CAFNR students have a great time 'horsing' around
Story by Laura Chapuis. Photos by Nicky Frazier and Shawn Davis

What better club than the Rodeo Club to sponsor a rodeo?  Well, a Stick Horse Rodeo that is. The Stick Horse Rodeo kicked off at 8 p.m. Thursday, September 29, at Trowbridge Livestock Center. 

Thirteen teams of four individuals competed in six different races, vying for the chance to say they came out on top.  GDI, Sigma Alpha, and Alpha Gamma Rho represented the majority of the teams. Other teams included Block and Bridle, Farmhouse, Collegiate Cattlewomen and Ag Ed Society.

“I thought the rodeo would be a great way to get to know other students in CAFNR,” Miranda Leppin, a freshman, Sigma Alpha member said.

CAFNR students get in a practice "run" in the three-legged race competition. Photo by Nicky Frazier

The rodeo began with a three-legged race. Each team began with two groups on opposite sides. The first group ran to the other side and tagged their teammates and that group finished off the race. While some teams seemed to have mastered the skill of left- right, left- right, others struggled to get across the finish line.  Next came the wheelbarrow race, which was designed the same as the three-legged race. 

The next competition gave everyone a chance to show off his or her muscles in the hay bale toss.  One member of each team had one try at seeing how far they could toss the bale.

The stick horse rodeo gives participants a chance to show off their muscles in the hay bale toss. Photo by Shawn Davis

Following the bale toss came the shoe search relay.  Each team member had to take off one shoe, which was then placed in a pile at the other end of the arena.  The first group to take off in search for their shoe had some difficulty with about 52 shoes to go search through.  Finally all participants were reacquainted with their shoes and barrel racing began.

The barrel race was run just like a real barrel race without the horse.  One member of a team started the race riding a piece of pipe and picked up a new member up at each barrel.  The teams had to stay on the pipe, had to have at least one hand on the pipe at all times, and couldn’t break the pattern of the race. Racing for the best time, the teams moved as quickly as they could while following the rules.

	The barrel racing event requires coordination and speed as racers pick up new riders at every barrel. Top photo by Nicky Frazier; bottom photo by Shawn Davis.

The last race, which may have been the most anticipated race, was apple cider chugging.  Thirteen jugs of apple cider were placed at the end of the arena and each team did their best to down the cider as quickly as they could. 

The final event requires more intestinal fortitude than skill, as particiapnts chug a gallon of apple cider. Photo by Nicky Frazier

“I had lots of fun, except when I was chugging that cider, all that could go through my head was ‘I still have to run back’,” Leppin said.

Teams that came out on top included AgRho, Farmhouse, and GDI.

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