![\"8](\"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/65\/2024\/05\/8-44-152.jpeg\")
Most of the men live at the university\u2019s state-of-the-art training facility, so they have become a very close-knit group. As the season progressed, they discovered the one aspect that could take them to the top \u2014 trust.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s everything,\u201d said Gaillard, a sophomore ag business major from Morse who took third place in the region to qualify for his second CNFR. \u201cNot just as friends, but knowing every time you get in the bucking chute or on a bull, you\u2019re going to give it 100 percent. I know I\u2019m going to do that every time, and I trust completely that those guys are, too. They\u2019re never going to leave anything on the table.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dickinson, a native of Rock Springs, Wyo., and Small, from Fall River Mills, Calif., were the event champion and reserve champion. Add Gaillard to the mix, and the three won the saddle bronc competition in seven of 10 regional rodeos.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cEverybody has to do his part and hold himself accountable,\u201d said Dickinson, who graduated with a master\u2019s in agricultural and consumer resources in May. \u201cIt\u2019s college and there are a lot of distractions \u2014 a lot of things we could be doing that\u2019s more fun than going to the gym \u2014 but it comes down to how bad do you want it?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Small, a May graduate with a degree in consumer science, is headed for his second CNFR.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis is like a dream come true,\u201d he said. \u201cWe all share the same goal. If we all take care of our business, we\u2019ll have the opportunity to get that team championship.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Farrell, one of the most consistent competitors in a purple vest this season, finished fourth among the region\u2019s bareback bronc riders, making the finals in nine rodeos. He fully grasps the importance of the teammates\u2019 shared trust. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThat word fits this team kind of perfectly,\u201d he said. \u201cWe all live next to each other, and we\u2019re all pretty good buddies. We trust each other to do what needs to be done to win. I know if I need anything I call anyone on the team. That\u2019s pretty awesome.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mark Eakin, in his <\/sup>16th season as Tarleton State\u2019s rodeo head coach, sees something special in this group. \u201cThe guys, especially the rough stock guys, they do everything together. They\u2019ve gotten really close over the last year. It seems like it\u2019s a small family out there at the arena.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Besides leaning on each other for support, each member of the team knows that he\u2019s polishing the legacy of a program that has accumulated 37 national titles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt definitely motivates me to do my best,\u201d said Spain, a senior finance major who made his first CNFR this year after a series of injuries. \u201cIt\u2019s a unique deal in rodeo being on the Tarleton team, since it\u2019s an individual sport.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Spain missed all five of the fall semester rodeos following knee surgery. He returned in February and made the finals in four of the spring events to finish sixth overall in the Southwest Region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt\u2019s a little added pressure,\u201d he said, \u201cbut that history drives us as a team.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n White\u2019s regular season featured a third-place regional finish in steer wrestling. A recent graduate with a bachelor\u2019s degree in industrial technology, he is the team\u2019s lone timed-event qualifier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI don\u2019t think there\u2019s any added pressure because of that,\u201d he said. \u201cAt the end of the day, this is what I do. I look at it as just another chance to do my job and help the team.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n To complement the determination, Eakin sees one novel aspect to this year\u2019s team. In 25 years of coaching, this is the first time he has not taken a roper to CNFR.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt\u2019s a bit different, but it\u2019s still a very balanced team,\u201d he said. \u201cThey\u2019ve got a lot of experience, and they\u2019re all at the peak of their game, so I\u2019m pretty excited about this year. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHopefully everybody shows up healthy, we draw well and have a good week in Casper. They should have a really good chance to pull this thing off.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" STEPHENVILLE, Texas \u2014 Six men with a single goal are headed to Casper, Wyo., to represent Tarleton State University in the College National Finals Rodeo (CNFR), June 9-15. They aim …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":54,"featured_media":50977,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"advgb_blocks_editor_width":"","advgb_blocks_columns_visual_guide":"","wds_primary_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[382,425],"tags":[455],"class_list":["post-50975","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-homepage","category-campus-community","tag-rodeo"],"acf":{"image":false},"author_meta":{"display_name":"priddle","author_link":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/author\/priddle-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2\/"},"featured_img":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/65\/2024\/05\/8-44-152-300x200.jpeg","coauthors":[],"tax_additional":{"categories":{"linked":["_Homepage<\/a>","Campus & Community<\/a>"],"unlinked":["_Homepage<\/span>","Campus & Community<\/span>"]},"tags":{"linked":["Rodeo<\/a>"],"unlinked":["Rodeo<\/span>"]}},"comment_count":0,"relative_dates":{"created":"Posted 2 years ago","modified":"Updated 2 years ago"},"absolute_dates":{"created":"Posted on June 6, 2024","modified":"Updated on August 15, 2024"},"absolute_dates_time":{"created":"Posted on June 6, 2024 8:00 am","modified":"Updated on August 15, 2024 5:11 pm"},"featured_img_caption":"Group of men in cowboy hats and purple vests posing on stage, Tarleton State University logo visible.","series_order":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50975","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/54"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=50975"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50975\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/50977"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=50975"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=50975"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=50975"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}