story by Siri Stevens
Jase Staudt is leading the All Around for the CPRA. “The CPRA is a great association – I like the rodeos, they have great stock and a great board of directors to put the best rodeos on. I can work and still go to the rodeos – usually three a weekend. They have great added money and the rodeos are very competitive – there’s a lot of talent at them.”
The junior at the University of Wyoming is planning on splitting his time between a college rodeo in Lamar and the CPRA Finals in Colorado Springs. This is his first year at UW, rodeoing for Beau Clark. He spent his freshman and sophomore year at NJC in Sterling. “I always wanted to go here because of the academics,” he said of UW. “When Beau Clark became head coach that sealed the deal. He is next level when it comes to the mental game and he wants to take the UW team to that level.” Jase’s family ranches in Saguache, Colorado, in the south central part of the state, so UW is reasonably close to home. “I’m studying ag business and when I graduate I’m probably going home to help run the ranch. My dad works for Superior Livestock and I’m hoping to work under him – he reps the cattle and puts contracts together and helps sell the cattle. I really enjoy that – it’s a lot of travel and I get to see a lot of different kinds of cattle and see the different operations.”
Jase team ropes and tie down ropes and the CPRA fits his schedule perfectly. Summers are spent working at home. “I’m really lucky, my family is really understanding; especially this summer. We run cows and Monday through Thursday – I’d work and then I’d take off.” This summer was a little different in that his father, Josh, was diagnosed with throat cancer the first of March. “It’s been a challenging year. We had to do whatever it took to keep going and help each other out. He had surgery a month later and the operation and recovery were tough.” That was followed by six weeks of radiation in Denver, Monday through Friday. “My little brother (Klayt, 13) was still in school and I was at college, so my whole family pitched in and took care of everything. Now he’s working again and lives a normal life. He’s still tired, but he’s working and everything is back to normal.” Klayt made it to junior high finals and won the team roping at Colorado Junior High Finals. “He’s extremely talented,” said Jase. Both boys learned to rope from their parents.
“My dad has always roped and my parents put on team ropings when I was little,” said Jase. “Dad jackpotted his whole life; he made the college finals two or three times.” Between ranch life and his dad’s team roping, both Jase and Klayt learned the ropes. “My mom (Kristi) ropes, but not near as much now. At the CJRA (Colorado Junior Rodeo Association), whenever my dad can’t go, she cracks back out and usually spins a good one for us. My brother heels, and I would always heel if I had to.”
Jase brought four horses to college with him. “We make a lot of our own horses. I love riding good horses and that’s a passion of mine – the process you go through with them. Two of these horses we have we raised – one as a weanling. The other two we bought as four or five year olds and we worked with them. Every day we ride horses and we do a lot of different things on them. It’s hard to make good horses just in the arena. “
The college finals have always eluded Jase, but he’s hoping to change that this year. He’s been going to the CPRA rodeos for two years now. “Last year I wanted to be rookie of year in team Roping, calf roping, and All Around. I accomplished that even though I couldn’t go to the Finals. I’m excited this year, I think I’m going to make both.” He’s also added circuit rodeoing to his summer schedule, but just the closer ones. “This year I was able to go a little bit more and I’ve learned a lot. I have a lot of things to work on – the scoring is the biggest difference in the team roping. The score at the pros are out there another foot or two and the steers are stronger.” He has made the circuit finals for sure in the calf roping and is excited to compete in October. The other challenge he has had to overcome is switching team roping partners. “I pretty much roped with Jhett Trenary from seventh grade through senior in high school then we went to different regions. Jhett and I grew up together, there are pictures of us roping goats when we were three or four. We were more like brothers so it is different to find another partner – Dusty Taylor and I are hopefully going to work it out. We can tell each other like it is. Dusty and I want to win and take our roping far and we are okay with being hard on each other with good intentions. We’re working hard at making our run, executing our plan and practicing. We are going to a few amateur rodoes and we’ve gone quite a bit this summer, not together, but we are excited to rope together and keep our horses working.”
Jase has kept his friendship with Jhett going, and since they only live ten minutes from each other, whenever they are both home, they rope together. “Now that we’re both heading we have more to talk about. We are still just as good a friends as ever. I love heading – I feel like that is really challenging to keep horses working and all dependent on you. You are the quarterback for the team and you have to execute at a high level if you are going to be competitive.”
“I feel like I’ve gotten better at the amateur rodeos and if I can keep working on my horse power and my mental game and practicing at the next level I’ll achieve my goals. “That’s why I’m glad Beau is my coach – he’s competed at the highest level of rodeo and he knows how to prepare for that next level mental game. My goal is to make the National Circuit finals and enter some of the bigger rodeos.”
Summer is over, and now Jase is back at college, something he takes seriously. “I had a 3.8 in Sterling and I know that UW will challenge me more.” He will continue to study and rope, knowing he has the support of his parents, brother, both sets of aunts and uncles and grandparents. “I’m incredibly lucky. As a family, we work all day everyday together, and when we eat at night there are 13 of us. It’s a sacrifice from all of them for me to rodeo and go to college – I’m young and have different dreams. I want to take the stairs – I don’t feel like the elevator to the NFR is for me. I choose to go to school, work hard at the academics, and the next level of rodeo.
