Riding, lassoing all part of 65th UA rodeo
The shiny silver pinstripes running through Wesley Kimble's blue shirt reflected sunlight in the arena of the Tucson Rodeo Grounds Saturday as, rope in hand, he raced on his horse after a calf.
Kimble, an agricultural education senior, was among eight other UA students at the 65th Annual University of Arizona Intercollegiate Rodeo.
He won the calf roping competition after securing a lasso around a calf's horns 10.3 seconds after his horse busted through the starting gates.
Kaci Malouff, an agricultural education junior, tied for first place in the breakaway roping event.
Malouff looped the rope around the calf's horns in 3.3 seconds, but the calf kept running because the rope broke off the saddle.
The competitors in Saturday's rodeo were from teams in the Grand Canyon region, which includes the UA, Arizona State University, Pima Community College, New Mexico State University, Cochise Community College, Central Arizona College and Northland Pioneer College.
Worn cowboy boots, dusty jeans and half-tanned faces peeking out from cowboy hats attested to the hours of hard work the students put in before the rodeo.
Valerie Spate, an equine sciences junior, said she practices a few hours at a time, two to three days per week.
A normal day for Spate starts at 7 a.m., when she feeds her three horses. She also takes them riding. She said she's lucky she has afternoon classes so she can spend the morning with her horses.
When Spate gets home around 7 p.m., she feeds her horses again.
She also works a weekend job to pay for all the costs associated with traveling to rodeos, including entry fees and the cost of owning horses. She pays for feed, shoes, shots and veterinary appointments, all of which add up to about $3,000 per year, she estimated.
The event was one of 10 rodeos in which UA students will participate.
The scores from the regional rodeos are compiled at the end of the year to determine which individual students and teams advance to the national college competition in June in Casper, Wyo.
Scores for the events are based on time. Those who participate in roping events try to take the least amount of time to rope the calf after they leave the starting gates.
"The tie-down open is my favorite event," Kimble said. "It's the one I think I have the most luck at."
Kimble said winning a rodeo competition depends largely on luck.
The announcer seemed to agree after a student failed to rope a calf because it ran to the end of the arena before he could sling his lasso around its horns.
"He just ran into a bad calf; that's the way to lose a rodeo," the announcer said.
Spate said competition depends about half on skill and half on other things, such as the livestock in the roping events.
"The stock they draw depends, but you're going to have good days and you're going to have bad days," Spate said.
She said all members are working to improve their individual scores, which will raise the team score.
There are three rodeos left for the schools in the Grand Canyon region, in Florence, Chinle and Las Cruces, N.M.