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Wyoming taxidermist takes top award at world championships

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Wyoming taxidermist takes top award at world championships


BUFFALO — Within the nook of the showroom, even amongst different bighorn sheep, antelope and mule deer, the mountain lion stands out. He rests on a picket stand, posed atop a shale outcrop, mountain mahogany sprouting from a crack. He watches, forehead ever-so-slightly furrowed, eyes cooly centered, like a cat eyeing a mouse it could’t be bothered to chase.

This mountain lion, created by Johnson County-based taxidermist Dave Lengthy, was the recipient of the Carl Akeley award on the 2022 World Taxidermy Championships, amongst many different awards. When Lengthy lays out all of the awards the piece acquired on the Wyoming championships and the world championships, there are 4 plaques, three ribbons, two gold medallions, a buckle and a trophy.

However the Carl Akeley award stands out, some of the prestigious awards a taxidermist can obtain.

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“I am nonetheless in awe of all of it,” Lengthy mentioned.

The world championships are a biennial occasion, held alternatively in Europe and America. This 12 months it was held in Springfield, Missouri, on the finish of Might.

Individuals are additionally studying…

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Lengthy entered the mountain lion with the encouragement of his household and of judges on the Wyoming state championships, the place he’d already acquired quite a few awards this 12 months, together with finest in present.

Lengthy, his father, stepmother and 13-year-old son packed their issues and headed to Springfield for the weeklong competitors. He did not have any expectations to win — not to mention the coveted Carl Akeley award, equal, Lengthy mentioned, to the most effective in present.

However when, surrounded by his household, Lengthy did win, it was probably the greatest emotions of his life.

“After they referred to as my identify and put the image of it up on the display screen, I used to be simply shaking. It is actually laborious to place into phrases, however I used to be simply ecstatic and stunned, in a approach. Simply tons of various feelings working by way of me,” Lengthy mentioned. “However the most effective a part of all of it … to have my dad and my son there with me, that was the most effective half.”

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Taxidermy runs within the Lengthy household. Lengthy’s father, John Lengthy, began Trophies Limitless Taxidermy in Johnson County 40 years in the past. Lengthy has reminiscences of his father working within the basement at their home on North DeSmet, perfecting his artwork after which looking for a approach to haul it up the steps.

As a toddler, Lengthy helped out, studying from his father, and in 2016, he started working full time on the enterprise, now situated in a full-sized store. It was a pure match, he mentioned, particularly together with his father by his facet.

“I perceive how lucky I’m to have been round it my total life and to have the mentor I’ve, after which not solely to have that mentor, however for it additionally to be my dad,” Lengthy mentioned. “It is fairly particular.”

Like his father and grandfather earlier than him, Lengthy’s son additionally has an artist’s intuition. His medium is clay, Lengthy mentioned, and he has spent many hours sculpting figures, some from Marvel Comics, others from his personal creativeness.

Extra not too long ago, Lengthy’s son has expressed an curiosity in taxidermy.

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Like his father, Lengthy mentioned he’ll be there to assist when — or if — his son decides to check out the household artwork kind.

“The primary piece he does,” Lengthy mentioned, “I will be proper by his facet.”

Today, Lengthy spends a lot of his time ending the items that the seven-person store produces, making use of the final touches that convey every animal again to life. It is rewarding, he mentioned, to see a tanned disguise rework — by way of weeks of labor — into one thing akin to what the creature was in actual life.

Lengthy mentioned he is taxidermied animals from each continent besides Antarctica, and the store’s partitions are coated in initiatives from completely different locations: a bear from Alaska, a mountain goat from Canada, two savannah buffalo from Africa.

His clients, too, hail from a big selection of nations.

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However the award-winning mountain lion was for somebody nearer to dwelling; it was a present for his brother’s birthday.

On a looking journey together with his father, Lengthy’s brother harvested the mountain lion close to Kaycee when he was 13, virtually 20 years in the past. They stored the disguise however by no means obtained round to doing something with it. Regardless that the household enterprise is taxidermy, they not often do work for themselves, Lengthy mentioned.

From the start, he mentioned, he needed to do one thing distinctive however unassuming. He prefers easy poses, versus extra “outlandish” postures. And whereas he usually has to meet the client’s imaginative and prescient, this time he had full artistic freedom.

Lengthy selected a half life-size sculpture, eliminating the rear half of the mountain lion. He rests in a relaxed place, paws out, mouth closed. His head is turned to the left, the muscle mass in his neck flexing as he gazes into the space. His face is probably the most putting. There is a softness to the options that conceals the painstaking work beneath the pores and skin.

Lengthy mentioned that he receives probably the most feedback — from specialists and non-experts alike – concerning the lion’s face. It is the symmetry and the softness, he mentioned, that creates the sensation that the mountain lion actually is watching.

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“There isn’t any harsh strains. He is very full and mushy. And, you realize, that is how they’re after they’re alive, you realize what I imply?” Lengthy mentioned.

