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Chris Vannini
Three steps into the MSU Pavilion and I felt like I had traveled a thousand miles into the old west. Baseball caps and tennis shoes turned into cowboy hats and leather boots. I felt out of place wearing my Detroit Tigers sweatshirt. Nevertheless I was here to see a rodeo, the 39th MSU Spartan Stampede to be exact, which was being sponsored by the MSU Rodeo Club. The Pavilion is quite an impressive structure. It is located at the intersection of Farm Lane and Mount Hope Road. It opened in Dec. 1996 and includes a 2,000-seat arena as its main attraction. The Pavilion gets its use as it is booked 50 out of 52 weeks each year. Growing up in ice cold suburban Detroit, I had no idea that there were rodeos this far north, let alone a rodeo club at MSU. The MSU Rodeo Club was founded in 1969 and is a part of the National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association. The Rodeo Club meets every other Tuesday in Anthony Hall and is open to anyone interested in the sport. Senior Adam Peters began bull riding only a few weeks ago. “Bull riding has always been something I’ve wanted to do,” said Peters. “Bull riders practice at practice pens around the state. I talk to some of the cowboys and we find a practice pen in the area. A lot of the guys are real nice and let you borrow equipment.” Senior Jessica Main has been barrel racing since she was a sophomore in high school. In barrel racing, cowgirls ride horses around a triangle of barrels before a sprint to the finish. “I’ve always had a passion for horses. It’s kind of my life,” said Main, who is majoring in animal science agribusiness. As I made my way to the arena, I found myself excited about the rodeo. I didn’t know what to expect and was curious to see what goes on. I entered to see that the arena was nearly at full capacity. I was lucky enough to find a seat close to the front. Other than bull riding, I didn’t know what events there were at a rodeo, so this became a learning experience. To get a feel for how dangerous rodeo can be, I saw an ambulance on standby outside one of the doors. One of the first events was steer wrestling. The cowboy is supposed to jump off a horse, onto a steer and wrestle it to the ground by grabbing its horns. Not only did this look like it hurt the steer, but it also hurt the cowboy if he missed the steer and hit the ground. One event that involved the cowgirls was barrel racing. The cowgirls must make wide turns around barrels with the horses, but also mustn’t turn too wide and guide the horse away from the barrel. There were a lot of families at the rodeo, and a big attraction for the kids is the rodeo clown. This clown moved around a lot going from the competitive area to the audience and played to the crowd. He danced to music during the intermission and got some of the crowd to join him. There were some events that have been criticized by animal rights groups. One of them is team roping. In this event, two cowboys chase a steer on horses. One ropes the horns while the other ropes its hind legs. If the steer is caught, its body twists in a way that looks very painful. Another event is the popular tie-down roping. A single cowboy chases a steer on horseback, ropes a calf by the neck, pulls it back, gets of his horse and ties up the calf’s legs. This event was actually hard for me to watch. When the calf was roped, its head snapped back and it made me feel bad for the animal. Finally, the event everyone was waiting for: bull riding. I’d seen bull riding on TV, but seeing it real life is very different and much more exciting. The bulls are absolutely huge in real life. They look like they can absolutely man-handle a person, which is what they try to do. “Bull fighters” move around the bull while it is bucking in order to control its movements. Once the rider is thrown off, he runs for his life to get away from the bull. The bull fighters continue to move around the bull and guide it into the pen. They do, however, keep their distance from the bull to prevent injury. Zoology sophomore Max Pfund has been bull riding for about a year. “I had always been interested in bull riding and finally decided to get into it,” said Pfund, who started off by going to a rodeo school. “I’ve been to a rodeo school twice. You go there and they teach you the basics. Then you go again and they refine your skills.” Both Peters and Pfund bull ride for the same reason. “Bull riding is a rush. A big rush,” said Pfund. “It’s a hell of an adrenaline rush,” said Peters. One of the major concerns about bull riding is the injuries that can occur to the rider. Pfund has been lucky so far. “I haven’t been hit by the bull yet but they say it’s just a matter of time.” Hopefully he will be OK when he eventually gets hit. All in all, the rodeo was very exciting, and I left feeling enlightened about the old west and a different culture. Questions? Comments? Contact Chris Vannini at vanninic@msu.edu |
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