m. Friday, April 5, with two more sessions to follow the upcoming Saturday and Sunday.
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Sunday was the big finale for all events, including bareback, team rope tying and breakaway roping.
“The best part about the Skyline Stampede is the crowd of people it brings in and the support from everywhere,” said Katie Gertge, a junior on the team.
The crowd of around 130 people — from other competitors to local community members — got to view some of the nail-biting incidents in Sunday’s finals.
Colton Farrow from the University of Wyoming started the day off with a bang as he arose from the ground after a tough bareback run with blood streaming down his face.
Even though that was a tough act to follow, the CSU Rams pulled through with some great performances.
In team rope tying, Ral’Shaun Descheny and teammate Brayden Fillmore roped in a calf with one leg, finishing off the finals with an 11.5-second time and placing eighth with 7.4 points.
Descheny now sits fourth in the circuit for the team roping header.
Another notable performance was in barrel racing, where Loralee Ward squeezed her way into the top five with a 15.45-second run.
Ward now is ranked 10th in the circuit with 200 points.
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Not only did the 2024 Skyline Stampede reflect the talents of those competing, but it was also a way for CSU rodeo members to experience the organization that goes into respecting such an established sport.
Members of the rodeo team were not only asked to compete multiple times throughout the weekend, depending on performance, but they were also asked to assist in selling merchandise, directing opposing teams and navigating facility requirements.
One of those requirements included finding stalls to fit all other teams’ horses. That ended up being about 325 stalls, which goes to show the number of people competing just in this one weekend.
Two of the CSU Rams, Gertge and Lena Sedacca, participated in breakaway roping on Friday and Saturday and quickly came back on Sunday to help sell rodeo merchandise.
Both Gertge and Sedacca said they didn’t mind helping out and assisting with the setup because of their love for both the sport and their team.
“It’s a little bit stressful,” Gertge said. “This year we had Fairfield help us, and they did a lot of our marketing this year and other stuff like that, so that took away quite a bit of stress from it.”
Even with the intense setting up, organizing and navigation of making sure the rodeo ran smoothly, both women found positives in the experience.
“It’s a nice team atmosphere — that’s what’s nice about college rodeo,” Sedacca said. “It’s the first and only time you’re on a team in a rodeo instead of (being an) individual.”
The Rams have three more rodeos to attend this spring and will be posting updates, locations and results on both their Facebook and on their website.
Reach Kensey May at sports@collegian.com or on Twitter @MayKensey.
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