He mentioned he does not do taxidermy to win awards. However the a part of the Carl Akeley award that he is proudest of and factors to when speaking about it’s embedded within the judging standards, the place it specifies that the piece have to be a “stunning and legitimate type of wildlife artwork and painting the topic with style and dignity.”

For Lengthy, his work comes as shut as attainable to giving the animals one other life.

“That is sort of preserving, I assume, that animal’s life in one of the simplest ways attainable,” he mentioned.

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Wyoming

Special Olympics Wyoming seeking volunteers for state fall tournament

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Special Olympics Wyoming seeking volunteers for state fall tournament


CASPER, Wyo. — Special Olympics Wyoming recently announced that it is calling for volunteers to help work the upcoming annual State Fall Tournament, happening Oct. 8 through Oct. 10.

That’s according to a release from SOW, which states that the event offers competition in bowling, cycling, bocce and soccer. This tournament represents over 500 different athletes and more than 30 teams from around the state of Wyoming.

Competition sites for the fall tournament include, North Casper Soccer Complex, Edness Kimball Wilkins State Park, Boomtown Blast, and El Mark-O Lanes.

Citizens are encouraged to come cheer on the Special Olympics Wyoming athletes, but the tournament is seeking volunteers as well.

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“Volunteers are the backbone of Special Olympics Wyoming and play a significant role in providing quality events to athletes,” the release states. “Each fall, Special Olympics Wyoming depends on the generosity of Casper and the surrounding communities to engage in this state-wide competition event by volunteering a portion of their time to ensure that these athletes, Unified Sports® partners, coaches, friends, family, and volunteers visiting Casper from throughout Wyoming experience a first-rate, memory making event.”

Special Olympics Wyoming needs volunteers to assist with competitions, awards, meals, and more.

To sign up to volunteer, contact the Special Olympics Wyoming office at 307-235-3062 or register online at https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C084FACAC2DA0FDC52-58224359-2025#/.



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Colorado State, Wyoming add two games to Border War football series

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Colorado State, Wyoming add two games to Border War football series


The Colorado State Rams and Wyoming Cowboys have added two games to their Border War football series, both schools announced Wednesday.

Colorado State is leaving the Mountain West Conference after the 2025 season and will join the Pac-12 Conference beginning in the fall of 2026. As a result, their annual Border War game will have to be played as a non-conference contest.

Back in November, the two schools announced an agreement that included games beginning in 2028 and extending through the 2035 season. Today’s announcement includes the addition of a game on Sept. 5, 2026 at Canvas Stadium in Fort Collins, Colo., and on Sept. 6, 2036 at War Memorial Stadium in Laramie, Wyo.

“Rivalry games are important to us at Colorado State and are a part of what makes College Football so special,” said Colorado State Director of Athletics, John Weber. “Our scheduling goal for our football program is to host seven games every season on campus in Canvas Stadium. Ram Country and Canvas Chaos make a real difference on game day and there is no better place to play than at home on campus in Fort Collins.”

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The two schools are scheduled to play this season on Saturday, Oct. 25 in Laramie.

“Having one of the oldest rivalries in the West that features one of the most iconic trophies in college football continue consecutively is outstanding,” added Weber. “The Boot Run with the game ball, the Border Ceremony, and the Bronze Boot Trophy all honor the values and rich ROTC history of both universities and will remain integral to this rivalry for years to come. This game is important to our universities, communities, and fans and I am thrilled that we were able to continue it in 2026.”

Although Colorado State and Wyoming are not scheduled to meet in 2027, there is still the possibility for that contest. When the series was announced last year, both schools stated they were “…working on amendments to schedules for the 2026 and 2027 season for potential additions to the current agreement.”

Colorado State and Wyoming first met on the gridiron in 1899 and have played a total of 116 contests. The Rams currently lead the overall series 60-51-5.

In order to schedule the 2026 game with Colorado State, Wyoming has rescheduled its previously slated home contest against North Texas for Sept. 9, 2034. Colorado State was previously scheduled to play at Indiana on Sept. 5, 2026, but Indiana will now host North Texas on that date instead.

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Future Border War Games

Sept. 5, 2026 at CSU
Sept. 23, 2028 at CSU
Sept. 22, 2029 at WYO
Sept. 7, 2030 at CSU
Sept. 20, 2031 at WYO
Sept. 25, 2032 at CSU
Sept. 24, 2033 at WYO
Sept. 23, 2034 at CSU
Sept. 22, 2035 at WYO
Sept. 6, 2036 at WYO

Football Schedules

Future Colorado State Football Schedules

Future Wyoming Football Schedules

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Wyoming

Wyoming men's basketball practice is underway in Laramie

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Wyoming men's basketball practice is underway in Laramie


(Laramie, WY) – The Wyoming Cowboy basketball team officially opened the season on Monday with the first official practice of the 2025-26 season. The Pokes hit the floor in the Arena-Auditoriums for a two-hour practice. “It has been a long summer and fall,” UW head coach Sundance Wicks said. “I think our guys are kind of ready to […]



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