Warmer temperatures welcomed competitors to the 2010 Jordan Freeman Scholarship Rodeo at Tarleton State University’s Equine Center on Feb. 27. College students from across the Southern and Southwest Regions competed for $3,000 in Tarleton Rodeo Scholarship monies.

Adding an interesting twist to the event was that students competed as five-member teams. Each team consisted of a tie-down roper, a breakaway roper, a goat tier, a header and a heeler.

The winning team members were Chase Richter (tie-down), Hailey Turley (breakaway), Shelby Smith (goat tying), James Barton (team roping-header) and Austin Adams (team roping-heeler), collecting an impressive 35 points. The team managed to accumulate points in every event.

Each member of the winning team will receive a $500 scholarship upon enrollment to Tarleton. The remaining $500 scholarship was awarded to Shelby Smith, Tarleton rodeo student, for collecting 22 individual points to win the all-around honor.

The money awarded at the scholarship rodeo was donated by Jordan Freeman’s family. The Freeman’s lost Jordan in 2005 at the young age of 5. Jordan and her horse, “Fat Daddy,” were successful in several youth rodeo associations. She loved life and rodeo. The Freeman family wants her memory and her spirit to live through the successes of the Tarleton’s rodeo team.

All profits from the Jordan Freeman Memorial Roping, held each September, are donated as scholarships to Tarleton’s rodeo team.

“The Freeman’s are great supporters of our program,” said Mark Eakin, Tarleton’s head rodeo coach. “Their generous contributions allow us to meet the financial needs of more rodeo students while providing them an opportunity to get a good education.”

Eakin would like to extend thanks on behalf of the rodeo team and Tarleton to the Freeman family and the volunteers who worked the rodeo to make it a success.

The Jordan Freeman Memorial event scheduled for fall 2010 will be a two-day event featuring tie-down roping, breakaway roping, goat tying and barrel racing. Visit Tarleton’s rodeo team’s Web site at www.tarleton.edu/rodeo for more information.