Beyond the Buckles: Tarleton Rodeo measures success past the hardware

BY MACKENZIE JOHNSON / Multimedia Journalist

Out of the entire English language, title is the term that Tarleton State University’s rodeo team may just be most familiar with.

Tarleton rodeo is commonly crowned with the title of having the best facility, the most valued coaches, the most successful athletes and being the top collegiate rodeo team in the country.

And more officially, Tarleton’s rodeo team has earned 39 distinguished titles on the College Nationals Finals Rodeo (CNFR) stage since the program was born in 1947. 

Over the years, the men's team has accounted for five of those championships and the women’s team four, with the other 30 titles belonging to individual holders, both men and women. 

This past June at the 2024 College Nationals Finals Rodeo, the men racked up another team championship and saddle bronc rider Gus Gaillard scored an individual championship title of his own to bring back to Tarleton. The women's team had a successful run as well, earning the title of reserve champions as a team when the dust settled. 

As we look into the new season quickly approaching, the team is planning to steamroll their way back to the CNFR to capture even more titles. This fall, Tarleton rodeo will travel to Eastern New Mexico University rodeo in Portales, New Mexico, Sept. 19-21; the Sul Ross State University rodeo in Alpine, Texas, Sept. 26-28; the Clarendon College rodeo in Clarendon, Texas, Oct. 10-12: the Texas Tech University rodeo in Lubbock, Texas, Oct. 24-26 and the Vernon College rodeo in Vernon, Texas, Nov. 7-9. 

Much can be attributed to Tarleton rodeos’ past and no doubt future success. Earning such a prestigious title as one of the best rodeo teams in the nation doesn’t take shape without many hands in the mix to keep the program on its feet and running. Two pairs of hands that have helped front the team to consistent victory are head rodeo coach Mark Eakin and associate head coach Brittany Stewart. 

This fall season of rodeo will denote Eakins 17th and Stewarts 8th year as a full-time coach at Tarleton. Both Eakin and Stewart grew up in the industry and rodeoed for Tarleton before stepping into their coaching roles, Eakin rodeoing for Tarleton from 1995 to 1997 and Stewart rodeoing throughout her college career until graduating from the university in 2012, having Eakin himself as her head coach. 

The two's rich history in rodeo has permanently left its mark on their coaching styles, having helped influence them into the top-tier coaches they are recognized as today.

“What I experienced as a competitor and as a student has completely developed my coaching philosophy,” Stewart said. “I’m definitely not a cookie cutter type coach. I know that one thing doesn’t work for everybody.”

Coaching on such an individual basis is part of the reason Tarleton rodeo has the accomplished reputation that they do. Every competitor has their own personalized agenda. 

“To me, success is on different levels,” Eakin said. “Yes, it’s nice to win the national titles, but each individual has their own goals. Maybe making one short go is somebody’s (equivalent to making the) National Finals Rodeo or getting a degree is their main goal. We just try to help each student to the next level, wherever their level may be.” 

Catering to each rodeo athlete is a tricky task in itself, but tack on the high member count of Tarleton’s rodeo team and that mission gets a little more complex. This year, Tarleton is expecting to have roughly 140 members on the team. Your average rodeo team typically houses no more than 50. 

“Two years ago, we were at 165 students, and we were concerned about going upward to 200,” Stewart said. “We want to make the team very intentional for our athletes to have the opportunity to actually get something out of it, so we had to start limiting what was coming in on the team.”

Narrowing down team numbers is not a typical sacrifice most rodeo programs have to make, but it’s one Tarleton rodeo has to grapple with. Giving rodeo athletes the resources they need to be successful is an important priority for the team, and that can only be done in light of tough choices.

“We’re not able to take a true beginner anymore just because we don’t have the time and trying to figure out that balanced number (of members) and how to tell someone no is my hardest part,” Eakin said. “But last year we were able to, whether it’s through out of state waivers or endowed scholarships, give right at about half the team some form of scholarship.”

Although Eakin and Stewart feel comfortable at 140 athletes, Tarleton rodeo is still bigger than most of the teams out there, and it takes a village to manage all of the responsibilities that come with that. 

