The Agricultural and Environmental Sciences club will host its 68th Intramural Rodeo on April 25 at the Taylor Telecom Arena. Doors will open to the public at 5 p.m and the event will officially commence at 6 p.m.
Fully funded by local sponsors and donors, the AES club invites members of the ACU and Abilene community to come and spectate student participation in amateur Rodeo sports such as steer riding and mutton bustin’. Students from fraternities and sororities are invited to form teams to represent their club; however, as an intramural event, any student regardless of club status is encouraged to participate as long as they have a team of four people.
The ACU Riding Team will be one of many performances to look forward to. The club has been preparing a special riding pattern for the past two months as the president, Gracie Smith, senior psychology major from Abilene said. This is her third year as a participant but her first year working with the Riding Team as her last two years were spent as a contestant for Sigma Theta Chi. Smith is enthusiastic about the experience as an audience member and the prizes that contestants receive as winners.
“As a spectator, it is so fun to watch men’s and women’s social clubs running around chasing goats or cows,” said Smith. “A fun incentive for competing is that if your team wins, you get a belt buckle and of course bragging rights for winning a rodeo.”
The Intramural Rodeo is dedicated to all things Texas as Emmery Kovalcik, sophomore physics major from Shreveport, Louisiana said. Kovalcik is the vice president of the Riding Team and though not originally from Texas, she is passionate about what this event represents.
“It shows off what Texas is really about,” said Kolvacik. “Going to a Texas school, you expect horses and cows, and so it’s fun that we have an event like this that we can enjoy even if you’re not familiar with it.”
Tickets for the Rodeo are $5 each and can be purchased online. For more information regarding student participation and registration please contact aes@acu.edu.
