Tight Wrangler jeans, giant belt buckles and dirty cowboy boots all told it was time again for the annual LSU Block and Bridle Club’s All-Student rodeo.
Hundreds of people showed up to watch aspiring cowboys give their best effort in the John M. Parker Coliseum this weekend.
Participants included a mixture of experienced and inexperienced. Some knew what they were doing, while many others simply wanted a thrill ride on the bull.
“Bull riding is by far the most popular,” said University alumna and rodeo aid Lori Henry. “Lots of guys want to try their luck with the bull.”
Many students entered the bull riding competition, but others participated in a variety of other exciting events, such as calf roping, goat tying, pole bending and barrel racing.
Crystal Permenter, a marketing sophomore, entered the rodeo because she was looking for something fun and adventurous to do.
Permenter, whose rodeo influence comes from his parents, signed up to bull ride for the first time and was surprisingly calm.
“This is something to tell your kids — ‘I rode a bull,'” Permenter said. “You can get hurt worse snow skiing.”
Although bull riding was the most popular event, other participants signed up for something a little less traditional.
Brady Wax, a construction management junior, participated in the wild-cow-milking contest.
“You don’t actually milk the cow,” Wax said. “There are six or eight teams of three. One person is the roper, and the other two slow the cow down enough to pull a hair out of his tail. It’s hard. [The hair] is like heavy-duty string.”
The heifers are released as the participants all line up together in the arena. When the event starts, each team ropes a cow, settles it down and steals one of the thick hairs from its tail.
Wild cow-milking was a definite crowd favorite, but everyone seemed to enjoy every event.
“Three or four of my friends are in the rodeo,” said construction management junior Paul Loria. “I came to support them and watch them make fools of themselves.”
Loria said he was not really nervous for his friends, and he was enjoying all the excitement of the rodeo.
University students were not the only ones who got to enjoy the rodeo, though.
The Block and Bridle Club hosted its Second Annual Kids Fun Day on Saturday.
Children of all ages got a taste of the cowboy experience and enjoyed a variety of games, a petting zoo, pony rides and a roping station.
The proceeds from the rodeo go to scholarships for club members and finance a variety of club-sponsored activities.
The club will donate 10 percent of the profits from this year’s rodeo to the Louisiana 4-H Foundation.