Aggie rodeo barrel race is Thursday

March 13, 2017

For NCTA News by Cassie Bratton

Curtis, Neb. - The rodeo team at the Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture will be hosting a second barrel race in its Jackpot Series on Thursday (March 16) at Mill Park in Curtis.

Prizes are given to top places, with proceeds directed to the Aggie spring rodeo season.

The series includes categories for Peewees (younger athletes) and Open (for all ages). Riders may warm up horses during the open arena at 4:30 p.m., with exhibitions at 5:30 and the run at 6:30 starting with Peewee riders.

NCTA requires that all contestants must provide biosecurity health papers for their horses including a 5-way vaccination and negative Coggins test. Riders also will be asked to sign a safety liability wavier.

The first race of the barrel jackpot series was February 16 and started with exhibitions before the main event.

The exhibitions looked promising as everyone exercised their horses. Competitors run at any pace they desire, focusing on dynamics and tuning their turns before the race. Exhibitions help the horse and rider get used to the arena.

NCTA’s own Rachel Schmitz of O’Neill, Neb., won the jackpot that evening and Tara Spatz of Trotwood, Ohio, was second. There were also two youth entries with Hallee Sheffield and Jozee Sheffield. Hallee’s time was 21.13 seconds on Chance, and Jozee was a 30.71 seconds on Ace.

“Hopefully we have a better turnout on March 16th and can raise a little more money for the NCTA Rodeo Team,” said Rachel Schmitz, team member and one of the event organizers.

The Aggie Rodeo Team participated in five rodeos last fall and begins the spring season on April 7-8 with travel to Brookings at South Dakota State University, and then April 14-15 at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln. 

Proceeds from the barrels series and other fundraisers go towards travel expenses including gas and hotels for the team.  Rodeo coach Taylor Rossenbach of Curtis is an NCTA alumnus and team roper.

Along with the Series, the rodeo team hosted an Advanced Horsemanship and Barrel Racing Clinic with Sonya Walz on March 11-12.

Additional information about NCTA Aggie Rodeo is available at ncta.unl.edu or by calling 1-800-3CURTIS.  The team also hosts a web page at http://ncta.unl.edu/activities/aggie-rodeo-team.

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 Editor's Note:

Cassie Bratton, an NCTA sophomore from Wilmington, Vermont, wrote this article for her Business and Technical Writing class.