Rodeo rides in Nationals

Tuesday offered action without injury for UVU athletes, and plenty of ups and downs and successes, alongside disappointments.

Jake Woolstehulme kicked up a heap of dust in his steer wrestling run. With the clock run 7 seconds flat, Jake picked up a devastating 10-second penalty when his horse broke out at the gate. Ending his run in preliminary competition, Jake is averaging a score of 21.8.

In steer wrestling, the Wolverine team highlight performance came from Baylor Roche, a UVU lineman technology major from Tremonton, Utah. Roche landed a 5.8 clean ride, dismount and steer drop.

On a horse named Bad Medicine, Taylor White lifted team scores with a 70.5 in Saddle bronc. A senior majoring in accounting, White has become known at the Casper Events Center as the “Family Man” for his “2.5 children and wife that keeps him smiling,” said the announcer.

Bareback turned up equally as successful for Colton Bair of Fielding, Utah. Riding the bronc, Dunnit Again, Bair completed his run with a shining score of 69.5.

Tuesday June 16 offered a dusty disappointment for former champion roper Tori Thacker. The UVU secondary education major missed her calf in two preliminary events and at Tuesday evening’s first competition run in Breakaway Roping. Thacker may be leaving Nationals with a no-score, but her resolve and attempt were both solid and graceful.

And tying things up for the Wolverine team Tuesday was Hilary Bair, Rocky Mountain Region student director and a UVU elementary education major from Lehi, Utah. Bair’s goat tying event was over in the blink of an eye landing her the second place spot in the competition.

“I got a little caught in my tie,” she said. “But overall, it felt good. I knew I had to come out and run for the win,” she said.

Placing second in the round, Bair said she has room for improvement, and simply stated, “The only thing better than placing second is to win the event!”