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Posts: 76
| I'm a senior in high school and plan on going to the university of river falls next year. I would love to join their rodeo team but I'm a little unsure. I'm not exactly competitive yet, I don't have the money for a finish barrel horse but I have taken lessons from barrel racers and ride some of my friends horses. my mare has been started on them and is doing fabulous so far.
Basically I have 2 years to get competitive (not allowed to join the team until sophomore year). I know you have to try out for the team and was wondering what exactly would the try outs be? And it would be better if we did more than just barrels correct? What else is a available?
My parents think I should sell my mare and take our a loan for a horse but I don't really want to add on to my student loans...
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 Not Afraid to Work
Posts: 4717
  
| Well things must have changed since I went to UWRF because we didn't have to "try out" and I was allowed on the team as a freshman.
As far as the rodeo atmosphere, its expensive. So make sure you plan for that. Your card is $300 something alone and then you usually pay $30-$40 per horse that goes down the road and $25-$30 for yourself. This cost goes for fuel, hotel, etc. You pay for entries which are approximately $60 a piece and many rodeos are double headers so expect two entry fees. You then have to pay for shavings, food, etc etc. So just fyi that it is spendy.
I learned a lot from the rodeo team and it was a great experience for me. However, it is a really hard schedule, especially in the spring as you hall back to back weekends right before finals. You also travel the farthest from in your region so you leave a lot of Thursdays and get back Mondays. It was fun but I wasn't impressed with some of the accommodations. We would get there after driving all night to find out, they ran out of stalls or shavings or both.
I met some great people and I think its definitely an experience. I don't regret it. I would haul a horse that's comfortable with that atmosphere because there are a lot of really tricky setups (long long long tunnels where you lined up nose to tail for 20 horses, trick side gates, small doors and weaving through the shoots, etc).
UWRF has a rodeo "club" and a rodeo "team." Club members were allowed to haul along with us and really enjoyed helping out and seeing the atmosphere. I would recommend going that route first.
Hope this give you some of the inside scoop:) | |
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 Don't Wanna Make This Awkward
Posts: 3106
Location: Texas | Well I'm a freshman and I hate college rodeo. My coach is awesome and our facilities are great! Most of the people are really nice but I had some serious problems with my hauling partner. If you don't want to party you may not fit in. Everyone goes to the bars and parties until about 2 am after the perfs if you aren't in slack that night. Also I suggest learning to goat tie, breakaway rope, and team rope(this is more optional) if you want to fit in. My nickname is Barrel Racer becaus out of 35 girls I'm the only one who just barrel races. I was also the only one who really took everything seriously. Apparently im just your typical barrel racer and no one really had any respect for me. It's also very expensive. I say try it with an open mind if you think you'll regret not trying it later on. I also had full rides to other schools yet chose one I'm still paying to go to which was a total mistake. Anyways, feel free to PM if you have any other college rodeo questions or just basic college questions! | |
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Not Afraid to Work
Posts: 4717
| outrundaizy - 2014-10-21 12:48 AM
Well I'm a freshman and I hate college rodeo. My coach is awesome and our facilities are great! Most of the people are really nice but I had some serious problems with my hauling partner. If you don't want to party you may not fit in. Everyone goes to the bars and parties until about 2 am after the perfs if you aren't in slack that night. Also I suggest learning to goat tie, breakaway rope, and team rope(this is more optional) if you want to fit in. My nickname is Barrel Racer becaus out of 35 girls I'm the only one who just barrel races. I was also the only one who really took everything seriously. Apparently im just your typical barrel racer and no one really had any respect for me. It's also very expensive. I say try it with an open mind if you think you'll regret not trying it later on. I also had full rides to other schools yet chose one I'm still paying to go to which was a total mistake. Anyways, feel free to PM if you have any other college rodeo questions or just basic college questions!
