Craig Daily Press

Craig — As a lifelong cowboy, the decision for David Fleming was a no-brainer.

Fleming was named Monday as the new coach of the Moffat County High School rodeo team by MCHS athletic Director Rick Penner.

“Dave came in Friday to talk about where we were at with the program and how he could help,” Penner said. “He’s been working with Little Britches, and he’s been involved with the rodeo program and concept for a very long time. So, when we talked, I asked him if he would be interested in coaching, and he said yes.”

Penner said there were a few other applicants interested in the position, but Fleming’s experience and history with the program couldn’t be ignored.

“As we spoke, the common theme was that we want to be able to build this program to a level where kids will want to get involved in it for years to come. We are excited to have him.”

Fleming participated in rodeo throughout high school and competed in college at Casper College in Wyoming, as well as the University of Wyoming in Laramie.

“I’ve been around rodeo most of my life,” Fleming said. “My daughter was in rodeo, and my son Eric is on the team. We’ve been heavily involved in Little Britches the past three to four years, so it was pretty much an easy decision for me.”

Fleming said he understands the difference between rodeo and the rest of MCHS sports, and he embraces it.

“Rodeo is a different animal,” he said, “from the standpoint that it’s not part of (Colorado High School Activities Association). But, it’s a hard situation because it’s pretty much up to the kids to practice and to get to and from the different rodeos on their own. It’s pretty much an individualized sport, and so my hope is we can start looking at ways to do two things: to help the kids have a better chance to have some organized practices and function more together as a team, and I want to try to promote the sport more through the school.”

The high school rodeo season is split into two parts: the fall season and the summer season.

While the other MCHS sports seasons culminate at the state level, MCHS cowboys and cowgirls — if they qualify — can head to the national finals at the end of the summer season.

And qualifying for the nationals is a goal firmly planted in the front of Fleming’s mind.

“Going to state is kind of like going to the playoffs,” in other sports, Fleming said. “Our goal is to get our kids into the top four at the end of the year so we can go compete against the top kids from every other state in the country and Canada at the national high school finals.”

Fleming encourages any interested high school students to come out and give rodeo a shot.

“The kids that have a background on horses, we want to encourage to come out,” he said. “Extreme sports seem to be the thing with kids today, and it doesn’t get much more extreme than riding rough stock.”