page 10
daily nebraskan
thursday, march 30, 1978
ii
Bronc-riding roommates buck head-on for U.S. title
By John Ortmann how well the cowboy controls his body ride in a random drawing, Johnson said, over the horse's withers, is the cowboy
Greg Swim and Barry Johnson are best
friends, roommates and teammates. With
one-half p6int separating them in the re
gional college rodeo standings, they also
are in head-on competition for a place in
the National Finals College Rodeo in Boze
man, Mont., this June.
Although Swim and Johnson both rope
steers and calves, they are primarily bare
back riders with the University of Nebraska
Rodeo Association. Swim has 321 points
to Johnson's 320.5 ranking which put
them both in the national top ten, John
son said.
However, both agreed they are not
really in competition with each other, but
against the animals they draw to ride.
'The first objective in rodeo is to beat
the horse," Swim said. "If you make a
good ride the points will come. It's similar
to mountain climbing. Everyone wants to
help the team, but everyone wants to be
the first one to the top."
Johnson agreed, with one reservation.
"I'd do anything for Greg," Johnson
said. "If he was flat broke and had a
chance of winning, I'd help him. But I'd
try to beat him."
Swim said team members help each
other by critiquing their rides and offering
tips about the bucking styles of various
horses. By knowing beforehand if a horse is
a straight bucker or a spinner, Johnson
said, cowboys can better prepare and plan
their rides.
Johnson said he favors horses with slow,
high-kicking spins to the right. This allows
him to "gas" the animal, which he defined
as "riding the hair off him."
In bareback riding, as in bull and saddle
bronc riding, rides are scored by two judges
who award points to both the rider and
horse. The highest possible score is 100,
based on how hard the horse bucks and
and spurs.
Johnson defined a good bareback rider
as one who can rake his spurs back to the
rigging as the horse rears up. He then will
snap his feet back to the horse's shoulder
before the horse's front feet hit the ground
again.
Each cowboy receives the horse for his
While they hope to draw hard-bucking
horses, cowboys also look for such things
as size (at least 1,300 pounds), muscle tone
and a lack of excess fat. Johnson explained
that excess fat rounds off the horse's wi
thers or high point on the horse's back,
making it difficult to keep the bareback
rigging on the horse's back from slipping.
The rigging, a rawhide handle cinched
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Sophomore Greg Swim (left) and senior Barry Johnson are friendly rivals in the
contest between man and animal, animal and man.
over the horse's withers, is the cowboy's
only hold on the horse. No stirrups or reins
are used and the rider is not allowed to
touch the horse with his free hand.
The riders wear a heavy leather protec
tive glove, which is wedged into the handle
of the rigging. The gloves have a bind,
which Johnson explained is an extra flap of
leather designed to make the glove fit the
rigging more tightly.
"It's kind of a cheat," he said. "In the
old days horses weren't that strong.
Nowadays there are 1 ,300-pound bareback
horses. There is no way a man could ride
any of the horses coming out of the chutes
today on strength alone."
Swim has never been hurt in the seven
years since he began riding as a sophomore
with the Springview, Neb. high school
team.
Johnson, a Merriman native, has not
been as lucky.
In three years of serious rodeoing he has
broken a hand, dislocated six neck verte
brae, broken a collar bone (twice in three
weeks), broken six ribs, punctured a
long and received a neat row of stitches
where he was kicked in the head by a
horse.
The broken ribs put Johnson out of ac
tion for four weeks. He rode with a cast on
his broken hand, which Johnson said was a
drawback because the cast tended to flop
around during violent bucking and nearly
knocked him unconscious.
Johnson is already a member of the Pro
fessional Rodeo Cowboys Association,
which might be described as the NFL of
Rodeo. He is encouraging Swim, a member
of the Nebraska State Rodeo Association,
an amateur group, to join the pro circuit.
Both men intend to make full-time pro
fessional careers of rodeo after graduation
from UNL.
Osborne experiments with veer offense for Berns, Hipp
Analysis by Rick Hub
At the close of the 1977 UNL football
season, many Husker fans had one thought
on their minds for the 1978 squad-running
backs Rick Berns and I.M. Hipp in the
same backfield.
That thought may not become reality
but it is drawing consideration from UNL
coaches this spring.
The 1977 offensive backfield was one of
the most explosive in Cornhusker history.
However. Berns and Hipp were seldom in
the game at the same time. Both run from
the I-back position and one was substituted
for the other.
The veer, an offense with a split back
field, seems to be the only way of using
Berns and Hipp in the same backfield. Ob
viously, UNL head coach Tom Osborne
believes the same or he would not have
spent half of Monday's first spring practice
trying the formation.
Osborne insists the veer is just an experi
ment and might not be used at all.
"Well look at the split backfield for
two or three weeks or possibly all spring,"
Osborne said. "Then well look at the films
and evaluate it. That's what we've done
with other formations we've tried."
Returning senior quarterback Tom Sor
ley said the offense is worth experimenting
with.
