NCTA students had the opportunity to sharpen their horsemanship, roping and livestock-handling skills during a two-day Ranch Roping and Stockmanship Clinic led by Ryan Sexson of Nenzel, Nebraska.
The September 15-16 clinic combined instruction in the arena with hands-on ranch work, giving students the opportunity to build new skills and then put them to use in a real working environment.
Students began the first day on foot in the NCTA arena, learning the fundamentals of roping. Sexson worked with students on managing coils, building and swinging a loop, positioning for head and heel shots, and making adjustments that could improve their catch percentage.
Students practiced on roping dummies, with each participant receiving individual instruction before moving to horseback.
Once mounted, students worked through the basics of introducing a horse to a rope and learned how to safely manage their rope and dally from the saddle. As students became comfortable, live cattle were brought into the arena so they could apply what they had learned.
Using breakaway hondas, students who were ready had the opportunity to practice heading yearlings. Every participant also practiced heel shots from horseback, either on live cattle or a dummy.
The small clinic setting allowed Sexson to work individually with each student throughout the day, helping them make adjustments based on their experience level, horse and roping skills.
“Every student saw improvement during the clinic,” Jessica Rodman, the clinic’s faculty sponsor noted. “Ryan is a patient and kind teacher, and the students took to him well. Everyone walked away with a new or improved skill set.”
On the second day, the classroom moved from the arena to NCTA’s Leu Ranch in Hayes County.
Students loaded their horses and traveled to the ranch to help precondition calves, turning the day into an opportunity to learn while completing actual ranch work.
Sexson taught students techniques for gathering and driving cattle, sorting pairs and working cattle through a Bud Box. Each student had the opportunity to work with him individually while bringing cattle through the handling system.
The experience also incorporated animal health and livestock management. Students administered vaccines to calves while learning proper injection placement and needle management.
By the end of the day, the cattle had been worked and returned to pasture, and the students had experienced the satisfaction of completing a job while developing skills they can take with them into future ranch and livestock operations.
The clinic is another example of NCTA’s Learn by Doing approach to education. Bringing an experienced clinician to campus gave students the chance to receive focused instruction, ask questions and practice their skills, while the second day at the Leu Ranch allowed them to apply those lessons to the kind of work they may encounter in their careers.
At NCTA, learning agriculture often means more than talking about how a job should be done. It means saddling a horse, gathering the cattle and doing the work.
The Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture (NCTA) in Curtis is a two-year institution within the University of Nebraska system, dedicated to developing the next generation of agricultural professionals and veterinary technicians. NCTA offers specialized programs in Animal Science, Agronomy, Ag Equipment, Agribusiness Management, Agricultural Education, Equine Industry Management, and Veterinary Technology—all grounded in a practical, career-focused approach to learning.
