State of Montana Newsroom
Gov. Gianforte Honors National Champion Women’s Bobcat Rodeo Team
HELENA, Mont. – In a gathering today at the State Capitol, Governor Greg Gianforte and Lieutenant Governor Kristen Juras honored the Montana State University women’s rodeo team for bringing home the national title in 2021.
“Rodeo has a proud, storied history in Montana. For generations, it’s brought together Montanans of all backgrounds as well as cowboys and cowgirls to compete in the arena,” Gov. Gianforte said. “Among those continuing that proud tradition today are the members of Montana State’s women’s rodeo team, whose talent and competitive drive earned them a national title. The Bobcat Rodeo Team brought it home.”
Gov. Gianforte and Lt. Gov. Juras with the MSU women’s rodeo team and coach Kyle Whitaker
Last summer, the women’s rodeo team won the College National Finals Rodeo with 590 team points, capturing its third national championship and first title since 2011.
In addition to taking home the team trophy, individual members of the team also brought home awards. Tayla Moeykens, a Three Forks native, captured the individual title in barrel racing and earned Women’s Rookie of the Year honors. Paige Rasmussen of Bozeman won the 2021 National Champion All-Around Cowgirl.
Looking ahead to this year’s finals, Coach Kyle Whitaker added, “These girls have a lot of talent, but they’re also very dedicated and that shows with their success in the arena and in the classroom. We’re off to a great start this year, and we hope to get back to the College National Finals Rodeo this year to defend our title.”
The 2022 College National Finals Rodeo will take place between June 12 and June 18, 2022 in Casper, Wyoming.
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