College rodeo: Harden knows bad days are part of this ride

Odessa College bareback rider Colter Harden has had better nights in the rodeo arena, but he still has plenty of time to secure a trip to the College National Finals Rodeo.

Harden, a sophomore from Big Valley, Alberta, recorded a 54-point ride Thursday in the opening performance of the Odessa College NIRA Rodeo at Ector County Arena.

The good news is Harden came into the weekend ranked second in the Southwest Region in the event and needs only to maintain his position to qualify for the CNFR, which is scheduled for June 15-21 at Casper, Wyo. But with a lot of work left to do, Harden isn't making travel plans just yet.

"I'm really not thinking about the standings right now," he said. "I'm just taking it horse-for-horse and trying to have fun while I'm doing it. I really don't worry about the standings until later.

"There's still a lot more rodeos and a lot more rodeoing to be had. You get bad luck sometimes, but that's the beauty of rodeo."

This weekend's competition starts a five-week stretch that will determine national qualifiers in 10 events. The next four weekends have OC cowboys and cowgirls competing at rodeos hosted by Western Texas College, Frank Phillips College, Howard College and Tarleton State University.

The top three in the Southwest Region standings for each event qualify to the College National Finals Rodeo, which is scheduled for June 15-21 at Casper, Wyo.

Harden and Aaron Lide, who is third in the region in saddle bronc, benefit from already being in the top three as the spring season gets under way, OC rodeo coach Jim Watkins said.

"They know the ball's in their court," Watkins said. "They know what they've got to do. They've got to keep riding to the top, and there's other guys like Cory (Baudoin, currently sixth in bareback) in there not too far from the top. They're all shooting for the top three spot because that's who goes to the College National Finals."

Getting to open the spring schedule at home could also prove beneficial.

"You always want to do well in front of your home crowd and these guys have worked hard to get this rodeo put together," Watkins said. "Now they're wanting to work hard to perform. They've been wearing two hats, rodeo producer and now competitor."

Harden, who also competes in team roping, took Thursday's result in stride.

"It was one of those nights," he said. "Nothing really came together. The horse was great, it was just me. I was off into my hand and couldn't get out of it."

Watkins said Harden must continue the consistent performances he produced during the fall, when he amassed 495 points.

"He rides every one of them as good as he can," Watkins said. "And that's what he has to continue to do - don't miss any horses out, don't get bucked off, don't double grab."

Harden had another reason for his fall success - the luck of the draw.

"I drew all the good horses in the fall," he said. "That's the way it goes sometimes. You go on a drawing streak, get all these good horses and you can't make a mistake. It's just so nice and so good to get those horses that will put you at the top. It was perfect for me."

The rodeo continues with the second performance at 7:30 tonight with the short go-round scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Saturday.