Oklahoma State University Institute of Technology High Voltage students and OSU-Oklahoma City Line Technician students climbed high into the sky to test their skills during the annual High Voltage Rodeo.

The high voltage and line technician students, accompanied by their instructors, gathered just before 8:30 a.m. on Saturday, April 4, in the OSUIT campus poleyard. The sun was shining bright, but the air was cool and crisp. The competitors, dressed in rugged, well-worn jeans and long-sleeved hoodies, and wearing reinforced climbing boots, stood in the long shadows of dozens of 40-foot utility poles. Each student was ready to compete in the rodeo’s three challenges: Hurtman Rescue, Crossarm Change and Speed Climb.

“[High Voltage Rodeo] is a competitive environment for some of the basic skills that they learn in the class,” said Darren Woodard, assistant dean of OSUIT’s School of Engineering and Construction Technologies. “It takes those skills that they've learned in the classroom, and we put that into kind of a competitive event. It takes the education to the next level.” 

The rodeo’s first competition was Hurtman Rescue, a timed event that simulates the rescue of an injured line worker at the top of a pole.

Crossarm Change was the next competition, simulating the replacement of a crossarm on a high-voltage pole. The competitor must climb the pole, remove the existing crossarm, lower it to the ground, raise it back to the top and reinstall the fasteners.

The final event, Speed Climb, required the competitors to carry a bag containing an egg to the top of the pole.  Upon reaching the top, they had to take the egg out of their bag, hold it in their mouth, exchange the bag for one that had been hung at the top, and descend the pole without breaking the egg in their mouth.

Including the egg in the Speed Climb emphasizes the importance of remaining focused and careful while climbing up and down utility poles.

“It’s making sure that they’re under control,” Woodard said. “With this being a Speed Climb, there’s a tendency to want to lap the pole and come back down. But with that egg and the switching of the bags and all that, you have to slow down and go through the process a little bit.”

Ty Rayburn of Chickasha, Oklahoma, is a line technician student at OSU-OKC. He participated in the High Voltage Rodeo and said that the competitions were fun but challenging, emphasizing the importance of fundamental skills and focus.

Crossarm Change presented a complex challenge, Rayburn said.

“It's a lot of different steps that you've got to keep up in your mind and kind of keep everything running together. And if you get misconstrued or take it the wrong way, you might mess up so bad you can't fix it,” Rayburn said.

OSUIT high voltage student Ashton Hawkins won first place in Crossarm Change, while Brett Barnes, also an OSUIT student, took first place in both Speed Climb and Hurtman Rescue. Barnes is graduating in April 2026, and he’s already set to begin his professional career working in McAlester, Oklahoma, for AEP Transmission.

The work is not only his professional future, but also his family heritage. His grandfather was a line technician, and both his father, Leroy, and his brother are line technicians who graduated from OSUIT. He said his father taught him how to climb.

“I always grew up around it, so it's what I always wanted to do growing up. We'd play in the yard, climb up poles all the time when I was a kid. I've always wanted to do it,” Barnes said.

Leroy traveled to Okmulgee to watch Brett compete. Leroy works for AP, a public service company of Oklahoma (PSO), running a service truck in the Wilburton and Panola area. He has worked as a line technician for 30 years. He said line technicians work hard to keep power flowing into Oklahoma homes and businesses year-round, Leroy Barnes said.

“Your hurricane season rolls toward the end of the year, you know, kind of the fall times, so we'll chase them. Then you've got all your spring storms — that's pretty local. Summers will bring you overloaded transformers, and winters will bring you the same,” Leroy Barnes said.

Staying safe while getting the power back on is a line technician’s paramount priority, Leroy Barnes said. It’s a critical skill OSUIT graduates know well.

“A lot of them out of [OSUIT], they're taught pretty good basics. And then as they progress, they’ll get it all laid together. Get the job done, go home with all your fingers and your toes,” he said.

A line technician never stops learning, Leroy Barnes said.

“If you ain't learning, you probably ain't gonna make it anymore,” he said. “It's always something new. There's always something different you're gonna face. I always learn, keep asking questions, listen to the guys who've been around, that's done it for a while.”

Tommy King, an instructor over OSU-OKC’s line technician program, is providing the knowledge the line technicians of tomorrow will need to stay safe and do their job well.

“The most important thing is when you're up a pole working, if you're more worried about being off the ground than you are about the [electricity], your priorities are upside down. [Electricity] kills way more people than falls do. And that's what we got to try to get in their head,” King said.

Rayburn is one of King’s students. He’s in his first year in OSU-OKC’s line technician program. King’s lessons have stuck with Rayburn, like the need for a strong, focused presence of mind.

“You have to make sure that everything's safe before you even get on the pole. And then once you're on it, safety is very prevalent. You have to make sure you're strapped in right, and that everything's tightened up and cinched down. If it's not, you're in a world of hurt,” Rayburn said.

Ashley Rayburn traveled to OSUIT to watch her son compete in the High Voltage Rodeo. She said Ty thrives in competition and was excited to participate in Rodeo. She said she has faith that he will keep himself safe while doing his job well.

“He's a smart kid. He has a good head on his shoulders. [The work he will be doing] does make us nervous, but we feel pretty confident that he makes good decisions for himself and he'll do whatever is necessary to stay safe,” she said.

OSUIT took home the inaugural traveling trophy for this year’s High Voltage Rodeo. Next year’s event will be held at OSU-OKC.