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Lodi's Taryn Krantz, a junior at Tarleton State University in Texas, competes in the goat tying event at the college national finals on Wednesday in Casper, Wyo. Krantz is in fourth place heading into Saturday's final round. (Courtesy photo)
Looking to tie down a title
Tokay grad Krantz in the running for national goat tying championship
Updated: Thursday, June 14, 2007 6:55 AM PDT
Yes, Lodi's Taryn Krantz is making her first trip to the College National Finals Rodeo in Casper, Wyo.
No, she's not happy just to be there.
Krantz, a junior at Tarleton State University near Fort Worth, Texas, is currently fourth in goat tying after three rounds and in position to lasso a national championship with a strong showing in Saturday's short round.
"My goal is to win it all," Krantz, who is one of 50 cowgirls in the event, said after Wednesday's third round.
Krantz, who says 6 seconds is an exceptional time, finished in 7.5 on her first go, followed by times of 7.0 and 9.4. Her cumulative time of 23.9 is two seconds behind overall leader Martha Beagley of Southeastern Oklahoma State University.
Taryn Krantz
While she is still in the running for an individual title, Krantz also hopes to lead the TexAnns to a first-place showing in the team standings.
Tarleton State, which won its fifth national championship in 2005, is currently seventh in the overall standings with 163.3 points, but hundreds of points behind first-place Wyoming (405).
Though this is her first trip to the college finals, Krantz does have experience competing at the national level.
The Tokay High graduate placed second in goat tying at the 2003 national high school finals and tied for eighth in all-around cowgirls honors. She also competed in the nationals during her senior year, but said it was an experience she'd rather forget.
Goat tying is a fast-paced rodeo event that is typically seen in junior, high school and college rodeos.
The object is to race to the end of the rodeo arena to where a goat is staked out on a 10-foot rope (the distance from the starting line to the stake is usually 100 feet or so). Contestants dismount their horse while it is sliding to a stop or running, and race to the staked-out goat, which must be flipped to its side in order to tie together three of its legs with a leather, nylon or cotton rope (braided or unbraided with an approximate length of three feet).
Finally, contestants signal with their hands to indicate the end of their run. The contestant with the fastest time wins. There are penalties that may be added to the contestant's run at the judges' discretion.
Among the penalties: A disqualification if the goat comes untied during the 5-second tie period; 10 seconds added to a time for the horse crossing the staked rope on the goat; disqualification for the horse injuring or killing the goat (which is very rare). A good time is 7 to 9 seconds.
Source: Wikipedia
The object is to race to the end of the rodeo arena to where a goat is staked out on a 10-foot rope (the distance from the starting line to the stake is usually 100 feet or so). Contestants dismount their horse while it is sliding to a stop or running, and race to the staked-out goat, which must be flipped to its side in order to tie together three of its legs with a leather, nylon or cotton rope (braided or unbraided with an approximate length of three feet).
Finally, contestants signal with their hands to indicate the end of their run. The contestant with the fastest time wins. There are penalties that may be added to the contestant's run at the judges' discretion.
Among the penalties: A disqualification if the goat comes untied during the 5-second tie period; 10 seconds added to a time for the horse crossing the staked rope on the goat; disqualification for the horse injuring or killing the goat (which is very rare). A good time is 7 to 9 seconds.
Source: Wikipedia
She received a rodeo scholarship to Tarleton, where she's majoring in communications with an emphasis in journalism.
Krantz says it's been an incredible experience, and that just like everything else in Texas, the rodeos are bigger.
"There's more competition and the skill level is a lot higher," Krantz said. "It makes you step it up."
And just like a true Texan, Krantz is enjoying her independence.
"It's been great to be out on my own, travel on my own and depend on myself," she said.
That's not to say Krantz doesn't miss home.
She plans to spend her summer in Lodi and work for a rodeo publication.
Krantz says her career goal is to work with the Professional Bull Riders tour.
With a strong finish on Saturday, she could add championship credentials to her resume.
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