There is a lot of partying on the road... I will say that. I too agree that doing more of the events would have been fun but again expensive. All of our girls only ran barrels other than 2 so it was never an issue. | |
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 Saint Stacey
| It's all about who is tough enough to get points. Any smart coach would put a one event girl that can place top 6 over a 3 event girl that places low. Making short go doesn't mean squat if you are out of the points. UWRF sounds jacked up on the way they are doing things. They are only allowed 4 girls on the points team. But if you have an NIRA membership then you should be able to rodeo on your own. Plus you are only allowed 4 years. So if you buy a membership and don't rodeo, you waste that year. I think the years run consecutively. You might want to read the rules first because Im not positive on that. | |
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 Owner of a ratting catting machine
Posts: 2258
| College rodeo was a pretty strong dose of reality for me. I came from a small localized NBHA circuit, play day arena, and a large jackpot at home consisting of about 35 girls.
I spent a whole lot of money, and never ran faster than 1 second off. I did have a lot of fun and learned a lot about hauling horses in such a way as to give them ulcers, how to blow up a barrel horse, how to practice wrong twice a week in front of crowd, how to not have money for the vet, and how to have your mom come get your horse because he was looking so ragged.
I did redeem myself the year after and rehab my poor horse from ground zero, take a whole lot of lessons from anyone who I could trick into it, and step into the big world of "If your horse hurts, don't freakin' ride him."
I really, really suggest reviewing your finances and investing every penny into good tack, your horse's health, a good feed program, clinics, and lessons. Go to some state amateur/open rodeos over the next two years and see how it goes. If you can go in and win/place at those rodeos, you should get your college rodeo card and see if you can step up into that competition.
There are many, many girls that come from multigenerational rodeo families. They're educated on the barrel pattern, on horse care, they have the money backing them, and they are very, very serious. To be competitive with them, you really have to show up with everything you've got. | |
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 Husband Spoiler
Posts: 4151
Location: North Dakota | You should be able to join the team as a freshman??? That seems odd.
Anyways....yes, college rodeo is expensive and it is TOUGH but I loved it. I am not a party girl and all I did was barrel race. There were only a few girls on the team that did more than one event. Most of us just hung out in our hotel room and ordered pizza after the rodeo...haha! There were a few team members that liked to drink and party but for the most part everyone took it seriously. | |
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| You can join the River Falls Rodeo Team as a freshman, I'm friends with a cousin of the captain, who messaged her and asked :) | |
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Regular
Posts: 76
| Ok thanks on the tour of the campus they said anyone can join the rodeo club but only sophomores and up can be on the rodeo team, which did seem weird to me | |
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Location: WI | I competed on the rodeo "team" my freshman year at River Falls, that was about 5-6 years ago though so maybe this has changed? I doubt it though.
What i am wondering if they meant that the "try-outs" they mentioned have anything to do with being on the "Points Team". When i was going, they could only have so many members competing on the Team to get points for the College standings, so they would usually pick the top barrel racers, ropers, etc. Since barrel racing usually has the most members, they would have to limit it to the top 5 or so. You can still compete at the rodeos with the team, you still pay the fees, hauling, hotels, etc, but if you were to place at the rodeo, unless you were a "team" member your points wouldn't count towards the point standings? I THINK that is how it went anyways.
But for sure double check on that, contact the rodeo director directly. You should be able to compete as a freshman regardless.
I personally was not a fan of the college rodeos, i didn't particularly like the partying atmosphere and felt a bit like i HAD to go out with everyone to fit in. I also would have rather stayed in my trailer WITH my horses (some rodeos you must tie-out overnight) rather than being forced to stay at a hotel 45 minutes away from my horse. Maybe the rules have changed but that was something i did not like at all. | |
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Saint Stacey
| Elsa5 - 2014-10-22 9:27 AM
Ok thanks on the tour of the campus they said anyone can join the rodeo club but only sophomores and up can be on the rodeo team, which did seem weird to me
I know that mist coaches tend to go with sophomores on the points team at first because they already know what they have. Coaches don't have to have a team locked in until the spring so they tend to move kidsaround if they have one that really steps up. Like I said, it's all about who can get the most points. | |
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