AGRs and Rodeo

    Members of Alpha Gamma Rho Fraternity have been involved in rodeo in many ways since the beginning of the fraternity. Rodeo is a sport admired by many AGRs as spectator, weekend warrior, professional competitor, or those who work the ranch.

    Dave Eastlake became a member of the Alpha Xi Chapter at Arizona State University in 1958. Dave was raised in Phoenix on what was actually an orange grove. They just lived on a few acres of land. After his 8th grade year, his dad bought him his first horse. He began to ride on a regular basis and enjoyed it. His father was involved with horses when he was younger, never with roping or rodeo, but had plenty of horse experience.

    Dave’s neighbor was a bit of a roper and taught Dave how to rope. He practiced by roping a bucket on the ground. As he continued to learn from his neighbor, he practiced on his own. His interest in rodeo began to grow from there.

    In high school Dave started riding bulls and bucking horses. There weren’t high school rodeo associations then but there was a junior rodeo association, which he competed in. He never actually competed in roping events during high school.

    During high school Dave was active in FFA and his vocational agriculture classes. He also worked on a dairy farm. For his wages his boss gave him a Jersey calf. Dave started taking that calf out and using it to practice roping - just that one calf.

    After high school he sold his first horse and bought a horse trained for roping. During college he only competed in riding events, but still had a roping horse and kept up his practice of roping.

Dave earned a degree in livestock production management at Arizona State University. Dave always knew he would pursue a career in agriculture due to his involvement in high school. He worked at the university dairy and poultry farms during all his college years, among other jobs.

    "Working is a way of life for me, it’s what I had to do. I didn’t feel ready to take on a five-day a week job when I got out of college. I wanted to gain the hard working experience no matter what the sacrifice," Dave said.

    After graduating college he took the opportunity to work for a feedlot. There he rode everyday. This was a seven-day workweek. He only had one day off every other week. He had to rope and doctor all of the cattle. "I felt good about the experience I gained there," Dave added. After he had to rope everyday at work and gained more experience, he decided to get serious about roping.

    In the ‘60s Dave had the opportunity to start a new job, which was a regular five-day workweek job. He finally had time to focus on roping. He began competing in the Arizona Rodeo Association. He was state champion in 1965. In 1966 he joined the professional association, what is now the PRCA.

    Dave figures his transition was typical, "The junior and college level is where you become seasoned, and focus on learning. Professional rodeo is the next step up the ladder. Now I’m competing with tougher competition, more pressure and higher stakes."

    During the span of many years competing in the professional ranks he won or placed at Prescott, Arizona; San Francisco, California; Fort Worth, Texas; Cheyenne, Wyoming; and numerous other rodeos. In 1970 Dave was among the top 15 ropers ranked in the world. "I feel pretty good about my success for the mild training I had while growing up with my one horse on the small plot of land in Arizona," Dave added.

    During the ‘70s Dave moved to Amarillo, Texas to take a new company position. He felt unsure about the move at first, but he decided it would be best to take a chance. "The cattle feeding industry moved from the west to high plains and I came with it. I think it was one of the smartest things I’ve ever done," Dave added.

    At age 40 Dave’s father was in Nebraska for a meeting and learned about the Old Timers Rodeo Association, now the National Senior Pro Rodeo Association (NSPRA). His father enthusiastically told Dave that this is what he needed to become involved in. Dave’s first reaction was, "No way! I don’t belong in an Old Timers Rodeo Association, I’m a pro guy!" Over the next year Dave learned more about the association, he gave in and began to compete.

    Dave was now competing against others his own age and had a better chance in doing as good as he wanted. Dave went to all the finals events since he began with the association in 1979 through 2005. He qualified for the finals competition every year, except one, because he didn’t attend in 1988. Dave attended fifty to sixty rodeos per year with the association. He won the world champion calf roping event five times, and the team roping and ribbon roping events one time each.  

    During 1982 to 1987 Dave served on the board for the NSPRA. He was general manager of the senior national finals for three of those years. He also served as president in 2000, and continues to serve on numerous committees. Dave also served on the committee for the 2005 National Finals Rodeo steer roping event, which was held in Amarillo, Texas.

    Dave keeps roping because he can. He added "I rope every day, it’s great exercise and I greatly enjoy it, it keeps me young."

