This week, the Odessa College rodeo will celebrate its 40th anniversary from Feb. 22-24 at Ector County Coliseum.
Each performance will start at 7 p.m.
Competitors from 18 colleges and universities across Texas and New Mexico will compete in events such as bareback, saddle bronc, barrel racing, goat tying, steer wrestling, team roping, bull riding and more.
Sophomore Spencer Denayer, who takes part in the bareback competition, will be one of the many Odessa College Wranglers competing this week.
“I’ve been bareback riding since I was a freshman in high school,” Denayer said.
Denayer, who’s from Brownlee, Neb., is excited to be competing in the 40th anniversary of the Odessa College rodeo.
“I think it’s outstanding,” Denayer said. “I’m lucky to be here during an anniversary year. That’s something special that you have to take advantage of and I think all of us will take advantage of it.”
Denayer talked about the difficulties of his event.
“It’s the first event,” Denayer said of the bareback riding, “Many say it’s the most demanding. It’s pretty rough.”
He talked more about what brought him out to Odessa College.
“Odessa College really stood out to me,” Denayer said. “I knew I wanted to go out somewhere in West Texas. This is one of the toughest regions in rodeo.”
Another veteran on the team is Kennady Myers who competes in the breakaway and team roping.
“I’ve been getting ready for this rodeo since the beginning of the season,” Myers said. “All season, we’ve been prepping for each rodeo and this is a big one.”
Myers, who’s a junior from Beach, N.D., said it’s special to be at home for this week’s rodeo.
“It’s always special to be home for our home rodeo,” Myers said. “You never know what’s going to happen. It’s in our home territory.”
Myers also discussed the mental aspects of competing in rodeo.
“Mentally, our coach (Tom Kelly) has been helping us out,” Myers said. “We watch videos and read books that he tells us about. Rodeo is 99 percent mental. You have to keep a good head space. We practice out here all year long. It’s just a mental preparation that we need to be ready for.”
During the Saturday evening performance, Odessa College rodeo team alumnae and former coaches will be recognized.
The Odessa College rodeo program has built legends in the sport with alumni including Ty Murray, Jim Sharp, Adam and Gilbert Carrillo, Jerome Davis, Cimarron Gerke, Dustin Bowen, Ky Hamilston, Tristen Hutchings and Kolton Hevalow.
For tickets and more information about this year’s Odessa College rodeo, go to https://www.wranglersports.com/general/2023-24/releases/20240108gce3j3.
