Students are saddling up for the Block and Bridle club’s annual rodeo, held today and Friday in the John M. Parker Coliseum.The all-student rodeo started more than 70 years ago, and Bethany Edler, the 2007-2008 Rodeo queen, said this year is the second open rodeo.”Anyone can participate [today], and students can participate on Friday,” Edler said.Amanda Royer, vice president of Block and Bridle and assistant rodeo manager, said today’s competition is much more professional because the competitors are more experienced.The first Block and Bridle All-Student Rodeo was held in the late 1920s in the Old Livestock Judging Pavilion, which is now Swine Palace, Edler said.”As the popularity of the Student Rodeo grew, Professor J.B. Francioni invited Governor Huey P. Long to attend the All-Student Rodeo,” Edler said. “The governor was so pleased with the rodeo, he felt that the Block and Bridle members deserved a better facility to host their event, which led to the building of the John M. Parker Coliseum, named after Louisiana’s 37th governor.”Today’s All-Student Rodeo offers more than 11 events, which range from barrel racing to wild cow milking, and there will be Emergency Medical Technicians on site, she said.Participants can sign up from 5 to 6:30 p.m. today and the show starts at 7 p.m. Edler said. Individual and team events are offered.Each event has an entry fee, and the winners of the open rodeo receive a percentage of the fees as prize money, Royer said.The overall cowboy and the overall cowgirl of the All-Student Rodeo will receive a belt buckle.”The belt buckle is a tradition, and it’s something special,” Royer said. Edler said when Greek participants sign, they indicate which organization they belong to, and a trophy is given to the fraternity and sorority that earn the most points.”I like to see Greek participation, because a lot of the fraternities will get their pledges to ride bulls,” Edler said.Admission is $5, and each year a percentage of the proceeds are donated to a charity.”This year 10 percent of our proceeds will go to Brave Heart Children In Need, Inc., and kids will get in [to the rodeo] free if they bring a teddy bear or a new toy,” Edler said.The rodeo earned about $5,000 last year, and members of Block and Bridle are hoping to make at least $8,000-$10,000 this year, Royer said.After prize money and donations are distributed, the profits are used for Block and Bridle scholarships and other events throughout the year, she said. Animals are brought in by stock contractors, and the rodeo, funded by sponsors, costs about $10,000 to run, said Whitney Polman, assistant rodeo manager.”Our main sponsor is Gerry Lane, who contributes about $1,500,” Royer said.Last year, attendance was about 400 people each night, but Royer said she hopes to draw in some of the early tailgaters from the football game this weekend.—-Contact Aimee Effler at [email protected]