University Of Wyoming Rodeo Carries On After Coach’s Death

University Of Wyoming Rodeo Carries On After Coach’s Death

In the wake of a tragedy, the University of Wyoming rodeo team is pulling together under newly announced interim coach Lydia Coe.

Mar 13, 2018 by Katy Lucas
University Of Wyoming Rodeo Carries On After Coach’s Death

In the wake of tragedy, the University of Wyoming rodeo team has found success in seemingly contrasting places: stability and change. 

The death of long-time coach George Howard, who passed away from a gunshot wound in November after leading the program for 20 years, left the team reeling. 

While it’s daunting to take the reins of any established program, it’s even more so in the aftermath of such a profound loss. That’s why the stability Wyoming has known in assistant coach Lydia Coe for the past three years makes her appointment as head coach a welcome change. But Coe offers more than just continuity: She also hopes to forge her own path given the unique perspective she brings.


Different Methods, But The Same Goal

The program made the announcement at the end of February so she could officially begin her new role at the onset of the spring rodeo season. Given Howard’s longevity and the respect he garnered, it’s a monumental undertaking, but one that Coe has embraced to make her own.

“As the assistant coach, I was only around in the afternoons during practice and mainly just during the college rodeo season,” said Coe, who has been working with the students since Howard’s passing. “Now this year, I have been here all winter, and Thursdays we have practice from 10 AM until nine at night, so that’s been another big change, the amount of time that has been put in to it.”

Howard fostered a rodeo program that developed eight college national-title holders and women’s team titles in 2007 and 2009, and Coe wants to build on that success while implementing her own strategies.

Wyoming bull rider Drew Asbury is optimistic about Coe’s leadership. 

“There are similarities, she is laid-back but she is trying to implement some new things: implement a study hall which is very helpful I think," Asbury said. "She’s trying to implement mental practices. She’s changed things up a little bit so they don’t run as long."

The bull rider is in his fourth year at UW and came to the program with a strong resume as a three-time National High School Finals Rodeo qualifier, later going on to qualify for the PRCA’s Mountain States Circuit Finals in 2017. 

“I think it’s going to move forward leaps and bounds under Lydia. We just had our first college rodeo back last weekend, and the women’s team won,” Asbury said as he listed off several top performers on the weekend. “The men’s team didn’t perform as well, but one of our bull riders did win this weekend.” 


Now in her second year at Wyoming, goat tyer and breakaway roper Cori Terry and has seen the benefit of having two coaches with varying opinions at times.

“George and Lydia would both be there, probably on their horses practicing right alongside you,” said Terry. “It was really nice because they both always had, not necessarily an opposite perspective, but just a different perspective, and both were willing to give you different input on what you were doing and how to help you, but [they] really complemented each other." 

Terry blossomed under Howard and Coe’s coaching during her freshman year as she became the Central Rocky Mountain Region reserve champion goat tyer and qualified for the College National Finals Rodeo. 

“I think the biggest thing about George was that he wasn’t an especially personable man, but he really cared about each person on his team and how well they did,” Terry said. “The thing for me was, even the day that I came to try to be on the team, it was like he had already studied the way I had tied, and I had never really had any outstanding accomplishments in high school, but he saw something in me.

“He told me this later, that he saw something that I didn’t even see in myself before I came to college.”


Howard’s Legacy Of Tough Love Will Endure

While the interim coach and team members seem optimistic and eager to move forward, they’re all thankful for the coaching they received from Howard while he was at the helm. 

“He had an attitude of, ‘Here’s the way it is, and either you’re going to like it, or you’re not going to like it,’ and as his student, I really hated that,” Coe said, laughing. “Now, being on the coaching side, I’m kind of starting to learn from that a little bit, and almost to take that on… not completely, but in some circumstances, I think you have to, and I think that was a great example that he set for me.”

Coe was quick to see success from both her own teaching methods and the ones she learned from her predecessor. In their first event this spring at the Laramie County Community College, the girls’ team finished in the No. 1 spot with 365 points. 

The University of Wyoming also won several events: Casey Reimler topped the breakaway roping, Jacob Smith was the only bull rider to cover both of his bulls to win his event, and six other competitors made it onto the leaderboards across both the men’s and women’s events.

Terry, who sits 13th in the goat tying standings after the first rodeo, sees a team that has pulled together through tragedy. 

“It was just really discouraging to lose a coach like that," she said. "But it’s been a really cool experience to see everyone still coming to practice every day, and I’ve noticed that it’s almost like we rely on each other as a team even more now because we pretty much only have one coach and that’s Lydia. So rather than tearing the team apart like I anticipated it would, it’s brought us all together a bit more.” 

The University of Wyoming’s women’s team currently sits at No. 2 in the regional team standings, while the men’s team sits in a lower, seventh-place spot. 

But no matter where this season leads them, Howard certainly left his mark on the University of Wyoming in the way he directed the program, oversaw its success, and connected with his students.

The investigation into Howard’s death is ongoing; FloRodeo has reached out to Converse County Sheriff’s Office and will update this article with new information as we receive it.