HEBER CITY — The goats waiting just outside the corral at Lana Bingham's home know they really don't have much of a chance.
Shortly after they're dragged to the middle of the corral and staked to the ground, they're going to get thrown to the ground and tied up in about eight seconds flat — judging from Bingham's practice runs for her event in the upcoming national rodeo championships.
The young goats start bleating as soon as they see her coming (although Bingham says she doesn't hurt them as she ties three legs with twine in record time).
"I run at the goat. When I pass a judge with a flagger, I jump off, get to the goat and tie him. You have to be sure your horse works so you get to your goat good. You have to be really quick with your hands," Bingham said. "The goat must stay tied for at least six seconds or you receive a no-tie (no points)."
If it's a good tie and done in less time than 49 other competitors, she'll get points for her Utah Valley State College team and for herself.
The six-member team — which includes Bingham, Taylor White, Bud Munns, Riley Probst, Slade Hughes and Nick Rydalch — competes this week (through June 18) in Casper, Wyo., against 300 college teams from across the country.
Munns, a senior in aviation science, ranked No. 1 for the all-around men's Rocky Mountain region in 2006.
Bingham competes in the goat tying while the men — who ranked first as a team in the region during the 2006-07 season — try to best their peers in saddle bronco riding, bareback riding, bull riding, tie-down roping, steer roping and breakaway roping.
"The team this year is amazing. We have a great group," said Lewis Feild, coordinator of the UVSC Rodeo Club.
Bingham said she makes the 40-minute drive down to the Orem campus for club events but generally practices at her home corral. The others practice at the Spanish Fork fairgrounds arena.
Bingham, a diminutive junior at UVSC and part of a family that's been into horseriding for generations, is looking forward to the competition.
She's been riding horses since she was a small child and working with the rodeo club for the past three years.
"I'm ready," she said, "Oh, definitely."
She'll be riding her grandmother's horse, Dusty, a horse she trusts and relies upon.
"A lot of this is just mental," she said, "and having a nice horse."
Rodeo was the first sport available at UVSC and continues to be popular in Utah County, Feild said.
How to goat tie
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