Cal Poly’s 82nd annual Poly Rodeo wrangles student excitement
On April 10, over 2,000 Cal Poly and Cuesta College students flooded into Cotton Rosser Rodeo Complex for Cal Poly’s 82 annual Poly Royal Rodeo dressed in cowboy boots and hats.
For business administration senior Maddie Freund, this is her third year coming to Poly Royal and attending student night.
“It’s super exciting,” Freund said. “I feel like everybody’s really stoked to be here and it seems like everybody’s having a lot of fun.”
Rodeo team competitors showcased events such as tie down roping and barrel racing, along with extra fan events such as a wildhide race and a dance off.
Tickets for student night sold out in less than an hour.
“That makes me super stoked to go to such an amazing school, such a diverse school,” Freund said. “I didn’t know that rodeo was like a big thing before I came here and I’m so glad that it is because it’s like the most fun thing ever and I love coming every year.”
The Poly Royal production team spends months preparing for this one weekend.
The production manager, agricultural business senior, Jack Busch, says there is a lot of behind the scenes people don’t see.
“Making sure that we’re adhering to all those rules of safety and how they score events and all of those things,” Busch said. “So it’s a lot more than what people see as the end result.”
Student night was a way to educate current students and incoming freshmen on the sport and show students what goes on at the grounds when taking care of these animals.
“One of our main goals is to make sure that students take away what our Western way of life means and it’s not just putting on a cowboy hat, and your cinched jeans and riding a horse,” Busch said.
For competitors like tie down roping champion, Daniel Miranda, student night is a great way to build confidence going into the weekend.
“I imagine it like back in Rome. Colosseum. Gladiators in the middle of the arena and thousands of people yelling,” Miranda said. “You’re sitting out there and your horse is freaking out. You’re freaking out. You’re just loving every second of it.”
At the end of the night, the arena gates opened for a live performance by singer, Alana Springsteen, put on by Associated Students Incorporated (ASI).
