April 2, 2012wingspan.lccc.wy.eduRodeo<strong>Wingspan</strong> 3faces obstacles, raises rankWill HebertShawn Havel Will Hebert Shawn Havel
April 2, 2012wingspan.lccc.wy.eduRodeoApril 2, 2012wingspan.lccc.wy.edu4 5<strong>Wingspan</strong><strong>Wingspan</strong>College barrel racers run circles around competitionLacey Carroll: No. 4Barrel racer in CRM regionJesse Pichler: No. 2Barrel racer in CRM regionShawn HavelShawn HavelWill HebertBy Josh KimmelOnline EditorHaving two of the Top 5 regional barrel racers on thesame team may cause bad blood to brew, but for theLaramie County Community College rodeo team that issimply not the case.LCCC sophomore Jesse Pichler and LCCC freshmanLacey Carroll enter into the spring rodeo season ranked secondand fourth, respectively, in the Central Rocky MountainRegion college standings. But the two teammates are justthat, a part of a team, even though both riders do admit to asmall sense of friendly competition between them.“Definitely, we would both like to win and the other onebe second,” Pichler said with a chuckle.Carroll agreed that she doesn’t “make a point of ‘I justwant to beat Jesse.’” “I just want to do well,” she remarkedabout her teammate Pichler. “If I don’t do well, I hope thatshe does good for the team.”An advantage to barrel racing is the riders use the samehorses throughout all the rodeos, an advantage on whichCarroll and Pichler said they both capitalize.The rookie:Counterclockwise starting at topcenter LCCC freshman Lacey Carrollhandles a tight turn; Carroll sprintstoward the next barrel (top left);Carroll takes time to care for herhorse (left); Carroll practices herbarrel patterns (right).Pichler has raised and trained her horse, Mercedes, fornine years now, and Carroll has trained her horse, Dude, forfive years.“Because I’ve trained my horse, I feel so much morerewarded when I do have a good run or a win,” Carroll saidwith pride.Trust between rider and horse is very important, and thebond they share with their horses is a strong one.“I have a lot of trust with her. I think jumping from horseto horse would be pretty hard,” Pichler said.Pichler attributed a sense of calm to the bond betweenher and Mercedes. The ability to be calm is needed underthe pressure of being in the Top 5 regional rankings, a pressureboth riders admit to feeling.Carroll and Pichler know being nationally ranked hasadded to the pressure they feel in the arena.“The fact that I’m going in there ranked pretty high, Ican’t let that go to my head,” Pichler said.Even though both riders spend multiple hours a day withtheir horses training or getting ready for competition, theysaid it is only one part of rodeo.“Half of rodeo is a mental game,” Pichler said.The mental game was an area Pichler admitted shewanted to improve. Both riders are humble in the fact thatthey are nationally ranked but said there is always room toimprove during every practice. Improvement should be aconstant goal.“For short-term goals I just want to have a good practiceevery practice and end on a good run,” Carroll said.For Pichler, making the College National Final Rodeo(CNFR) would be a huge accomplishment this year, whileCarroll views it more as a long-term goal for herself.“The goal was to make it to the CNFR. If that’s accomplished,I’m gonna be happy,” Pichler said with a smile.Only the Top Three riders from each region gain accessinto the CFNR. Pichler is currently ranked No. 2, and withonly four more rodeos left in the season she said consistencywill be the key to her success.Both riders are driven and motivated not only in rodeobut also in their schoolwork. Carroll was a 4.0 student lastyear while earning her national ranking, taking 18 credithours. Carroll said school was very important to her, and inorder to make the physical therapist assistant program thissemester, she had to complete all 18 credits last semester, agoal she successfully accomplished.“I didn’t know what hard work was until last semester,”Carroll said with a wide-eyed sigh.Carroll has not slowed this semester, continuing to pursueher 4.0 GPA and taking on an academic workload of 17credit hours, on top of her rodeo practices.Neither Carroll nor Pichler is originally from Wyoming,so moving to Cheyenne from South Dakota and Montana,respectively, was a difficult transition. But a social life wasthe last objective for either rider, both choosing to come toLCCC for educational or athletic reasons.“I’m pretty lame, but I like that. I stay home and get goodgrades and do what I love to do,” Pichler said commentingon her average day.Pichler will have a year of eligibility remaining after thisyear, but she is unsure if she will be returning for a thirdyear. Carrol will return next year with “greater expectationsfor herself,” she said.The top competitor:Clockwise starting at top centerLCCC sophomore Jesse Pichlerfocuses on her practice patterns;Pichler steers her horse to the nextbarrel (top right); Pichler stands withher horse during practice (right);Pichler trots with her horse (left);Pichler races round the arena duringpractice (far left).Will HebertShawn HavelWill HebertShawn HavelShawn HavelWill HebertShawn Havel
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