The Associated Student Government allocated $1,669 on Apr. 17 to send one member of the club rodeo team to the national championships in June. The presenter, a freshman at Colorado Mesa University, is a current national qualifier and was a two-time Idaho State Champion in goat tying.
During her presentation, the presenter explained that she started her own company called Fearless Productions, which is dedicated toward teaching kids about horses, rodeo, goal-setting and hard work. She started the company during high school as a fundraiser to send her to the state championships.
While the total cost of the bill was $2,688, the expenses from her advisor, who will attend the championships with her, will be funded by the club sports budget. The ASG requested total will pay for her expenses.
According to Fee Allocation Committee Chair Jacob Wellborn, the bill passed through FAC Monday with little debate. Though members were briefly concerned at such a high cost for one student, since the money will come from the Regional and National Championship Fund (the healthiest of the ASG-controlled budget), members voted in favor of the bill.
ASG senators quickly reached the same consensus, after a brief discussion regarding how the presenter would use the prize money that would accompany a title.
Senator Christina Barefoot asked the presenter to clarify what the importance of her national title, and if the title would give her the right “clout” to promote Fearless Productions. The presenter said it would.
Senators Jeff Vela and Amara Hobbs both advocated in favor of the bill, mainly due to their familiarity with ranch life and small towns.
Hobbs, who grew up in Strasburg, Colo., argued that rodeo didn’t get enough recognition and that she felt that the sport represented students from small towns.
Vela, who has a friend on the Ft. Hay’s State College rodeo team also advocated in favor of the bill. He argued for passing the bill due to the expense of rodeo in general, and how much money athletes in the sport have already contributed to their season even before the championships.
“Yes, they do get a monetary prize for winning [nationals, but the money goes back into taking care of your horses,” Vela said. “I grew up around horses. A horse in a pasture is hard to take care of, but a horse in competition is even harder.”
The cost of rodeo—which includes over $200 per weekend of competition paid out-of-pocket per athlete, plus costs for feeding and shoeing horses—was an important factor in the ASG discussion. With no further discussion, ASG unanimously passed the bill.
In other action:
ASG allocated $1,928 from the Student-Controlled Reserve Fund to send 12 students from the Grand Valley Campus Ministry to the International Campus Ministry Conference in Ohio during July.
ASG Resolution 17-06, which would condemn the Live and Let Live Act and support LGBTQ students on campus, failed to garner a 2/3 majority, as many senators felt it was not the right time to pass the resolution.
ASG passed their rules and regulations for election procedure unanimously.
