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Rodeo Program
When the 2009 college rodeo season began in the Central Rocky Mountain Region, Otero Junior College had an official team entered; a feat that had not happened for over 25 years. The OJC Rattler Rodeo Club was first established in 1957. Up until the mid 1980s’ the club and its competitive teams were an active group on the OJC campus, hosting annual Rattler Roundup Collegiate Rodeos for over 15 years.
With interest from students and support from the OJC administration, the Rattler Rodeo Team was revived on a full scale for the 2009-2010 Academic Year. The program is funded under the OJC Athletic Department and recognized as a varsity sport on the campus.
Financial and Support Opportunities:
- Tuition and Room & Board Scholarships
- Financial Aid is available to eligible students
- Practice facilities and stock
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- Travel support for team members
- Study tables and tutoring support
- Physical conditioning program
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OJC’s Rattlers Rodeo Team Members include:
(Back Row) l-r: Joe Miller, Fort Lupton; Tanner Smith, Eaton; Dane Banta, Rye; Josh Hamacher, Castle Rock; Zane Bostwick, Penrose; Jake Brown, Calhan; Travis Jackson, Bennett; Dom Pino, Walsenburg.
(Third Row) l-r: Tyler Mattarocci, Pueblo; Clayton Peacock, Pueblo; Brandon Barker, Johnston; Craig Roe, Blackforest; Dalton Ward, La Grange, WY; Spencer Brown, Littleton; Hank Reed, Fort Morgan; DJ Joos, Fleming.
(Second Row) l-r: Kaylee VanBlarcum, Salinas, CA; Sydney Lawson, Spartanburg, SC; Jennifer Pollmiller, Littleton; Coach Linsay Sumter, Fowler; Trinette Renquia, Fallon, NV; Emily Waggoner, Kim; Shilah Arnold, Strasburg.
(Front Row) l-r: Samantha Wallace, Wheatland, CA; Cheyenne Kuhn, Manzanola; Rileigh Elder, Las Animas; Skylar Mattive, Strasburg.
Bailey Kaufman Signs With OJC Rattler Rodeo Team
LA JUNTA — Bailey Kauefman, an 18-year-old senior at La Junta High School, has signed a letter of intent to rodeo for the Otero Junior College Rattler Rodeo Team during the 2010-2011 season.
PHOTO LEFT: Bailey Kaufman, (seated in middle), signs a letter of intent to rodeo for the OJC Rattler Rodeo Team:
Back (l-r) Dan Nuschy, athletic director at La Junta High School; Dennis Huff, father; and Gary Addington, athletic director at Otero Junior College.
Front (l-r) Janice Huff, mother; Bailey Kaufman, and Linsey Sumpter, rodeo coach for Otero Junior College.
Kaufman, the daughter of Janice and Dennis Huff and James Kaufman, has competed for the past six years in the National Little Britches Rodeo Association. She plans to compete on the intercollegiate level in the team roping, breakaway and barrel racing events.
While most students expect to spend two years at a junior college, Kaufman plans to spend only one year at OJC, taking pre-requisite classes for admittance into the Parker College of Chiropractic in Dallas. Her career goal is to become a doctor of chiropractic medicine.
Kaufman is far ahead of most of her high school and future college classmates, because when college begins next fall, she will have already graduated from Otero Junior College. To accomplish this feat, Kaufman took OJC concurrent credits through La Junta High School and attended regular OJC classes when her schedule allowed, thus allowing her to earn an Associate of Science degree this spring from OJC—before she is awarded her high school diploma.
Linsey Sumpter, head coach of the Rattler Rodeo Team, said she is looking forward to having Kaufman join the Rattlers.
“Bailey has enjoyed some great success in the National Little Britches Rodeo Association, and will bring some good skills and a competitive drive to the team. I’m very impressed with what she’s done with setting goals for her academic and career success and I’m confident she will approach her intercollegiate rodeo career with that same drive and determination,” said Sumpter.
An OJC Tradition Continues
Prior to the start of Fall Semester at OJC in 2008, Tuff Ramsey and Ryan Belew, two La Junta cowboys, approached OJC Marketing Director, Almabeth Kaess, asking if she would help them organize a rodeo team at OJC. Kaess, an OJC Rattler Rodeo Team alumna, and former Miss Rodeo America, agreed to help the students. Once college started in August, one more student, Cory Hazen, came forward with an interest in also being on the rodeo team. During the past collegiate rodeo season, the team competed at all 10 Central Rocky Mountain Region rodeos, and finished sitting 10th in the Region.
According to Kaess, with persistence from the rodeo team members and herself, the administrators at Otero Junior College were encouraged to look at reviving the Rattler Rodeo Team on a full scale for the 2009-10 academic year. “Our persistence paid off, because the administration approved a program that is funded under the Athletic Department and recognized as a varsity sport on the campus,” said Kaess.
With only one more hurdle to leap, the newly revived rodeo team needed a coach who could take the program to a competitive level. “As a new program, we knew we needed someone who not only knew the sport of rodeo well, especially collegiate rodeo, but also had a solid background in business, marketing, fundraising, leadership, and most importantly, had a high regard toward academics that coincided with the college’s philosophy,” said Kaess.
That person came in the form of Linsay Sumpter, a former California collegiate rodeo competitor at California Polytechnic State University.
OJC is located in La Junta, Colorado, an area that has a great history of rodeo and rodeo competitors. La Junta has one of the best climates in the state making this an excellent area to practice year-round.
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View About Coach Sumpter |
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Linsay Sumpter is a former collegiate rodeo competitor at California Polytechnic State University. She grew up helping to produce rodeos with the family's Flying U Rodeo Company and working as the herd manager for Rosser Land and Cattle.
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To learn more about the OJC Rattler Rodeo Program, contact Linsay Rosser-Sumpter.
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