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The Sundance Times Page 14
Local roper
looks forward to
state finals
BY SARAH PRIDGEON
For Peggy Sue Garman, the
adrenaline of springing from
box to arena is second only to
the bond she enjoys with her
roping horse, Begin A Legacy.
After a successful season on
the high school rodeo circuit,
this homegrown pair are look-
ing like a sure bet for next
year's state finals.
"I had a good spring, I placed
quite a bit, but it wasn't
enough to get me to nation-
ads and that's my number one
goal," she smiles.
"This fall has been outstand-
ing- I'm currently sitting sec-
ond in the state, though, of
course, I want to be at num-
ber one by next year. As long
as Inin the top four, I can go
to nationals- and once I make
the nationals, my goal is to
Beginning a legacy
Courtesy photo
Peggy Sue Garman prepares to not for a steer during a recent rodeo.
win the national title." ent IVe ever had." him up and exercise him, then
Garman is currently maxed out Since she took the sport up se- Friday we're [travelling again]."
in points for the Little Britches riously four years ago, all of Gar- Meanwhile, mom Dixie videos
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Sundance Chamber of Commerce
David Mathis-Tourism Chairman
Dear Community Billboard Sponsors:
DFirst a huge thank you from all the businesses in
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Again a huge Thank you from all Sundance Businesses!
EqE00ENCE
Rofleos, qualifying her for those
national finals.
"I should be in the top ten in
the national standings, and
there are hundreds of kids who
compete nationwide for that,"
she explains.
At the beginning of November,
at a breakaway roping in North
Dakota, Garman won the open
set roping and received a saddle
and cash prize for her efforts.
Out of 81 competitors, she won
with a lead of six tenths of a sec-
ond.
"It was the flint time Dge ever
won and, having trained that
home myself, it's been amazing
because I know he's a once-in-
a-lifetime animal. I don't know if
Ill ever have another horse that
loves his job so much," she says,
her face fighting up as talk turns
to her roping partner.
"i know I wouldn't be able to do
it without my home. I got him for
my birthday six years ago, actu-
ally to be a barrel horse, and he's
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man's roping experiences have
been in the company of Begin.
"Just knowing that I was able
to do that out of 81 girls, and
there were a lot of tough ropers,
was pretty cool. The first thing I
did when I got off was kissed my
horse," she laughs.
"Four years ago, he hardly
wanted to do this. We'd be head-
ing for the box and he'd just be
moseying along and I'm think-
ing, boy, this might not be good.
But then the chute moves and
the box rattles and he just perks
right up."
Gannan began attending clin-
ics put on by Jerry Golliher of the
Golliher Arena, Belle Fourche,
when she was just seven years
old, but it wasn't until 2Oll that
she started g Begin.
"I did it for a couple of years,
but I was so little that I didn't re-
ally understand it. In 2010, I had
a gut feeling that I wanted to do
it, so I started practicing more,"
she remembers.
"It was a learning experience for
both of us. We had a lot of ups
and downs, but where he is right
now is pretty good - a lot of peo-
ple say I have an awesome horse,
but I know he doesn get enough
credit."
Even so, Garman's success
was foreshadowed back when
she was just a toddler, when she
first spent time at the Golliher
Arena.
"I got my first rope when I was
three, from Fielding Phillips from
South Dakota," she smiles.
"It's actually hanging in my bed-
room right now. Every day I go in
there and look at it and remem-
ber where I got my start_"
Garman still works with Golli-
her to improve her skills. In fact,
she says, he has been instrumen-
tal in helping her train Begin.
?I know that, ffI have a problem,
I can go to him and describe it
and hell help me fix it," she says.
"It's pretty nice to have someone
that supports you and is there to
help you."
Golliher is not the only one to
have helped push Garman to
her current heights - much of
her success, she says, is down to
the support she has had over the
years.
"So many people are there to
support me and I know that'if
they weren, I couldn do it," she
says.
"I really want to thank everE-
body- Ie been blessed with what
Ie been able to do, the places my
parents have taken me so that I
can get better and the help that
IVe gotten from Jerry and from
anyone who's said good luck or
good job. It makes you feel sup-
ported."
To rise to national levels, of
course, takes practice and dedi-
cation. Garman is no stranger to
either.
• "I try to rope the dummy every
day for about 30 minutes, includ-
ing in cold weather. Even when it
was 20 below outside, I was lay-
ered up and out there with my
dummy," she laughs.
"A lot of people don realize that
you have to practice year round,
but it's a lot of fun. Well go to a
rodeo on Saturday and Sunday,
Monday he has off because of
traveling time, Tuesday to Thurs-
day I rope the dummy to limber
every run Gammn makes, so that
she can pick out what happened
and why. GalTnan also makes
sure to spend time with Begin,
her secret weapon.
"I go down every i,ht before
bed to check my horses, feed
them more hay and make sure
they're well taken care of. You
have to take care of them or they
don perform for you - you can
tell the kids at the rodeo who are
just there to have fun and don
want to take care of their homes,"
she says.
"Begin can go fm being a hoh-
powered horse that knows his
job to showing at the county fair,
where hell put his head down
and act like an everyday show
horse. I think the versatility of be-
ing able to do everything on him
really helps."
With time, her dedication began
to pay off, helping her develop
the skill and muscle memory to
feel confident in her abilities. The
nerves she experienced in the
early days have gradually faded
away.
"Now, when I'm in the box, all I
focus on is me, my horse and the
calf- I honestly can hear any-
thing else, I zone in on what I'm
supposed to be doing. At a rodeo
this past weekend, my calf didn't
leave the chute," she explains.
"I'd already started to ride my
horse to the calf, but he was hung
up in the chute- he ducked and it
was just a natural reaction for me
to throw and catch. It's become
where I can see a shot and I know
I have to take it, and I feel con-
fident enough now that I know I
candoR."
Though Garman didn place at
every rodeo this spring her first
fall rodeo in Wheafland saw her
hit the top ten and in Jackson she
placed again twice. As the season
winds down for the winter, Gar-
man is sitting at 24 points -just
behind the current front-runner
at 27 points.
"Spring is where you have to re-
ally make it up, there aren that
many in the fall. Rodeos start
asn in April and the state fi=
rials are in the middle of June, so
theyll carry on until a week before
that," she says.
The four-day state final is made
up of two rounds and a short go
for the top 15. The only rodeo
participant at Sundance High
School, Garman would also be
the first local in two years to reach
the finals.
Rodeo will be a long-term part
of Garman's life, if she has her
way, through college rodeo and
a career involving horses. In the
meantime, she looks forward to
the finals and making her way to
nationals.
"I love it- the feeling of backing
in the box and knowing what's
about to happen. I don know
how to describe it, people say it
looks so easy, but it takes a lot of
hard work," she smiles.
%Vith rodeo, everyone is cheer-
ing everybody and, when some-
one makes a good round, you
always say hey, good job. With
other sports, I don think they do
that."
Garman encourages members
of the community to come along
to the rodeos in the spnng and
support the Crook County kids as
they bid for the state finals.
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