Saturday night UTM hosted the 51st annual Rodeo: Championship Round, sponsored by Martin Paving Company.
Despite the thunderstorms, the arena was packed and some audience members were forced to stand, because of the lack of seats.
This year marks the 13th year that UTM’s rodeo was named the Ozark region’s “Rodeo of the Year”.
As the thunderstorm progressed, arena lighting started to fail and the events were paused. Audience members were asked not to leave the stadium because of the inclement weather.
When the generators kicked on, announcer Garret Yarnigan and rodeo clown Dusty Myers had audience members play musical chairs and encouraged children to play in a race. These activities kept the time passing and the audience calm as the electricity was being restored.
Casey Allen, a UTM cowgirl, came in first place in the barrel racing category with 170 points overall, 60 of which came from Saturday night’s performance.
Missouri Valley College received the highest score with 850 points, while UTM came in second with 655 points.
Robert Haley of UTM took first place in saddle bronc riding with a score of 170 points from the three nights combined.
In the team roping category, Slayton Taylor and Whitney DeSalvo from the University of Arkansas at Rich Mountain took home first place with a score of 13.6 seconds on Saturday night, and an overall score of 170.
Roy Lee from Missouri Valley College won calf roping overall with an average of 17.2 and a score of 170.
Jessica Rowland from University of Arkansas at Rich Mountain took home the victory for breakaway roping with 165 points after the dust cleared.
Perhaps in the biggest surprise of the night other than the storms, was Austin Schneider from Missouri Valley College.
Schneider stole the lead in steer wrestling from EMCC rider Myles Neighbors in the last run of the night. Schneider beat Neighbors score by .2 seconds and 30 points.
No scores were received in the category of bull riding on Friday or Saturday nights, as no rider could stay on the full 7 seconds.
The team honored Wyatt Cole by leading his horse around the arena, with a team vest laid across the saddle, as team members were introduced.
The audience left without the events being finished because of the thunderstorms. However, all events were finished later Saturday night.
“It’s okay to cheer a little louder for those orange vests,” said announcer Garret Yerigan whenever UTM Cowboy’s were up next for an event.
The audience complied with his encouragement and the energy of the room was not diminished by the storms.
Bucking bulls and horses were provided by Mark Johnson, of Universal Rodeos in Jonesboro, Arkansas.
For more information regarding the results of the weekend’s events, contact Ryne Rickman with the Office of Sports Information at 731-881-7630 or rrickman@utm.edu.
