OSU to host second-annual Cowboy Shootout

Friday, September 23, 2011

By Stephanie Taylor

The Oklahoma State Rodeo team is bringing rodeo back to Stillwater with its second annual Cowboy Shootout tonight and tomorrow at 8 p.m. at the OSU Rodeo arena.

“The team is extremely proud to wear the orange and black and to represent this school,” said Cathryn Christensen, team adviser.

The team has been a tradition at OSU for 60 years and consists of 52 members, 90 percent of whom are OSU Stillwater students and 10 percent from Northern Oklahoma College, Christensen said. The team is a member of the National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association and has won 11 national championships since its early beginnings at the university. About half of the team will be competing in this weekend’s rodeo shootout.

“We have some good cowboys and cowgirls competing,” said Kurt Gulick, OSU biosystems engineering sophomore and team member. “They are going to do well regardless.”

The shootout first came about when the team was approached with the idea of hosting a regional college rodeo, Christensen said.

The team already had hopes of planning an open rodeo in Stillwater where anyone could compete. It then partnered with Rockin’ R Rodeo Company, a local rodeo stockbroker that specialized in hosting traditional events for the family.

“We wanted to bring college rodeo back to Stillwater but without the college stereotypes of drinking and such,” Christensen said. “I think bringing a hometown rodeo to Stillwater was overdue and what better place to have such a successful event than the home of the Cowboys.”

Last year, Christensen and the team anticipated having between 500-750 people attend the rodeo, but more than 1,000 were in attendance. The group is expecting even larger crowds this year.

”Last year’s event brought in a wide range of spectators, from international students to alumni, from students to long time rodeo fans,” Christensen said.

The OSU rodeo team has members this year competing in bull riding, team roping, tie-down roping, breakaway roping, goat tying, and barrel racing.

“Team roping and calf roping are my favorite events, but which is my favorite depends on which I’m doing better in,” Gulick said. “I like them both a whole lot.”

Four other universities in the Big 12 have rodeo teams: Iowa State, Kansas State, Texas A&M, and Texas Tech. However, there are only two universities with rodeo teams in the Central Plains region, Kansas State and OSU.

“We are the OSU Cowboys and Cowgirls,” Christensen said. “And once one of our competitors steps into the arena, we can compete head on with any other college or university.”

Proceeds from the event will go toward the team and fund their travels as they represent OSU in NIRA rodeo competitions around the country. Last year, the team raised $5,000 at the rodeo, Christensen said, which is a great help to the students because they pay for their equipment, travel, horses and horse feed by themselves.

Ryan Large, senior livestock merchandising senior and OSU rodeo team member, is originally from Nebraska, where he spent a majority of his free time team roping with family and friends. When he moved to Oklahoma, he wanted to keep roping, he said.

“It was a part of our lifestyle and a hobby on my family’s ranch,” Large said. “I participate in the shootout because it’s right here in Stillwater, it’s a fun time and it’s a weekend to gain bragging rights.”

Tickets are five dollars and can be purchased from the team’s website at www.rodeo.okstate.edu or people can purchase them from any OSU Rodeo Team member or OSU Horseman’s club member, at the Territory, the Cowboy Travel Plaza on Hwy 51 just before I-35, and Shorty’s Hattery in the Stockyards. Children five and under are free and may also compete in the calf scramble and mutton bustin’. Gates open at 7 p.m.

“It will be a good rodeo to watch with great stock provided by the Rocking R Ranch and will have you sitting on the edge of your seat wanting to see more,” Large said.