ALVA, Okla. – Jacob Haren knows exactly where he sits with regards to the Central Plains Region standings.
There are two events remaining on the season, and Haren is in a bit of scramble mode if he intends to return to the College National Finals Rodeo. A season ago, he won the region’s all-around title and competed in both tie-down roping and steer wrestling in Casper, Wyoming. His chances of repeating are slim this season, but he still has hopes of returning.
“You’ve just got to step up and know you’re going to need something at the next two,” said Haren, a Northwestern Oklahoma State University graduate student from Callaway, Nebraska. “My goal is to get back to Casper.”
He gave it his best effort as the Rangers played their game this past weekend at the Southwestern Oklahoma State University rodeo in Weatherford. Haren placed in both rounds and finished fourth in the team roping aggregate race while heading for teammate Rhett Murray of Alma, Kansas. Haren also finished among the leaders in the short round of tie-down roping and finished fifth in the average, then scored a fourth-place finish in the first round of steer wrestling.
“I definitely had the opportunity to place really good in all three, but I just didn’t quite get done what I needed,” said Haren, whose best shot at making the college finals is in steer wrestling, where he was ranked fourth heading into the weekend. “It was good to have some success, especially after struggling at Garden City last week.
“I think as a team, we practiced really hard after Garden City. We really busted our butts.”
There were a lot of positives that came out of the Rangers’ performance in Weatherford.
“We had lots of good stuff this week,” coach Cali Griffin said. “I think us changing around practice a little and the effort everyone put into this week really showed. I’m really happy for Haren. He finally had the rodeo he deserves and one that we all know he’s capable of. That kid puts in work day in and day out on multiple horses in multiple events every day, and I don’t think a lot of people realize how hard he works at it.”
That’s the nature of being a rodeo cowboy, but there’s more to it for Haren, who also serves as the graduate assistant coach. In addition to working on his own game, he also handles many duties necessary to prepare the practice facilities and to help the other cowboys and cowgirls prepare.
“I do whatever Cali needs me to do but also still getting in all my practice needs,” he said. “It can be a lot, but I’m glad I can help out.”
Haren led the way for the men’s team but also was witness to other Rangers who found some success. Fellow tie-down roper Hazen Sparks of Talihina, Oklahoma, won the first round, while bulldogger Emmett Edler of State Center, Iowa, placed in both rounds and finished third overall. Grady Aasby of Highmore, South Dakota, also made the championship round in steer wrestling.
Team roper Colter Snook of Dodge City, Kansas, maintained his place atop the heading standings, placing fifth in both the final round and the average while roping with Cale Morris of Western Oklahoma State College. The Northwestern team of Kyler Altmiller of Canadian, Texas, and Sage Bader of Kim, Colorado, also qualified for the short round.
Breakaway roper Y’Leigh Yarbrough of Cheyenne, Oklahoma, finished fifth in the long round, sixth in the short round and fifth overall. It was her top finish as a Ranger – she won the Kansas State University rodeo last fall while competing at Western Oklahoma, then transferred to Northwestern at the semester break.
She was joined in the final round by Chase Kite of Beetown, Wisconsin, and Payton Dingman of Pryor, Oklahoma, the latter of whom stopped the clock in 3.1 seconds to finish in a tie for second place in the first round. Goat-tier Bennett McComas of Mandan, North Dakota, finished the first round in 8.3 seconds to qualify for the championship, where she was 10.8 seconds but did not place in either round.
“I was pretty happy with the way things went,” Yarbrough said. “I drew more on the stronger end of the calves, so I’m just thankful that I got them knocked down and got some points.”
Yarbrough finished her degree at Western Oklahoma in December, then opted to transfer to Alva to continue her education and to compete in intercollegiate rodeo. While she knew her first-round calf was going to test her abilities, she got a bit of a push from Griffin.
“Cali just told me to score (well) and catch him and that I would probably get another one,” Yarbrough said. “I think the advantage was the horsepower I have and being able to score on a long setup like that. My favorite setup is getting to run one down.”
Her horsepower came from Bob, a 6-year-old sorrel gelding. He came in handy in Weatherford.
“He’s the first horse I’ve ever raised,” she said. “I’m the only one that’s ever roped calves on him. He saw his first calf in June, and my good horse got crippled, so he had to get the call. He really had to step up to the plate.”
With rodeos this weekend in Hays, Kansas, and the following in Guymon, Oklahoma, Yarbrough and her teammates will be making a strong push to close out the region season with hopes of advancing to the college finals. The Casper championship features only the top three individuals and top two teams from each region.
“It’s going to be a tough two weeks, but we’re ready for it,” Griffin said.