Just a few years removed from her own time competing in the arena for South Dakota State University, Jacey Hupp ’20 is now helping lead a college rodeo team in the Cowboy State.
Hupp serves as women’s rodeo coach at the University of Wyoming. The position seems like a natural fit for someone who has been exposed to ranching, riding and rodeo virtually her entire life. But getting there didn’t come without hardship and perseverance.
Hupp overcame a significant rodeo injury while she was still competing for State, got back in the saddle to ride again, and then suffered the devastating loss of her parents, Bill ’79 and LaDonna ’83, and niece, Harper, in a home explosion last spring in Stanley County all before starting her new coaching career.
A natural athlete, cowgirl
Hupp, 27, is a Huron native and graduated from high school in 2015. She grew up on her family’s ranch north of town with two older sisters, Cassy and Tarin ’16, and an older brother, Trevor ’14. Hupp was always a natural athlete, competing in volleyball, basketball and track in addition to rodeo.
Along with horses, alfalfa fields, shelterbelts, calves, steers and goats, the ranch included a practice arena, one of the first additions to the property when her parents bought it in the mid-1990s, due to her mom’s love of horses and her dad’s passion for rodeo. Hupp was in the saddle with others until she was old enough to ride on her own.
“I learned to ride myself by just warming up horses for my dad in his too-big saddle. It was fun, and you did it because everybody else was out there doing it, too. … We would sit five-deep in a little pickup and travel on the weekends to a lot of rodeos together.”
Hupp started consistently competing in rodeo around age 8 through 4-H and later in junior high and high school rodeo. In high school, she competed in barrel racing, team roping, breakaway roping and goat tying — for which she was state champion her senior year. Her college career included everything but the barrel racing.
Hupp knew she wanted a four-year degree after high school, and she considered playing college volleyball. It was her parents, both Jackrabbits fans and SDSU grads, who convinced her that SDSU was the right — and affordable — choice. In Brookings, Hupp competed on the SDSU rodeo team as a freshman when Tarin (2012-16) was a senior. Trevor also competed for the Jacks (2009-2014) before Hupp (2015-21) was at SDSU.
“That first year was really special, and Tarin and I both made the College National Finals Rodeo that year,” she said. Hupp would be a CNFR qualifier a total of five times.
SDSU rodeo coach Ron Skovly ’96 said he considers himself lucky to have coached Hupp for six years and praised her work ethic.
“More times than not, she was the last one to leave practice at night, sometimes at 9 or 10 p.m. Jacey was a very coachable team member, had an amazing work ethic, and rarely complained or got down on herself. She was the epitome of being self-driven.”
Having coached three Hupp siblings, who all competed successfully and had multiple CNFR qualifications, made his job even better, he added. “It’s team members like (Trevor, Tarin and Jacey) that make my job fun and create long-lasting memories.”
Injury changes plans
Hupp’s rodeo career came to an abrupt halt when she was a junior at SDSU. In October 2018, she was competing in team roping in a fundraiser jackpot rodeo in McCook, Nebraska. Her rope slid down the steer’s horn, snapped back and hit her in the right eye.
“People who were there said it sounded like a gun going off,” Hupp said. “I was really lucky I didn’t have any facial fractures. It just hit me pinpoint in my eye.”
With severe swelling, there was no way to tell how serious the injury was at first. Hupp took time off school and traveled to a specialist in Sioux Falls weekly. Her pupil was blown, part of her retina was missing, and she wore sunglasses constantly due to light sensitivity and ensuing migraines. Her eye pressure was also extremely high and made her sick. Rest was a big part of her recovery.
After several postponements, for which Hupp’s now grateful because they allowed time for advances in technology, surgery followed in July 2019. She had about 80% of her eye replaced, including with a hand-painted artificial iris from Germany.
Hupp was already back in the saddle competing by August 2019 and considers her first rodeo back among the highlights of her career. She was worried about her reduced depth perception and competing in the dark, but “it just all kind of clicked. I just remember thinking, ‘That was easier than I thought it would be.’ … I was really proud of my horses, too. I was kind of a mess there, and they really took care of me.”
Her skills improved, but it took time. “I had a lot of thankfulness for just getting back to the sport and less pressure in having to do this or having to win that. Moreso just letting things happen. … I grew so much mentally with that injury.”
