Owens enjoys fresh start in rodeo

Roping at a new school this year, on a new horse, with a new partner, Cole Owens of Baker City, Ore., sees results in the arena.
 

Owens came to Pratt Community College from Northwest College in Wyoming to be a team roper and finish his Associates Degree in Beef Production and Ag Marketing.
 
Owens decided to come to PCC after having Ryan Vander Pluym as a coach while he was a freshman at Northwestern Wyoming.
 
"This will be a great stepping stone for me," he said. "I knew once I got here it would be easier to go to on to Kansas State University and also knew that I could get residency if I spent a year here."
 
KSU is Owens first choice to continue his Beef Production major because "they have one of the best ag programs in the nation."
 
Owens went on to say that it will help him with his long term goal the most as well, which is to become a regional manager for the Angus Association.
 
Owens has been team roping since his sophomore year of high school when he broke his pelvis bone bucking horses.
 
"I decided to pick up heeling because it was more of a challenge for me than heading and I’m not big enough to be a bull dogger."
 
This season Owens has been roping with Ty Batie, who Owens said he works well with.
 
"It’s hard to find the right partner," he said. "You have to move well together and get the fundamentals down as a team."
 
Along with having a new partner, Owens is also riding Diva, a horse he has trained himself.
 
"Riding her makes my runs a lot better because I know exactly what she’s going to do," he said. "Since I trained her I know how she thinks, which makes it easier for me to relax and do what I have to do."
 
Come out to support Owens and the rest of the PCC rodeo team Oct. 12 through Oct. 14 at the Huffman Arena on Pratt’s main campus.
 
The rodeo kicks off Oct. 12 at 7 p.m. and will continue Oct. 13 at 9 a.m. and 7 p.m. with a cowboy breakfast that morning. On Oct. 14 there will be cowboy church that morning with the rodeo to start at 1 p.m.
 
Tickets for the event are $7 for adult’s single performance or $18 for all performances, $5 for first through 12 graders and children under first grade get in free.