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Wrangler jeans, straw cowboy hats and distressed brown and black boots were the dress code this weekend at the 52nd-annual KSU Collegiate Rodeo.
More than 20 universities and colleges from Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma competed in the festivities, some bringing home the gold and some leaving with the enjoyment of the atmosphere that only comes once a year.
A general consensus of favorite events was bull-riding.
The men’s rodeo events included bareback riding, tie-down calf roping, saddle bronco riding, steer wrestling and bull riding. Women’s events included breakaway roping, goat tying and barrel racing. Team roping was a coed sport.
Weber Arena was packed on Saturday, allowing standing room only. Doug Muller, K-State Rodeo coach, said overall he was pleased with the turnout of about 10,000 people over the weekend.
“I think it went really smooth; the students and the team worked really hard to put the rodeo on – besides competing in it,” Muller said.
The KSU Rodeo is one of the largest rodeos in this region, Muller said. Though most audience members were rodeo go-ers, some were there to experience something new and weekend recreation.
“I really enjoyed the rodeo,” said Ricky Scott, Junction City resident. “This is all new to me, and a lot of the events look really dangerous. I came up here just as something to do, and I’m really glad I did. I’m very impressed.”
BORN TO COMPETE
The whirling lassos, echoing ugg kids loudspeakers, competitive livestock and pungent manure smell composed the classic, all-American rodeo spirit that some students live for.
Matthew Cornitius, freshman at Dodge City Community College, said he has participated in every team-roping event around the Manhattan area for the past two semesters. Cornitius competed in the team-roping event Friday night and said he is passionate about the sport because of the adrenaline rush and competition that accompanies it.
Cornitius, originally from Wright, Kan., said he initially became interested in rodeo during his junior year of high school. He said he and his friend found a roping magazine around his house one day, and thought it would be fun to try.
“A buddy and I were bored and just wanted to do something,” Cornitius said. “We had the summer off and we both had horses, so we tried it and fell in love with the sport. I’ve been competing as much as I can ever since.”
Cornitius said the progression he has made as a rodeo competitor is a result of observing other competitors he admires and learning from his mistakes. He said he practices about three times a week on horseback and always aims to make positive improvements with his performance.
“I’ve learned so much about the sport from other people, which has made me a better performer,” he said. “I look at the mistakes I make and the mistakes others make and try to go from there. Right when you think you know it all, you realize there’s always something to learn that will make you even better.”
Cornitius, who also enjoys hunting, said a personal goal he aims for ugg classic cardy each time he competes is to make it to the short-round competition and have a good time. He said he plans to compete until he graduates college, and then wants to participate in the Jackpot Ropings.
THE RODEO QUEEN
Jenae Skelton, sophomore in agronomy, is the recipient of the 2008 Miss Rodeo K-State title. She said she believes she achieved this because of her passion to positively represent college rodeo and K-State.
She said in order to win her title, she had to go through a pageant process which consisted of a written rodeo-knowledge test, a horsemanship contest, a personal interview with the rodeo’s judges, a modeling competition and a speech.
Skelton, originally from Larned, Kan., said this was her fifth year participating in rodeo pageants. She competed in her first pageant when she was 12, when her hometown county fair sponsored a rodeo queen contest. She said after that, she began traveling to other counties and rodeos, and has participated in seven rodeo-queen pageants since.
Skelton said she was the 2002 Pawnee County Rodeo Princess, the 2003 Plainville Rodeo Queen, the 2004 Ellis County Rodeo Queen, the 2006 Miss Rodeo McCracken and now the 2008 Miss Rodeo K-State Queen.
“Participating in rodeo pageants have made me more confident and approachable,” Skelton said. “I was very shy when I started competing in pageants, and now I’m a very friendly and outgoing person. I also now understand more about rodeos and its specific events because of the pageants.”
Skelton also has competed in team-roping events since her freshman year of high school, though she started riding horses when she was very young. Skelton said while she used to participate in horse shows, her father was a team roper. She decided to also become a team roper when she got older, which she said is a typically male-dominated event in rodeo.
“The rodeo is the ultimate classic-American sport,” Skelton said. “It’s my favorite sport, and I compete for fun – it’s a family oriented event for me. Rodeo also involves competing against yourself, and you are constantly working for self-improvement. I also enjoy rodeo because our competitors are very supportive and friendly. You don’t see that very often in other sports.”
Skelton said she plans to continue team roping and is undecided in her debate to continue competing in rodeo-queen pageants.
“I love team roping in rodeos,” Skelton said. “Performing in front of a crowd is a huge thrill, but it’s also nerve-racking because you don’t want to make mistakes.”
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