Dave and his wife have three children and seven grandchildren. One of his grandchildren has become involved in bull riding. Dave served as Vice President for the Commodity’s Corporation of Princeton, New Jersey for about 15 years. The corporation kept 10 million dollars of cattle on feed all over the western United States. Dave’s wife works full time for an oil company and ranch operation. Dave is retired and runs his ranch, ropes and trains horses. "This has always been a goal of mine, and I thoroughly enjoy how I now spend my time," Dave added. He also served as adviser for the Alpha Xi Chapter at Arizona State University during the 60s.

    "Rodeo is a lot of hard work and sacrifice, it’s fun and it’s what I do. Rodeo is a family business - when you compete and travel together you become family. I’m not out here for the money." Dave added, "Being a world champion and placing in the professional rankings is great and something to be proud of, but each season you start right back at the same place with everyone else."

    Keon didn’t start riding broncs until he was 25. "I realized that I needed to at least give it a shot. It’s better to find out you’re not cut out for it than to be sitting in your rocking chair wondering what if!"

    He bought an old saddle, borrowed some gear and went to an open rodeo. He didn’t tell anyone, just went. Keon said, "I got stood on my head in about 10-inches of mud, and came up grinning ear to ear. One of the judges told me I was sunk because anybody who gets planted like that and has a grin that big is a lost cause!"

    I went to a couple of clinics, rodeoing by myself for a year or two, and then hooked up with Rance. We’ve been traveling together ever since. Keon added, "After that many years in the minors, you’ve seen about every kind of dirty trick or wreck a horse can hand you. So it was refreshing, however intimidating, to get on National Finals Rodeo (NFR) quality stock, and go to some of the bigger shows like Wolf Point in Montana, or Cheyenne Frontier Days in Wyoming."

    According to Keon the main difference between the rodeo levels is the intensity of the whole scene. "The contestants, stock, and even the crowds are just a step up. There’s an electricity at the professional shows that doesn’t exist at the amateur rodeos. The one thing at the professional shows that was hard to get used to was that, until a guy starts getting good things done, you’re just another face. In the minors, things are a little more personable - people are glad to see you show up and compete at their rodeo." He added, "The one thing that is constant is the camaraderie and friendship between contestants. Everyone may be competing for the same checks, but I’ve never felt like I was competing against any of them. If I take nothing else from the sport, it’s the myriad of steadfast friends and acquaintances I’ve made behind the chutes and staying at people’s places while on the road."

    Keon has always competed solely in the saddle bronc riding. Keon justifies this by adding, "For one, I’m a hideous roper. Two, I absolutely crave the way those horses feel when they peel out of the chute and turn on the juice. Also, I definitely haven’t mastered it yet, and I guess I’m just hard headed enough to keep working at it. While you can have weeks of frustration, suddenly good things will happen and you know you’ve gained some ground."

    "My neighbor friends and I were always riding calves at young ages, I eventually graduated to cows and bulls or whatever we could herd into the bucking chutes. Growing up money was tight, so I didn’t get to rodeo in high school as much as I would have liked. The real joys came when I started riding saddle bronc horses during college," Rance said. He added that this is when he finally had free time and a little extra money to throw at his dreams. "So I rounded up all the gear (which left a few things to be desired) I needed and nodded for the gate. Several hundred horses, and thousands of miles later I have had the experiences of a lifetime. Oh, the stories that could be told of thrills and spills, rain and snow, or even a simple which way do we go. The sport has brought me lots of joy and many good friends."

    According to Rance the sport of rodeo is just really satisfying, "No matter whether you win or not it is always a rush, and it kind of feels like you are tying your self back to the old days of the west. It is always exciting to see what horse you have drawn," he added. Pure enjoyment and the constant physical and mental challenge keep him involved and enjoying the sport. "It is my goal to ride broncs until I am 65 years young. So with any luck and God on my side, dreams of the perfect eight-second ride will come true."

    Rance served as the Vice Noble Ruler of Operations in 1998 at the Alpha Delta Chapter at Montana State University. He graduated in 1998 with a degree in Animal Science.

    Josh Phillips has been involved with rodeo since he was six. "It has been said that they took the rattle out of my hand and put a rope into it, so I was pretty much born involved with roping and horses," Josh said.

    "I crave the rush of traveling in a headlong chase after a fast moving steer, with the possibility of winning a roping event. To be totally honest, it is very addictive. I would have to say that the social aspects of roping are also something that draws me in. I’ve made new friends as well as re-connecting with old ones." Josh added that all roping events have something to win, be it money or a new saddle or even a new pickup. He also has become hooked on what is waiting at the end of the race.

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