Holbrook High School senior Skylar Gishie won a 2017 Ram truck for his winning efforts at the National Team Roping Tour La Fiesta Truck Roping in Wickenburg. Gishie competed with 850 other entries, placing fifth and eighth in the average, which was enough to bring home $2,500 and a brand new truck Jan. 29, his 18th birthday.
Gishie paid an entry fee of $675, which gave him three opportunities at the event. The top 50 teams advanced to the second round and Gishie qualified in 48th. He and his partner, Doyle Lee, roped their steer in 5.9 seconds, placing them first in the second round and advanced them to the semi- final round along with 24 other teams. In the final round Gishie was partnered with Jose Gonzales and they finished second in the average, moving them into the top 10. According to Gishie, “the top ten teams fell apart in the short round,” leaving him in eighth place in the average with Lee and fifth in the average with Gonzales. Those results earned him the cash and the truck.
Gishie started his roping career early.
“Ever since I was a little kid my Grandpa Roger Gishie Sr. use to take my cousin and me to rodeo ropings with him. My Grandpa is the one who taught me how to rope,” he recalled.
“He didn’t buy me my first horse until eighth grade. That is when I first started to actually rope. Since then I’ve been roping, and I feel like I’ve come a long way in just five short years. I’m thankful for my grandpa for everything he has done for me, along with my grandma, mom and dad, and my two sisters.”
His post-secondary plans include going to a rodeo college and hopefully competing in rodeos while attending classes. He is looking at either Central Arizona College or Cochise College.
Gishie has three more ropings planned in the near future. On Feb. 18 and 19, he will compete in San Carlos. A week later he will be in Queen Creek, and on March 4, he will compete in Holbrook.