"We have nothing to lose and everything
to gain." Sorley said. "We already had the
leading offense in the Big Eight so we
can't lose by trying it."
Sorley. 6-foot-2, 200 pounds, said UNL
has the caliber of players who can adjust
quickly to a new formation.
Another offensive change involves
returning defensive tackle Barney Cotton,
who has played a different position every
year at UNL. He was an offensive tackle as
a freshman and a center his sophomore
year. Cotton will be moved to offensive
guard to replace graduated All-Big Eight
player Greg Jorgensen.
At Monday's opening practice, Cotton
became the first casualty of spring when he
sprained his right ankle on the third play of
the day.
If the move to offensive guard proves
successful. Cotton would join three-year
letterman Steve Lindquist to give the Hus
kers excellent size at that position. Lind
quist is 6-foot-6, 250 pounds and Cotton is
6-foot-6 and 245 pounds.
UNL national gym hopes hinge on two
By Mary Ryan
As Iowa State University gymnastics
coach Ed Gagnier said, that was the way a
meet should end -with the home fans
cheering.
Until the end of the two-day Big Eight
Conference Championship meet at the
Sports Center last weekend, UNL gymn
astics fans had little to cheer about. But in
the last event, on the last day, two Nebra
ska gymnasts qualified for the national
meet by placing first and third in the hori
zontal bars.
Sophomore Mark Williams took first
with a score of 18.975 and junior Kirk
Fridnch tied for third with 18.775 points.
Head coach Francis Allen said both are
contenders for the national title in the high
bar at the national meet in Eugene, Ore.,
April 6-8.
"They worked hard. It is a nice re
ward." AJJen said. "I know it is something
Fred (Fridrich ) has wanted to do. to repre
sent Nebraska, probably since high school.
It's good for Mark because he didn't make
the all-around.
"This wfll help him to get to know what
it's like (at nationals) because hell be there
next year."
Fridrich said he was disappointed the
whole team would not be at nationals, but
"individually. 1 am happy. My major goal
was to qualify for nationals this season."
he said.
Fridrich added that he and Williams
were UNL's last chances to be represented
at the national meet and that they wanted
someone to compete for the team there.
"I'm happy Mark and I are going for
Francis' sake." Fridrich said "It says a lot
for our high bar team. We're sending two
and there are only three spots (from the
Big Eight)"
He said they didn't need any "psyching
up" because "all week we thought about
the meet constantly."
He said when Iowa State sophomore
Stacy Maloney scored a 9.6 in the second
part of the high bar even, he knew he
would have to score a 9.5 to tie for third
place. Fridrich scored the 9.5
Williams also scored a 9.5 in the option
al earlier placing fifth in the all-around
competition.
Williams said he and Fridrich competed
in the same order they had during the
season and that may have helped them.
"Fred and I have been pretty consist
ent all year," Williams said. "It would
have been pretty disappointing if one had
gone and not the other."
Williams saiu that before the high bar
event the gymnasts were concerned they
would not qualify anyone for nationals.
"After Richard (Brindisi) didn't make it
in the vault, it looked like we were the last
ones." he said. "I said it looked like the
only two teams to represent the Big l ight
would be Oklahoma and Iowa State. Fred
said. What do you mean9 We're both
going.' "
Kelvin Clark, at 6-foot-6 and 250
pounds, returns at one offensive tackle
while Lawrence Cooley, 6-foot and 235,
will head the race to replace graduating
Stan Waldemore.
AO-American center Tom Davis will
likely be replaced by Kelly Saalfeld, 6
foot 4 and 237, who saw considerable ac
tion last season.
Tight ends Ken Spaeth and Mark Du
fresne have graduated, but junior Junior
Miller, 6-foot4 and 222 pounds, is a top
candidate for that position.
Split end Tim Smith returns and will
again double as the Huskers punter. Smith,
a 6-foot-3, 194-pound sophomore, led the
Huskers with 371 yards on 23 receptions
last year. He was also the Big Eight's
second leading punter with an average of
41.1 yards a kick.
Billy Todd, who set and tied Nebraska
placekicking records in 1977. will be back
this year. Todd had 12 field goals, break
ing the mark of 1 1 . and tied the record for
the longest field goal with a 55-yarder
against Kansas.
While Sorley, Hipp and Berns return to
lead a promising backfield. sophomore
Andra Franklin and junior Tim Wurth hope
to replace graduating fullbacks Monte
Anthony and Dodie Donnell.
One of the many quarterbacks challeng
ing Sorley this spring will be Jeff Quinn, a
6-foot-2. 200-pound sophomore. Quinn in
jured his knee last season and appears
much stronger this soring after surgery.
At wingback. two-year lettermen Ken
Brown. 6-foot and 176 pounds, will like
ly take over for graduating Curtis Craig.
Without a doubt. UNL's offensive back
field looks like one of the strong points
tor 1978. Sorley 's experience, combined
with Hipp, who rushed for 1.301 yards
last year. Berns. v ' .dj, for 662. Franklin.
Wurth and Brown may add up to one of
UNL's most productive backfields.