By TARA OWEN, Senior Reporter
The annual Northwestern rodeo is happening Thursday through Saturday.
The rodeo kicks off at the fairgrounds with Northwestern student night on Thursday at 7 p.m. All Northwestern students get into the rodeo for free with their student ID. Friday night is family night starting at 7 p.m. There will even be a calf scramble for the kids along with a team foot race.
“I am looking forward to competing in front of my hometown crowd,” Jaci Traul said. “Even though I am not from Alva, it has definitely become a home to me, as the town is so supportive of what we do.”
Traul, a senior from Fort Scott, Kansas, is s a breakaway roper and barrel racer for the NWOSU rodeo team. Born into the rodeo background, she explained that ranching was always a big part of her life growing up. Traul along with her horses has a rigorous training regimen.
“I’m making sure both my horses and myself are in shape and making sure we are both on the same page and ready to work,” Traul said.
New Northwestern head rodeo coach and former Northwestern rodeo member, Cali Griffin, explains how she was thankful to become the head rodeo coach at her alma mater.
“This community and this school are just so supportive of rodeo; it felt so natural to come back here,” Griffin said.
Not only is the rodeo an opportunity for the community to witness the Northwestern rodeo teams in action, it is also a chance for the university to recruit.
“It’s great for a potential transfer student to see what we are doing. That week alone, we have seven students coming as prospective students to the university,” Griffen said.
