By the horns

By: RAYMOND PARTSCH III
Managing Editor

Gabe Soileau was hiding out in a dusty horse trailer outside of Burton Coliseum.
The 17-year-old steer wrestler had just suffered a disastrous performance in the short go run at the Louisiana High School Rodeo Association State Finals in Lake Charles. Gabe had entered the final leg of the steer wrestling competition with a great opportunity of claiming the LHSRA state championship.
The Sacred Heart School Rodeo Club member had finished third in the first go run, won the second go but in the short go he was unable to get his hands on that final steer. Gabe believed his chances of winning the championship had ran away from him just like that steer he was unable to wrangle to the ground.  
“I thought I had lost it,” Gabe said. “The guy that was right behind me ended winning the short game. He was in second place before that and he did really well in the short group and I didn’t even catch my steer. I thought I had lost it.”
“I was telling everybody that we were done,” Gabe’s father Kent remembered. “I told everybody that we had lost state. We had come so close to winning. But then we got the phone call that we had still won.”
Despite the short go disappointment, Gabe still finished with 144.50 points and he would be crowned state champion. Gabe’s mood in the trailer back on that June day improved in an instant.
“I definitely felt a lot better after that,” Gabe said.
Gabe’s ascent to championship rodeo cowboy began in earnest.
The event, also known as bulldogging, consists of a horse-mounted competitor who must chase down a steer, drop down from his horse and wrestle the steer to the ground by twisting its horns. The 5-foot-10, 175-pound had some limited experience as a team roper but had never tried to take down a 350-500 pound steer by himself until after Thanksgiving of 2014.
To help expedite his steer wrestling education, Gabe traveled from his family’s home in Whiteville to study with well-known teacher Tom Carney at his school Steer Wrestling 101 in Bernice.
Despite missing half of the high school season, Gabe still finished the year in 6th place. He had a strong showing at state finals where he finished second in the first go, winning the second go and winning the short go. That would have been good enough to win the title but the state championship is decided on the entire season’s points, and just not the finals.
That strong finish though helped Gabe build momentum for his junior season but his chances of winning state were nearly derailed a few weeks before finals. Gabe’s horse was suffering from inflamed ligaments which forced him to get a new horse.
“Thankfully I had him a few weeks before state so I made sure to ride him as much as possible,” said Gabe, whose younger brother Gavin is also a steer wrestler. “I rode a few jackpots at the (Burton) Coliseum beforehand just to get more familiar. I knew that’s where we would be at for state. So that helped a lot.”
That limited amount of familiarity with his horse didn’t prevent Gabe from winning state and earning a spot in July’s National High School Finals Rodeo in Rock Springs, Wyoming.
Gabe finished fourth in the first go and sixth in the second go to qualify as one of 20 for the final round, the short go competition. Gabe entered the finals at the Sweetwater Events Complex in second place and had to sit and watch 18 others compete while he waited for his turn. He came out and ended up placing fourth in the event which vaulted him atop the average point total but he still had to wait.
“I went into the short round in second place so there was one guy ahead of me,” Gabe said. “After I ran my steer they told me I was sitting in first but he had to run his steer. He had to run around eight seconds to win it so I had to just wait. I was a little nervous.”
Gabe had to wait a little while longer as the final competitor had to run twice, due to his initial attempt being nullified due to the gate for the steer not opening quick enough. The second chance wouldn’t matter as the other rider was unable to get his hands on his steer.
Gabe finished with a 21.03 scoring average and edged California’s Jacob Bairos to claim the NHSFR championship.
“It really didn’t sit in at first to be honest,” Gabe said. “It was pretty exciting. It is still hard to describe.”
The new high school rodeo season begins in the last weekend of September, and Gabe will also be deciding on where he will be attending college. Gabe has long wanted to attend McNeese State because of its rodeo program, but is now considering nearby LSU at Alexandria which has recently added its own program. By winning nationals, Gabe has also earned himself a spot in the semi-qualifier for The AMERICAN Rodeo in Dallas, the nation’s richest rodeo payout.
Even now with numerous championship belt buckles and saddles in his possession, Gabe’s meteoric rise to champion steer wrestler is still something he has trouble believing.
“I didn’t expect to come this far this fast,” Gabe said. “It is truly and really hard to put into words.”