Mesalands Rodeo Team competes in Douglas and is ready for the upcoming Fall Rodeo

September 26, 2016Mesalands Stampede

The Mesalands Community College Rodeo Team recently competed in their second rodeo of the season at Cochise College in Douglas, AZ. The Mesalands Rodeo Team did not compete as well as they wanted to in Douglas and are now more motivated to compete at the 9th Annual Mesalands Intercollegiate Fall Rodeo.

“We had a decent rodeo. We did pretty well in the long round at the competition, but struggled in the short round,” said Tim Abbott, Mesalands Intercollegiate Rodeo Coach. “We had some consistent performances from the first rodeo and some inconsistencies. We are going to continue practicing and get ready for our rodeo next month.”

In tie down roping, sophomore Justin Stegall from Morristown, AZ was third in the long round and had a solid performance in the short round. He finished second in the average and won the reserve championship title. Chace Valdez of Estancia, NM won the long round again, however, he had a hard time in the long round. Valdez broke the barrier in the short round, which kept him from placing in the average.

Breakaway roper, sophomore Tania Nez from Ganado, AZ, finally showed her talent last weekend. She took fifth in the long round. In the short round, she roped her calf very fast, but her rope was caught on her saddle horn and she could not break it off. She should have had a time around three seconds, but this incident caused her to finish with a time of six seconds. Nez did not place at the rodeo.

Sophomore Scott Bevins from Amsterdam, NY, was second in the long round in the bareback riding event. He had a rough time in the short round, which kept him from placing in the average. Bevins still earned 50 points at the rodeo in Douglas.

Barrel racer Rebecca Darrup from Mifflinburg, PA, was sixth in the long round with a time of 18 seconds. She improved her time by four tenths of a second from the long round to the short round, with a time of 17.7 seconds. Darrup was fourth in the short round and finished fifth in the average. Coach Abbott stated that the barrel racing was probably the most competitive event at the rodeo. He said the short round was extremely fast and Darrup was not far behind. She had two consistent runs at the rodeo to build her confidence for the next rodeo.

Sophomore Zack Tober from Mount Ulla, NC, and sophomore Clayton Torrez from Isleta Pueblo, NM, made the short round in the team roping event. They barely missed placing in this event. Coach Abbott is optimistic about their performance at the next rodeo competition, as they continue to practice and compete together.

Sophomore Arianna Assini from Oracle, AZ, had a great run in the long round of the goat tying event. Unfortunately, her goat came untied about eight tenths of a second early, which kept her from qualifying for the short round.

Fellow teammate sophomore Wade Kane from Ellensburg, WA also had a hard time at the Cochise College Rodeo. Kane is currently dealing with a shoulder injury, which impacted his performance in both the team roping and saddle bronc riding events. Coach Abbott said he will be limiting Kane’s practice time, in preparation of the Mesalands Fall Rodeo next month.

“We are looking forward to the home rodeo and we usually perform very well here,” Coach Abbott said. “We want the entire Tucumcari and Quay County community to come out and support the Mesalands Stampede. As in the years past, you can expect to see an action packed, highly competitive, and very entertaining production at the Mesalands Fall Rodeo.”

The 9th Annual Mesalands Grand Canyon Region Intercollegiate Fall Rodeo will be held on Friday, October 14th and Saturday, October 15th at the Quay County Rodeo Arena. The first rodeo performance will begin at 6:00 pm on Friday. On Saturday, slack will begin at 9:00 am and the championship performance will be at 3:00 pm this year. Tickets are $5 for adults, $2.00 for seniors 55 and over, and children under 12 are free, accompanied by a paying adult. There is no admission for slack.

For more information about the Mesalands Fall Rodeo, visit: www.mesalands.edu/fallrodeo.