MSU Rodeo Club member Curtis Wegner adjusted his black cowboy hat and tightened his grip on a rope around the bull he was sitting on. He waited anxiously for the gate to open and his ride to begin.
The gate swung open and the bull took off in front of hundreds of gazing rodeo fans.
Since he was 16 years old, Wegner, a 2004 MSU graduate and member of the MSU Rodeo Club, has dreamed of becoming a professional bull rider.
Wegner was just one of the hundreds of contestants who came from across the nation to participate in the 35th annual Spartan Stampede college rodeo this weekend at the Pavilion for Agriculture and Livestock Education.
Contestants saddled up their horses, donned cowboy hats and competed for money in events such as bareback bronc riding, calf roping, steer wrestling, saddle bronc riding, team roping, cowgirl barrel racing and bull riding.
But just as soon as it began, Wegner's six-second bumpy ride in the spotlight ended when the bull tossed him across the arena.
"It was rough," Wegner said when he stepped off the arena and analyzed his sore hands. "I thought I had it, but I blew my feet."
For 3-year-old Jackson resident Olivia Covey, who was dressed in a white cowboy hat and green MSU sweatshirt, the rodeo was a dream come true.
"I like the rodeo because it has cowgirls and bull riding," Olivia said as she peered through the white gates onto the rodeo clowns and horses on the riding arena. "I want to be a cowgirl, too."
Horse management sophomore Edward Harrison said he loves participating in the rodeo because it gives him a chance to shine during his steer wrestling event.
"It's an adrenaline rush," Harrison said. "It's heart wrenching and can get very exciting."
Aside from a contestant sustaining minor injuries during the Saddle Bronc competition Saturday night, MSU Rodeo Club Vice President Adam Andrews said the event went without a hitch.
"We had a lot of contestants who put on a good show," Andrews said.
Packaging senior and bull riding contestant Dave Brooks said it had been about three months since he last rode a bull. But just like riding a bike, it all came back to him when he participated in the rodeo.
"You get a little bit rusty, but it's all mental," Brooks said. "You just have to work on slowing yourself down and concentrating."
Although Brooks has been bruised several times as a bull rider, he's always eager for his next ride.
"If you get too hung up on getting hurt, you're going to get hurt," Brooks said. "You have to stay loose and don't try to fight the bull."
Brooks, who has been riding since he was a senior in high school, said the feeling he gets when he is riding in the arena draws him to the sport.
"It's freedom - there's no strings attached," he said. "It's just me and the bull."
Brooks said the rodeo isn't just a place for people to showcase their talents - it's also a place for people to root for some of the best competitors from across the nation.
"It's the only sport where everyone who competes wants to see everyone else win," Brooks said. "It's more like a family than a sport."