“I think it’s truly in the masses and how we each work with each other and have our compartmentalized sections of what we take care of,” Stewart said. “I’m in charge of this, and Mark’s in charge of that, and Hadley (Kibee) takes care of the marketing, and Tyler (Frank) does the workouts, and it’s truly a group effort. The students putting in the effort makes our job easier as well.”

Keeping such a large team afloat also requires assistance pulled through the city of Stephenville itself.

“Our successful student athletes start from the community and the administration,” Eakin said. “Between our fundraising, we’re up to around 18 big team sponsors. Last season was our biggest year and through fundraising we raised over 200,000 (for the team).”

Without the community to back the rodeo program, Tarleton rodeo wouldn’t be where it is now. Tarleton State University’s Rodeo Hall of Fame dinner and auction accumulates a lot of the funds to support scholarship opportunities for rodeo students and the Tarleton Stampede Rodeo sponsors greatly impact the quality of rodeo Tarleton is able to host to conclude the season.  

“The community is huge and second to none,” Stewart said. “I’ve been in a couple different areas, and I’ve never seen any community like Stephenville, Erath County and all the surrounding have the support that we have.” 

It’s easy to see Tarleton rodeo has risen to its highest peak yet, but this won’t be where it caps off, and a lot of that is thanks to the phenomenal facility. 

“This facility is every coach’s dream,” Eakin said. “For the first time ever, we’re able to offer what any D1 sport has been able to offer, from the workout facility, to the doctors, to the orthopedics and to anything that’s going to help the athletes and their horses stay healthy.”

With these assets, Tarleton rodeo students have the ability to go far, but with that possibility can also come built in pressure when wearing a purple vest in the rodeo arena.

“I think it’s in the idea that God has a purpose for us all and he wouldn’t have opened these doors for students if they weren’t supposed to be here,” Stewart said of dealing with the pressure. “So take that and run with it. We either build on it or we look back at what we need to work on and go from there.”

Staying in the right headspace as a rodeo athlete falls back onto both that faith and belief within.

“At nationals, you don’t see anyone else that has as many vice presidents, the presidents of the school and alumni up there supporting us… So there’s always been an expectation to win around here,” Eakin said. “But it’s all about building the confidence within you. You’ve got to believe in what you want to do and (believe in) the workouts, different coaches and all the avenues you can go to.”

One may think that overseeing a team so talented would also boost the coaches’ expectations for how many CNFR titles are won, and although they certainly encourage the team to strive for them, the accomplishments that define the team as successful stretch far beyond just the buckles brought back to Stephenville. It can be just as simple as seeing team members love the sport. 

“I really like to see a team that is cohesive – one that enjoys being around each other, having fun practices and getting something out of it,” Stewart said. “I think the ultimate goal for a college rodeo athlete is to be a successful human being when they get done college rodeoing and having a plan on what they want to do. We want to get them prepared and ready for that next step.”

Seeing students identify their next stride, whether in rodeo, academics or their future, is a process Tarleton's coaches love to see unfold. 

“Seeing each individual getting to the next step, wherever the next step is for them, is where I get my reward (as a coach),” Eakin said. “I may get more satisfaction seeing one person make a short go because that’s all they’ve worked their whole life for – it is just as important as those that are trying to make the NFR or win the college finals. Every student’s on a different level, and as long as we can be intentional about what we do, it gives me a reward to watch people reach their goals.” 

The esteemed rodeo accomplishments are no doubt one of the components that contribute to the many titles Tarleton holds – whether that title is an unofficial one spoken by rodeo fanatics across a dinner table or the one given once a year in Casper, Wyoming at the CNFR. 

These titles and the awards that come with them are what Tarleton is known for, but sometimes the biggest accomplishments aren’t necessarily boiled down to a term as simple as title. 

Sometimes, the biggest accomplishments aren’t as tangible as an award saddle to put on your horse, a new buckle to put on your belt or a fancy plaque to drill into your wall. In fact, the majority of the time, success is measured in individual progress, and that’s something that spans too far and wide to fit into a trophy case. 

Maybe the best title Tarleton holds is the title of being a team that values the small successes, and although that title isn’t one that will likely lead the sentence spoken by an announcer at a college rodeo, it may just be the one Tarleton rodeo merits the most.