Senior Walker Goffard has a hobby that is not common around our area: steer wrestling.
Steer wrestling is often called rodeo; which is when a person gets off the horse they try to get on the steer as they run down the dalloway. The dalloway is the pit in which is caged off, that they run the horses and steer in. Then they put the steer on the ground, they are then scored based on timing. Goffard goes through the Wisconsin High School Rodeo Program and has been doing this for eight years. The sport sparked interest in his family through a family friend in Platteville. He tried it once and has been steer wrestling ever since.
“Two years ago I placed 15th in the National High School Finals and I am leading state now,” Goffard said.
Walker attended a steer wrestling school in Wisconsin, Iowa, Colorado and Oklahoma, which furthered his interest in this hobby. His father Mark Goffard said that Walker has had a lot of help from experienced steer wrestlers Jon Ragatz, Jacob Burks, and Nick Guy. They have been very influential in helping Walker to better his skills.
Walker has gone out of state to Gillette, Wyoming for National High School Finals. He has also been to Huron, South Dakota for the Junior High School steer wrestling division.
“This past year Walker was given the unique opportunity to have an exhibition run at the Manawa Rodeo. The Manawa Rodeo allowed the top four Wisconsin High School Rodeo athletes in each event to have the opportunity to show their skills during their Pro Rodeo,” Mark said.
Walker trains for three hours, five to seven days a week with his horses. He trains by running the horse around and sometimes he practices with his own steer dummies.
“Walker has spent many hours doing chores, feeding, grooming, repairing fences, and putting his animals first,” Mark said.
The average cost for this sport $180 going through Wisconsin High School Rodeo and thousands of dollars due to grooming and health expenses.
Walker plans to attend a college that has steer wrestling.
“I want to attend Kansas State because they have rodeo as an extracurricular,” Walker said.
