It was last year when a torn rotator cuff set him out for two weeks. The setback is hardly noticeable though as Colten Madison a freshman from Whiting, Iowa, currently leads the standings in steer wrestling with 480 points.
Madison said the only thing he has changed about his preparation for rodeos is that he added lifting.
“I made a friend in town who was a body builder, and he told me he could help me rehabilitate the injury, as well as make me stronger than what I had been.”
Madison isn’t the only one though who works outside the arena to be successful. Katy Miller a junior from Faith, South Dakota. who focuses on her mental game.
“My mental game is something that I work on everyday,” Miller said. “If I ever do get down on my mental game, someone that helps me a lot is my sister and my family.”
Miller’s strong mental game helped lead the women’s team to their win at Garden City Community College.
Miller returned to the short round in both of her events. In breakaway roping, Miller came back seventh place in the short round, followed by Jenny Massing, junior from Ponoka, Alberta, who came back to the short go in the last spot with a 2.8.
“I like roping in little barns,” Miller said. “So I was excited for the weekend.”
For Miller and Massing, the short round didn’t go as planned since they both turned in no times. They did, however, both have success in the goat tying.
Miller started off the first round sitting second with a 6.7. She managed to shave off a second in the short round allowing her to secure a second place finish in the goat tying. Massing finished the first round in third place allowing her to collect some points, but wasn’t able to hold her place in the short round with a 12.9.
Tearnee Nelson of Faith, South Dakota, also had success in the goat tying finishing fourth overall in the goat tying after a 7.0 in round one followed by a 6.8 in round two.
Melissa Couture, a freshman from Springdale, Arkansas, also advanced to the short round in goat tying after a 7.6 in the first round, which tied her for ninth and 10th. She finished the weekend seventh in the average after a 7.1 in the short round.
In the barrel racing, Ashlyn Moeder, a sophomore from Oakley, Kansas, finished the weekend second in the average with a 26.3 after two runs.
In the team roping, Brandi Hollenbeck, a junior from Hutchinson, Kansas managed a fifth place finish with the help of her partner Grayson Allred, a junior from Kanarraville, Utah. They were able to score 50 points each during the weekend.
Allred’s successful weekend in the team roping was accompanied by Cole Patterson, a junior from Pratt, Kansas, who ended up third in the average.
Allred’s success wasn’t limited to team roping though, he also made the short go in tie down roping, but his 28.7 in two rounds wasn’t fast enough for any points.
Patterson saw more success in the tie down roping as he finished third in the average. He was a 10.7 on his first calf and then an 11.8 on his second.
But Mason Bowen, a senior from Bullard, Texas, took the win this past weekend in the tie down. He had the fastest time of the first round with a 9.6 then came back faster in the short round with a 9.5. His cumulative time of 19.1 on two runs named him the average winner.
Cody Devers, a junior, was able to make the short round in steer wrestling, but fell short of placing in the average. Madison though, took a safe start in the first round to secure his sixth place entering into the short round. His third place time in the short round secured his third place in the average with a 12.0 second run on two steers.
“I could have gotten out a little faster on my second steer to place a little higher, but I was alright with what I got.”
“I just need to keep doing the same thing, chipping away at them,” Madison said.