Sports & Recreation
Ride ‘Em, Pronghorns Gillette College’s Rodeo Team Ranks High in Nation
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College, Young says Burch Rodeo Co. in Rozet allows the Pronghorns team to use their rough stock for practice. As for practice sites, students mostly use the CAM-PLEX and other smaller local arenas. For now, Gillette College has never been the home team at a rodeo competition – they are always the away team. “College rodeos are pretty well set – some other college would have to give up a rodeo for us to host one, and that hasn’t happened yet,” Young says. “We’re looking forward to the day when we build our own arena on campus to start hosting competitions.” Meanwhile, a year after introducing rodeo at Gillette College, a cross-country and track and field program was added to the Pronghorns athletics department for 2008-2009. “Our runners are already doing well because they train in the high altitude of Gillette, then excel against opponents who train at sea level,” Young says. And for the 2009-2010 school year, men’s and women’s basketball debuted on the Gillette campus. “We are finished adding sports for awhile,” Young says. “Our biggest problem is that we are limited by facilities, and don’t even have a fieldhouse yet. But for right now, we’re doing pretty well offering five sports to the 1,000 students who attend classes here for two years at Gillette College.” – Kevin Litwin
Photo Courtesy of Gillette college
ost college student-athletes play sports such as baseball, basketball, volleyball or soccer. At Gillette College, 40 students make up the rodeo team. Gillette established the sport during the 2007-2008 school year, and the Gillette Pronghorns’ men’s and women’s rodeo teams were both ranked in the top 10 in the nation in 20092010. The Pronghorns are coached by Will LaDuke and compete against schools such as the University of Wyoming, Sheridan College, Eastern Wyoming College, Casper College and Colorado State University. “There are a lot of pronghorn antelope around Gillette, and since they are one of the fastest animals on earth, we thought it would be a good sports mascot for our college,” says Gillette College President Paul Young. Young says the 20 men and 20 women drive to all rodeo events, hauling their horses by trailer. “Each competition is a three-day weekend for those kids, starting on Friday afternoon, and they aren’t done until Sunday afternoon,” he says. “It’s like a pro rodeo, with shows at 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday that feature bull riding, steer wrestling, goat tying and barrel racing.” Wyoming, and especially the Campbell County region, is home to some of the biggest and best rough-stock providers in the United States, and several supply the meanest bulls and fastest goats for rodeo competitions. As a favor to Gillette
Cole Elshere, a Gillette College rodeo team member, spurs a saddle bronc horse during a rodeo in Sheridan.
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