Last weekend at the Brazos County Expo Complex, an impressive crowd filled the stands to watch the Texas A&M Rodeo team compete against other universities in the rough and tough sport of rodeo. From bareback horse riding to calf wrangling, Aggies gave it their all in every event, with some students taking home the top prize.

For many on the team, rodeo isn’t just a sport, it’s a lifestyle. Most members began participating in events and learning to ride a horse when they were just age 5 or 6 and simply never quit. For animal science sophomore Jamisen Capps, love for rodeo runs in the family.

“My sister rodeoed back when she was in college,” Capps said. “I always wanted to be like my sister, so when I came to A&M, there was no doubt that I was gonna rodeo here.”

One of the biggest challenges Capps faced while competing in barrel racing and breakaway roping was anxiety, especially because of the potential dangers present in horseback riding.

“I had a horse slip over on me when I was 8 years old,” Capps said. “Right then, I told my dad I wanted to quit because I was terrified. He said, ‘Baby, it’s all right. Just get back on and try again,’ and so I tried again, and I learned to manage my anxiety before my runs.”

Barrel racing and breakaway roping are also female-exclusive events in rodeo, but that doesn’t make them any less challenging. Capps believes participating in the sport makes for strong, determined women in and out of the arena.

“Us girls have some grit and some try,” Capps said. “You have to have your head on straight and be ready to go. It’s tough out there.”

In previous years, the A&M College Rodeo was a more niche event, primarily attended by members of the competitors’ families. This year, the team set out to promote the event as much as possible, hoping students would fill the stands.

“We really upped our marketing this year,” Capps said. “We want to put on a good show, and this crowd is so much bigger than last year. It’s really motivated the team to practice hard so everyone’s been working their butts off to win.”

Being on the rodeo team and a student is already a challenging time commitment, but agribusiness freshman Garett Talamantes adds a budding country music career on top of it all. Talamantes provided live music for the VIP lounge at the A&M College Rodeo, delivered a beautiful rendition of the national anthem and still went on to compete in the calf rope and team rope. 

“I’ve been doing rodeo since I was about 6, and I started taking guitar seriously when I was twelve,” Talamantes said. “I’ve been doing live gigs ever since. I’ve been playing around College Station, and I’m just so thankful to have this god-given talent.”

Doing both rodeo and music has taught Talamantes valuable lessons in discipline and gratefulness and encouraged him to keep improving with every show and competition.

“I’m thankful for what I have, and the ups and downs of both,” Talamantes said. “I’m able to take in everything now and learn to enjoy the moment. My first semester was done in a blink of an eye, and I realized I needed to stay disciplined to stay on top of everything, cause it’s so easy to fall behind.”

Team’s culture is akin to a small family, not just a group of athletes. For Talamantes, the connections in the team have allowed him to feel welcome and at home among the expansive student body.

“Everybody is just so connected,” Talamantes said. “Everybody is willing to help you out, and it’s such a great atmosphere within the Aggie rodeo team. It’s an amazing thing to be a part of.”

Talamantes has three singles and one extended play released, with a new song and accompanying music video set to debut March 7. As a country singer in rodeo, many of his lyrics are inspired by his upbringing and competitions in rodeo, such as his single “8 seconds.”

“Doing rodeo down in South Texas is definitely an influence to the stuff that I write,” Talamantes said. “Rodeo is in everything that I do. It’s in my music, it’s in my day to day life, and my songs have been influenced by the things that I’ve experienced through rodeo.”

A&M Rodeo has been held since 1919, but they only gained a university-appointed coach and were recognized as a competitive team in the animal science department last year. Coach Roger Hanagriff ‘92 has been tasked with growing the team and encouraging its promotion to expand interest in the sport and bring attention to the hard-working athletes.

“We’ve been around for over 120 years with just the students continuing the organization,” Hanagriff said. “ … We are growing Aggie rodeo’s social media and online presence, and our numbers have grown from about 20 students a few years ago to now about 50.”

Because several competitors have been involved from a young age, coaching has become more about refining skills rather than teaching the students.

“A lot of the students come to us very accomplished,” Hanagriff said. “So we’re really trying just to enhance their skills … the teammates assist each other, which is why I love the rodeo. It’s an individual sport, but each student is supportive of each other.”

In Hanagriff’s experience, the skills and lessons learned in the rodeo arena transfer to students’ professional and personal development as well.

“They learn individual effort and responsibility for their own outcomes,” Hanagriff said. “Those things are what make a rodeo student competitive because it’s a physically and mentally demanding sport. To be able to perfect that sets them up for success in rodeo and in life.”

While much of the wider student body is still learning about the Aggie Rodeo team, agricultural economics senior Owen Gibson came to A&M specifically for the group.

“I’m originally from Tennessee, and I got offers from other schools,” Gibson said. “But I wasn’t in love with them like I was A&M. I love the team, and I love this school.”

Unlike most team members, Gibson didn’t come from a rodeo family and learned the sport later in life. She said she had to work twice as hard to make up for lost time and catch up with her peers.

“Coming into it is very hard, not to mention expensive,” Gibson said. “It took me and my family several years to figure out what we were doing, but I became pretty successful at rodeo in high school … so it’s been a big blessing to come to this school and team without an extensive rodeo background.”

She encouraged anyone interested and passionate about rodeo to seek potential opportunities in the sport and not feel discouraged by barriers.

“You’re never too old to start,” Gibson said. “Find somebody who does rodeo, ask them how they got into it, and let them guide you. They will cheer you on no matter what because it’s such a supportive environment.”