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Posts: 76
| The college I want to attend (university of river falls) has an equestrian team. I would love to join it. Problem is im 17 and only just now getting into barrels and poles. My horse is still very green and wont be started on games until next year.
Is it something you have to be very competitive in? Or can my horse and I continue to learn as a part of it? Is it expensive? | |
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 Midget Lover
    
Location: Kentucky | I think that college rodeo is competitive, and from what I've heard, expensive. | |
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 Accident Prone
Posts: 22277
Location: 100 miles from Nowhere, AR | The competition is tough, it's expensive, and some regions (like the Ozark) are HUGE, so a lot of travel is involved. My freshman year, I started a former team penning horse in January and he placed me at his first rodeo in March, but I had been running for a long time and had a pro trainer helping me. I was trying to help get a program off the ground and had some help paying expenses or I wouldn't have done it.
It's probably a better idea to join one of the supporting clubs at first to get your foot in the door and see where that takes you. | |
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 Extreme Veteran
Posts: 396
Location: Iowa | Do you want to compete on the College Rodeo Team or the Equiestrian Team? They are different. The Equiestrian Team is NCEA affilated so you will have travel paid for, scholarship open, etc just as NCAA would for other sports. College Rodeo is a club at River Falls just as it is at SDSU (which is where I went). Therefore, only some scholarship and travel is paid for and usually for only people who are sitting in the top 15. Some schools have it listed as an actual school sport though! You will have 10 rodeos total, 5 in the fall, 5 in the spring. It's $250 to become a NIRA memeber then entries for barrel are $60 each rodeo plus stalls if they have them. They do not have poles. It is very very competive in college rodeo (most girls run pro level as well as college) however if you can stay in the top, it is well worth your money. The places you will haul to in the Great Plains Region are: River Falls WI, Fort Dodge IA, Ames IA, Fargo ND, Spearfish SD, Brookings SD, Lincoln NE, Hastings NE, North PLatte NE and Dickson ND. The hauls can be pretty long coming from the very edge of the region so gas and hotels can be a killer if your school does't aid money. Good luck with it! Sorry but I do not know much about the Equiestrian Team.
Edited by Rausch_Jessica 2014-08-05 2:09 PM
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 1094
Location: Idahome | I college rodeod in that region and it is a big region. You will have some long hauls to rodeos. Like everywhere, there are a lot of tough girls from that region as well. I would make sure my horse was winning competitively before I spent the money just in fuel to get there. | |
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 Expert
Posts: 2457
| Rausch_Jessica - 2014-08-05 2:04 PM
Do you want to compete on the College Rodeo Team or the Equiestrian Team? They are different. The Equiestrian Team is NCEA affilated so you will have travel paid for, scholarship open, etc just as NCAA would for other sports. College Rodeo is a club at River Falls just as it is at SDSU (which is where I went). Therefore, only some scholarship and travel is paid for and usually for only people who are sitting in the top 15. Some schools have it listed as an actual school sport though! You will have 10 rodeos total, 5 in the fall, 5 in the spring. It's $250 to become a NIRA memeber then entries for barrel are $60 each rodeo plus stalls if they have them. They do not have poles. It is very very competive in college rodeo (most girls run pro level as well as college) however if you can stay in the top, it is well worth your money. The places you will haul to in the Great Plains Region are: River Falls WI, Fort Dodge IA, Ames IA, Fargo ND, Spearfish SD, Brookings SD, Lincoln NE, Hastings NE, North PLatte NE and Dickson ND. The hauls can be pretty long coming from the very edge of the region so gas and hotels can be a killer if your school does't aid money. Good luck with it! Sorry but I do not know much about the Equiestrian Team.
^^THIS!
Also, I can add that the Equestrian teams, you don't compete on your own horse. You show up and ride a horse provided and are judged accordingly. Just some food for thought, they do take "inexperienced" riders who don't have a show back ground for a novice class. It will be NCEA sanctioned and it was when I did it at SDSU. Call the coach, ask questions, get your foot in the door.
If you're gonna rodeo ... it is a LARGE region and River Falls is at the edge. Plan fuel and hotels accordingly, it can get tough financially if your school doesn't reimburse. My roommates ran rodeo, and there were and continue to be super tough gals running barrels, break away, and goat tie there.
Good Luck!
Edited by lindseylou2290 2014-08-05 2:36 PM
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boon
Posts: 1
| If you know you are not ready yet than I suggest you talking to a team and ask about the possibility to train with them for the next season. Freshmen year is full of so many classes and activities travelling on competitions might take just too much time. Think rationally and save money for the competitions as you'll need a lot. theessayservice | |
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 The Vaccinator
Posts: 3810
Location: Slipping down the slope of old age. Boo hoo. | Rausch_Jessica - 2014-08-05 2:04 PM Do you want to compete on the College Rodeo Team or the Equiestrian Team? They are different. The Equiestrian Team is NCEA affilated so you will have travel paid for, scholarship open, etc just as NCAA would for other sports. College Rodeo is a club at River Falls just as it is at SDSU (which is where I went). Therefore, only some scholarship and travel is paid for and usually for only people who are sitting in the top 15. Some schools have it listed as an actual school sport though! You will have 10 rodeos total, 5 in the fall, 5 in the spring. It's $250 to become a NIRA memeber then entries for barrel are $60 each rodeo plus stalls if they have them. They do not have poles. It is very very competive in college rodeo (most girls run pro level as well as college) however if you can stay in the top, it is well worth your money. The places you will haul to in the Great Plains Region are: River Falls WI, Fort Dodge IA, Ames IA, Fargo ND, Spearfish SD, Brookings SD, Lincoln NE, Hastings NE, North PLatte NE and Dickson ND. The hauls can be pretty long coming from the very edge of the region so gas and hotels can be a killer if your school does't aid money. Good luck with it! Sorry but I do not know much about the Equiestrian Team.
Great answer and explanation of the two options. I second the fact competition is very tough. Even way back when I was in college rodeo in the Ozark Region we ran against pro girls in barrel racing. The breakaway was pretty tough back then, too, but now it is on a whole nother level due to all the breakaway events now with lots of added money. You better be able to break-out of the box perfect, make one swing and catch or no money for you. I was fortunate back in the day to have a terrific horse who carried me to top 3 in the region finishes in all of my events -- barrels, breakaway and goat-tying year after year. I look back now and truly realize what a special horse he was to do all three so competitively. And -- he was a brighly colored Appaloosa. Those were amazing times. | |
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