Rodeo Club finds a niche in region competition
For some, being a contestant in the rodeo started as a family affair. Now they are among the top competitors in the nation.
The Rodeo Club at Utah State University is ranked fifth in the region and is looking to send four students to the national competition held in Casper, Wyo. the second week of June.
Sarah Sulser, a sophomore majoring in accounting, is ranked 11th in the nation in goat tying and is one of the students looking to advance to nationals.
Sulser said she spends between 40 and 50 hours a week practicing and tending her animals.
“It’s worth every minute of it,” she said. “You can’t describe how good it feels after you’ve gone out there and had a good run.”
She said she likes competing because it’s an individual sport. Because the athletes are just competing with themselves and the clock, it provides a high work ethic and a desire to achieve.
“You’re constantly getting better, there is no peak,” Sulser said.
Sulser was raised on a ranch in Heber and said riding in rodeos has been a tradition in her family; both of her parents competed in college. She has been riding since she was 2 and competing for the last six years.
The USU club team competes in the Rocky Mountain Region against 10 schools in Utah and Idaho, including the College of Southern Idaho and Weber State University, which are ranked first and second in the nation. Utah Valley State College is ranked fourth.
“There is tough competition in our region. Everyone is good,” Sulser said.
Bodie Keetch, a sophomore majoring in business, is ranked 13th in the region in calf roping and has been riding for 15 years.
Rodeos have always been a family thing, Keetch said.
“Some families went to ball games,” he said. “We always went to rodeos.”
Keetch said he won $800 in one rodeo and plans to compete in amateur rodeos after college.
Jeff Hall has been coaching the rodeo team for the last six years. He is also CEO of the Great American West Rodeo.
Hall said he feels good about the team this year and thinks some of the students could make a career of rodeos.
One example of the talent at USU is found in a student Hall coached a few years ago. Nathan Baldwin practiced for a few hours each day and worked really hard on his skills, Hall said. Two years ago he ranked 18th in the world. Last year he was ranked 10th in the world and made almost $100,000.
“The difference is some people are just more dedicated than others,” Hall said.
The club has 23 students involved but only 18 competing.
Keetch supported Hall in saying they need a lot more team members.
USU is an agricultural college but has the smallest team in the circuit, he said. The club doesn’t have any scholarships to offer like other schools do.
Since the rodeo is a club sport, anyone is eligible to join and compete as long as he pays his fees and keeps the rules, Hall said.
Students compete in 10 rodeos each year and score individual and team points. The top point scorers are invited to the regional competition in Elko, Nev. in May, and from there they go to nationals in Casper in June.
The team has competed in eight rodeos this year and has one at Boise State on April 11 and 12 and another at Utah Valley State College May 2 and 3.
Anyone interested in joining the rodeo club or attending a rodeo can contact Hall or check out the Web site at www.collegerodeo.com.
–coryhill@cc.usu.edu