Where’s Ward? On the Road with Loralee (3)

Colorado High School Rodeo’s fall season came to a close this past weekend at the Norris Event Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado. In my previous story, I concluded with my trip to Gillette, Wyoming. Following Gillette, my brother and I drove to Grand Junction. The highlight of the weekend included marking my high score in the cow portion of the reined cowhorse (75.5 points) and running my horse Dupree, who had a month off.

This past Friday (9/23), I drove to Elbert to show in the cutting and cowhorse. Even with a few mistakes, I managed to pull out a go round win in both events. I drove back that same night so I could switch out horses for the rodeo on Saturday and Sunday. I left Saturday morning for Colorado Springs. I caught my steer both days in the team roping (with some penalties) and finished fifth in barrels—not quite what I wanted.

With the conclusion of the fall season, I want to mention other Holy Family athletes who also compete in Colorado High School Rodeo: Sam Gallagher, Konnor and Makayla Ward. To no surprise, Sam leads the steer wrestling and sits eighth in the team roping. Konnor sits sixth in the team roping, fifth in the cutting, and second in the rifle shooting in only his second year of competition. Makayla, in her first full year of competition, remains in the hunt for a short-go qualification at state finals. She placed second in the goat tying on Saturday in Colorado Springs with a new PR!

The next few weeks look relatively quiet. I will stay close to home until the Witchfest futurity in Cedar City, Utah, from October 21-23. After that, I plan on going on elk hunting with my Ward family. Looking back at the calendar for 2022, I had 10 consecutive weekends of being on the road. This weekend will be a nice change of pace, though it probably won’t last for long!