CHADRON, Neb. – As usual, the Chadron State College rodeo will kick off the schedule in the Central Rocky Mountain Region at the Dawes County Fairgrounds, taking place this Friday, Saturday and Sunday, September 5-7. Nearly 500 entries are expected from the 12 schools in the region. 

The primary performances will be at 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday evenings, followed by the championship go-round at 10 a.m. Sunday, featuring the top 10 contestants in each event from the earlier sessions.

Because there will be so many cowboys and cowgirls competing, there also will be two sessions of slack that are open to the public without charge. They will begin at 1 p.m. Friday and 8 a.m. Saturday.  

This year's Chadron State team includes 30 members, evenly divided between men and women. Lane Day, a former CSC rodeo cowboy now in his fourth year as the team's head coach, believes this year's team has strong potential. 

"We added a few rough stock contestants to the men's roster and return several veterans who had some success last year," Day said. "The women's team will be led by Brooke McCully (of Mullen), who was second in the region and finished eighth at nationals in breakaway roping this past year," he added. "Several of our other women also had good summers and placed at numerous pro rodeos."

The latter includes Bridget Romey of Hot Springs, S.D., who won the barrel race at the Old West Trail Rodeo at Crawford on July 3 and 4.  Another CSC barrel racer will be Mejrusa Rustemovic of Kiowa, Colo., who as a freshman last year finished fourth in that event in the regional standings while placing among the top six in the barrels at five rodeos. There were at nearly 100 barrel racers at all 10 regional rodeos a year ago. 

Leaders of the men's team the year will include bareback riders Cinch Kiger of Overton, Neb., and Tanner Olson of Gordon, both of whom placed among the top six in that event at the CSC rodeo last year.

Sid Miller of Merna, Neb., won the tie down roping at the CSC rodeo last year while Pepper Rhyne of Craig, Colo., won that event at Nebraska's Big Rodeo at Burwell this summer. 

Freshman Levi Noyes of Bighorn, Mont., was that state's champion high school saddle bronc rider in 2024-25.   

Another newcomer is Jade Byrne of Martin, S.D., who formerly attended Casper College, where he qualified for the College National Finals Rodeo as team roping heeler.     
       
The rough stock for the CSC rodeo will be supplied again by the Muddy Creek Pro Rodeo at Scenic, S.D. Graff Land and Cattle Co. from Long Pine, Neb., will provide the timed-event calves and Mill Iron Spear Enterprises from Broken Bow will furnish the timed-event steers. 

Sugar Rey Quinn of Rapid City will be the public address announcer. Former CSC bareback rider Rowdy Moon will be among the bullfighters and two more ex-CSC contestants, Justin Kissack and Colton Storer, will be the pickup men along with Tennessee Nix of Chadron.

Cowboy (and Cowgirl) Church will begin at 8 a.m. Sunday in the grandstand at the fairgrounds, followed about an hour later by the rodeo's championship performance.

Tickets for the rodeo will be $10 for adults.  Chadron State students and employees will be admitted without charge.