With a medical hardship granted by the National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association, Hupp had another year to compete in collegiate rodeo, but that season was cut short by COVID-19. She competed for SDSU through the 2020-21 season.
Hupp also looks back on her recovery grateful that it resulted in so much time spent with her parents back at the ranch.
“My parents were with me every step of the way, and we had a lot of tough talks and a lot tears. I got so close with them that year after my injury, they truly became my best friends who I could tell anything. Even little things. … They drove me to every appointment. They were definitely worried and scared, but they never let me know. They were so supportive.”
In her final year of college, Hupp was taking classes online from the ranch, training and working full time as a Farm Service Agency loan officer, practicing with her family every night in their arena and going to rodeos together.
“It was a really special year. It felt less like it was me who made it to College Finals. It felt more like ‘we’ made it, because they were a huge part of that year.”
Career path
After finishing her degree and her collegiate rodeo career at State, Hupp continued with her work as a loan officer for a couple more years.
Hupp still competes in both amateur and professional rodeos in team roping, breakaway roping and goat tying when it fits her schedule.
She can’t pinpoint a favorite memory from her time at State but says it’s the people she met, competed against and became friends with who are fresh in her mind. And that plays into her new job, which she started Sept. 5, 2023.
A call from former Wyoming rodeo coach Beau Clark initially came in February 2023, and Hupp visited the campus in April.
“For the Wyoming position, I really didn’t apply. Eventually I did, but for the most part, my hat got thrown in the ring just by people who knew me through rodeo. People who I wouldn’t even consider close friends, more so associates. They spoke highly of me, and that resulted in the university calling me.
“My dad, especially, was so excited. He was just like, ‘This is such a cool opportunity. You’re young, and you can always go back to the banking/lending world.’ He was such an advocate for it,” Hupp said, recalling that the loyal Jackrabbits fan said he’d be willing to wear Wyoming brown. Her mom was on board, too.
When Clark resigned from Wyoming, Hupp didn’t give the position much more thought. She lost her parents and niece in the home explosion in May 2023, and she focused on keeping the ranch afloat and taking care of family.
Then another call came from current Wyoming rodeo coach Seth Glause in August, followed by several interviews, a job offer and a weekend of family talks and thinking on it. The offer again caught her off guard, but she came around.
Hupp said the loss of her family members initially kept her from moving, but her siblings and community support convinced her that everything wasn’t on her.
“Initially, I felt kind of guilty for even considering it, because I felt I needed to be home and close to my siblings. But I’m really glad I did it. It was a good move for me,” Hupp said.
She also knows now that she was safe and comfortable at home with her parents, and it would have been a tougher decision to leave for Wyoming if they were still here.
“But they were so supportive of this. I’m so thankful I didn’t have wonder what they would think. They were such smart, realistic people. Knowing that they supported it, it brings me a lot of joy,” Hupp said.
Coaching
In addition to her own rodeo competition experience, after college, Hupp and her sister, Tarin, would hold goat-tying clinics each spring at communities throughout the region.
While in college, she also helped coach volleyball back home and helped with the men’s club volleyball at State. Back in Huron, Hupp mentored a group of younger girls, and her family was always inviting those who wanted to learn rodeo out to the ranch.
“Looking back, there have kind of been stepping stones to this position my whole life,” she said. “But for the most part, this is my first structured coaching position.”
Hupp draws on her own experience when she’s trying to help her athletes improve. There are more than 60 students on the Wyoming rodeo team. Some need coaching, while others need additional support.
“I love to talk about what I did that you shouldn’t do. I learned the hard way, so you shouldn’t have to. I love to talk about what helps me, and with me still competing, the kids get to see in real time what I’m working on. You can never be too comfortable in rodeo. There’s always something or someone to learn from,” she said.
“A lot of my kids approach me about things beyond rodeo, and I’m really happy to be there for them, too.”
Skovly said Hupp reached out to him before she took her new position, and he told her she’d be a great fit.
Rodeo is a big deal at Wyoming, and there is tremendous support for the program, which is always competitive on a regional and national level, he added.
“Jacey and Tarin already have very successful goat tying clinics in South Dakota, so I knew she would be fantastic for the coaching aspect of the position,” Skovly said. “This coaching position is a very big deal for Jacey, but she has worked hard to earn that position and will no doubt succeed.”
Jill Fier
