Cal Poly’s Rodeo Team has bucked its way to the Collegiate National Finals Rodeo set for next month in Casper, Wyo., even as the program celebrates a generous donation that should keep it going in perpetuity.
The Poly women’s team won first place in the Regionals, held last week in Las Vegas, with ag communications sophomore, Katie Rice of Clements, Calif., winning the Reserve All-Around Championship for the entire West Coast Region, according to a news release.
The CNFR website (see: cnfr.com) said the Top-3 students in each event and the Top-2 men’s and women’s teams in each of the organization’s 11 regional rodeos qualify for the Finals.
Rice also qualified in goat roping, and breakaway roping, and will be joined June 10-18 in Casper by Colton Farquer of Oakdale, Calif., in tie-down roping; Cate Hirschy of SLO, in breakaway roping; Kayla Nichol of Cottonwood, Calif., and Meghann McNulty of Santa Maria, in barrel racing; and Wade Brown of SLO, in bareback riding.
Third year rodeo coach, Ben Londo, was named Coach of the Year for the West Coast Region. A Rodeo Cowboys Association professional rider since 2003, Londo has a long list of achievements in the saddle, including being named a Saddle Bronc Champion four times for the Columbia River Rodeo Circuit.
Called “the Rose Bowl of National Rodeo,” the National Finals will have more than 400 cowboys and cowgirls from more than 100 universities and colleges competing.
Cal Poly has participated in the Collegiate Rodeo Finals since it started in 1949, sending six Mustangs to that first event. Cal Poly’s team members have won six national team championships, the most of any school in the nation, and 44 individual titles over the years.
And the program is riding high on another front, after receiving its largest donation ever, enough to keep it going perhaps forever.
Mark and Jessie Milano established the $1 million endowment, making the announcement at April’s Poly Royal Rodeo. The endowment will provide some $80,000 in scholarships starting next school year, increasing the annual amount from the $16,000 that was awarded this year.
“The Milanos’ gift has taken our program from offering just a few students some financial assistance to offering several students a significant level of support,” said Coach Londo.
Mark Milano, a cattle rancher and retired oil executive, said he admires Cal Poly’s Learn by Doing philosophy and the rodeo program’s “reverence of the Western way of life.”
“I feel humbled to even be in the presence of these athletes,” Milano said. “Rodeo life is not all glory — it is a culmination of hard work, dedication, and getting your hands dirty. To take on all of those responsibilities on top of a demanding scholastic program is just incredible.”
The Milano Family Rodeo Scholarships will be awarded to students “based on their overall contributions to the program. Leadership, academic performance, athletic contribution, financial need, teamwork and camaraderie will all be considered.”
“We see the Cal Poly Rodeo program preparing students for healthy, productive lives,” Milano said. “We wanted to support that by helping worthy students who might otherwise not be able to attend.”
“This program,” Londo said, “is built on the principals of building better individuals. Thus, the scholarship program is built to encourage and reward those qualities.”
Macey Cox, a third-year ag business major, said the rodeo program was a big reason why she enrolled at Cal Poly. “The entire rodeo team is thankful to the Milano Family for their support of our sport,” Cox said. “This will truly benefit future classes. The program just keeps getting better and better. I am pretty excited to see what it will be like in five to 10 years.”
Over the past three years, the Londo-led program, which is open to any student in any major, has grown from 24 to 64 students and has clearly continued with its traditional winning ways.
Londo said the Milanos, “Have made a huge impact on this program and, more importantly, on our students. Their gift will allow us to continue to build on the legacy for which the Cal Poly Rodeo program is known.” – Neil Farrell
