More than 200 competitors from the Great Plains Region to participate in the Bobby Gottsch Jr. Memorial Hastings College Rodeo.
(Hastings, Neb.) — Just five years after forming its rodeo team, Hastings College is set to host its first Bobby Gottsch Jr. Memorial Hastings College Rodeo at the Adams County Fairgrounds April 26-27.
The rodeo opens noon Friday, April 26 with the slack, which free to attend. The first performance is 7 p.m. on Friday, while the second performance is noon Saturday, April 27. The finals are set for 6 p.m. on Saturday. Gates open one hour before each event at the fairgrounds, which can be found at 947 S Baltimore Ave. in Hastings, Neb.
Tickets for those 12 and under are free, ages 13 through high school are $4 per performance or $7 for a weekend pass. Adult tickets are $8 per performance or $15 for a weekend pass. Hastings College students, faculty and staff who present a college ID will be admitted free all weekend.
“Since we first formed a Hastings College team in 2008, we’ve talked about hosting a rodeo. With some experience in the collegiate rodeo circuit and growth in the program, we felt this was the year to put it all together,” said Justen Nokes, Head Coach of the Hastings College Broncos Rodeo team. “Hastings as a community has always been a big supporter of rodeos, and we’re thankful to our rodeo sponsors. The team is looking forward to riding in front of a home crowd for the first time.”
The rodeo is named after the late Bobby Gottsch, Jr., who was instrumental in forming the Hastings College rodeo team along with Jack Osborne, CEO of Industrial Irrigation and Grand Marshal of the rodeo.
“With Bobby’s interest and my past experience in rodeo, we often found ourselves socializing at local rodeos. It was during one of the events the idea of a Hastings College rodeo team was born,” Osborne said. “It didn’t deter Bobby that there were few college rodeo teams in this area, and none within a liberal arts institution in the Midwest or anywhere else we could find.”
More than 200 competitors are set to come to Hastings to compete in the Bobby Gottsch Jr. Memorial Hastings College Rodeo. Events include barrel racing, bareback riding, bull riding, team roping, goat tying, tie-down roping, saddle bronc riding, break away roping and steer wrestling.
The National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association has sanctioned the rodeo, and those participating earn points that help them advance to the College National Finals Rodeo scheduled for June 9-15, 2013, in Casper, Wyo.
Founded in 1882, Hastings College is a private, four-year liberal arts institution located in Hastings, Nebraska, that focuses on student academic and extracurricular achievement. With 64 majors in 32 areas of study and 12 pre-professional programs, Hastings College has been named among “America’s Best National Liberal Arts Colleges” by U.S. News & World Report, a “Best in the Midwest” by The Princeton Review and a “Best Buy in College Education” by Barron’s. Hastings College: Pursue Your Passion®. Visit Hastings.edu for more.
