Daily Nebraskan
Page 7
Rodeo club members keep on ropin 'widridin 9
By Christopher Galen
Tuesday, October 5, 1982
Not all the cowboys in Nebraska are found on the
ranches and farms in the western part of the state. And
not all of them are men, either, said Rod Nelson, presi
dent of the rodeo club.
Nelson is head of the University of Nebraska Rodeo
Association, a group of about 75 UNL students inter
ested in rodeo competition. Any student in good standing
with a 2.0 CPA can join the club, and almost half of
the membership is women, Nelson said.
The goal of the club is "to promote rodeo as a whole,
and the academic cowboy, so to speak," he said. "Univer
sity students formed the club, and it takes care of its own
finances."
The club, sends a team of six men and four women to
various rodeos ina 10-state Great Plains region during
the spring and fall, said George Pfeiffer, assistant professor
of agricultural" economics and the rodeo club's adviser.
"The rodeo season runs pretty much all year long,"
Pfeiffer said. There are six regional rodeos this fall, and
seven this coming spring, with a lull from December
through February."
The club is a member of the National Intercollegiate
Rodeo Associationwhich is the national regulating body
for college rodeos, Nelson said. The NU Agriculture
College at Curtis is also a member of the association,
as are about 36 other colleges in the Great Plains area,
Nelson said. -
Rodeo club members compete both in individual
and team events in nine categories at the rodeos. For
men, there is bareback bronc riding, saddle bronc riding,
calf roping, bull riding and steer wrestling. Women com
pete in break-away roping, barrel racing and goat tying.
Team roping is an event open to both sexes, Preiffer
said.-
After the 13 regional rodeos are completed, the two
highest scorers in each event from each region move on
to the national championships, as do the two top men's
and women's teams. The NIRA championship rodeo is
at Bozeman, Mont, in June.
One of last year's finalists from UNL was Lisa
Swanson, a senior majoring in nursing. Swanson placed
second in the break-away roping event and earned a trip
to Bozeman last spring.
"The biggest thrill you see is that you've worked
toward something worthwhile," Swanson said. "It's
fun. You meet kids from all over, and you get to travel
all over."
Swanson said rodeo isn't necessarily a man's sport.
"There are some girls who don't want to get dirty,
but I'm from a farm, so I'm used to it. Besides, it's worth
;it-she"said.'v:
Members of the rodeo club have to work hard in pre
paration for the competitions, Nelson said.
"A member schedules practices for himself, and most
are out there every weekday afternoon," Nelson said.
The rodeo club has a practice arena on the north side
of East Campus, with the practice animals housed nearby.
"The club itself doesn't own any animals. They're all
owned by individual members," Pfeiffer said. .
"The focus of he UNRA is to put together a good
team, and to sponsor the University Rodeo held every
April," he said.
UNL's rodeo is one of the 13 regional contests, and it
usually takes place during the first weekend in April at
the State Fairground Coliseum, Pfeiffer said.
"The real purpose of the club, though, transcends
that," he said. "It involves development, growth, leader
ship and the ability to work with people. I've seen stu
dents grow substantially because of the responsibility
nUrpA nn them bv the club.'
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The club is not just for "rodeo cowboys," Nelson
said.
"It's a good place to meet people of the same kind
of background. It's for anybody on the campus interested
in rodeo or livestock, not necessarily ag majors alone,"
Nelson said.
The image of rodeo as a sport has evolved through
the years, but there still are misconceptions about it, he
.. .. ...... - . .. w. r
"I'd Tike to see it thought of less as a circus event,
and more of an athletic event, which it really is. The
riders aren't paid to compete. It's not a carnival," Pfeiffer
said.
The club has enjoyed considerable success during
the past few years, Nelson said.
"The men's team has gone to the national champion
ships two of the last three years. Three or four members
qualified individually also," he said.' '
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