story by Lindsay King
Basketball, not rodeo, was at the forefront of Georgie Lage’s mind when it came time to choose a college. Luckily, she “fell into rodeo.” Though she was good in high school, it never occurred to Georgie that she might be good enough for a college scholarship. “I planned to play college basketball. I kind of fell into college rodeo without having that specific goal beforehand,” said the goal-oriented breakaway roper from Sutherland, Nebraska. Her Canadian uncle put the first rope in Georgie’s hand spurring her into her first rodeo season in the sixth grade. Though it was team roping that first took her to a national stage in the eighth grade, Georgie hit her groove in breakaway the following year.
“I love breakaway because everything happens so quickly that you have to be precise. And it’s all about you and the calf, there is nobody else to rely on to work hard.” This drive for consistency and precision comes from a few key ladies who propelled Georgie’s career forward. One of those is her former college rodeo coach at Laramie County Community College Cierra Erickson. A stint in the south last year with Cierra helped Georgie find a competitive edge. “She has helped me with my horsemanship a bunch and then took me to the rising stars roping. Traveling with her gave me the confidence I needed in my roping.” Jennifer Daly, Alex Christien and Lori Tierney are all influential women in Georgie’s rodeo career.
Though this is the first year Georgie got her card for the NSRA, she is no stranger to the association. “I competed in a few NSRA rodeos through the NHSRA, but this was my rookie year in the association. I took second in the year end race in the breakaway to my best friend Brook Jameson.” She accomplished her goal of reaching the NSRA finals and even won the average there, taking second in the rookie race. Next year she has her sights set on roping ever calf loaded in the chute for her. “One of the highlights of this year was winning the Sutherland’s rodeo. It was the biggest payout over the fourth of July weekend for breakaway ropers in the state.”
Competing in the Central Rocky Mountain Region gives Georgie the unique opportunity to compete in arenas she has never seen before. She took second in the long round and won the short round and average at the Sheridan College rodeo this fall. “It is a crazy set up, the arena is bigger and the score is a lot longer. It was neat to do so well in a difficult set up.” The agribusiness sophomore intends to continue to rodeo while she completes her degree either at the University of Wyoming or West Texas A&M. “I would like to get a job in sales one day, I am fairly personable and easy to talk to. When we have fundraisers for our rodeo it always seems easy for me to sell things. I just have a knack for it I guess.”
After taking a first and second in two rounds at the Patriot, Georgie is preparing for the American semi-finals. “It was just exciting to place so well against some of the best breakaway ropers in the nation. I like to work hard and it is always nice to see it pay off in the long run.” Her life-long rodeo goal is simple: keep roping. “I love to take what I know and teach other people. I hope one day I will be good enough to put on some clinics. I don’t know where I am going but I am going. It’s all part of God’s plan.”
