story by Lily Weinacht
Blare Romsa is the third generation of his family to rodeo. Starting with bull riding in junior rodeos, he moved to the timed event end in high school as a steer wrestler, while his brothers, Lane and Quade, also rodeoed through high school. “When I was in ninth grade, a friend of mine, Cutter DeHart, wanted me to come steer wrestle with him at an arena in town,” says the 19 year old from Laramie, Wyoming. “I started practicing, and I got hooked on it.” Blare rode bulls until his junior year of high school, then focused solely on steer wrestling. He finished sixth in the state his junior year, then followed up with the state steer wrestling champion title the next year.
After the NHSFR, Blare bought his card with the CPRA and filled his permit with the PRCA. “When I compete, I like to try and beat myself and get better. I don’t want to go out and rodeo just to do it – I like to drive myself to a goal each year,” says Blare. “When I first bought my permit, my goal was to fill it that year, and I accomplished that. For 2016, my goal was to win more money than the last year and make the CPRA finals, which I did.”
Blare finished third in the average and year-end standings following the CPRA finals. He was struggling with a torn pectoral muscle that weekend, but put time on the clock each run and split first place in the short-go with Cole McNamee with a 3.9. “It was a pretty neat deal. I’d qualified the year before but couldn’t go since I was college rodeoing, so 2016 was my first time at the finals. I thought one of the best CPRA rodeos last year was Kiowa. It was an outstanding rodeo with great hospitality, and I think they went above and beyond everyone’s expectations.”
Blare often hauls with fellow steer wrestlers like Dan and Dax Cathcart, Cole McNamee, and Brian Snell. “We all haze for each other, and for me, I like it because the steer wrestlers form a family. I’ve really taken a liking to it, and I’ve met a lot of neat people through steer wrestling.” During Thanksgiving, Blare and Cole went to Bernice, Louisiana, for a steer wrestling school put on by Tom Carney and Tyler Waguespack. “Ote Berry and Casey Martin were two of the instructors, and we learned a good deal to bring back and show our buddies,” says Blare. “This year, we’re trying to break some muscle memory and old habits. The old style is to bury your hip and bring the cow to you, but now we’re working on moving down the arena to the cow.”
His two horses, Sherman and Sunny, both came from Oklahoma. Blare’s main steer wrestling horse had passed away several years earlier from colic, and he rode Dax’s horse for a season of college rodeo at Casper College. “These two horses have worked out really well. Sherman is my main horse, and Sunny is my backup and haze horse.”
When he’s not rodeoing, Blare runs a construction company in Laramie. “My dad and grandpa have both built in Laramie and been very successful, and my dad helped me get started when I moved back from college. I’ve learned most of my trades through him, and he and my uncle kept things running when I was rodeoing last summer.” Blare is also an avid fisherman between rodeos, whether solo or with friends.
“As of right now, I have my eyes set on the Mountain States Circuit Finals now that I have my card,” he concludes. “I’m also focusing on improving my competition and continuing to make it to the CPRA finals.”
