What keeps the Doty Rodeo Complex lights on every Tuesday night

BY MACKENZIE JOHNSON / Multimedia Journalist 

Stephenville, Texas has much to offer for its many rodeo residents. A main one being plenty of roping, tying and barrel racing jackpots to attend several days of the week. 

These incentivized practice opportunities are one of the factors that draw so many rodeo competitors to the city, and it seems another jackpot has just been marked in the calendars of the Erath county and surrounding cowboys and cowgirls. 

Tuesday Night Lights, hosted by the Tarleton rodeo team, officially kicked off on Tuesday Sept. 10. 

“Tuesday Night Lights jackpots give our students the chance to put their money up to compete and win in a highly competitive environment,” Hadley Kibbe, Tarleton rodeo marketing and event coordinator said. “While we have a large team, a large majority of entries are from the public and surrounding community college rodeo teams. The numbers vary week-to-week based on surrounding area events, but we’ve had anywhere from 40-160 entries in the breakaway roping alone.”

The jackpot starts at 6 p.m with the two ladies events first, goat tying and breakaway, followed by tie-down. 

Tarleton plans to produce the jackpots weekly at the Doty Rodeo Complex every Tuesday night for both college rodeo athletes and open (any aged rider) competitors.

“The Tuesday Night Lights jackpots bring out the best college girls, up and comers, and even the professionals we look up to,” Madison Richmann, a Tarleton rodeo athlete said. “Getting to rope against the best every week only makes you better.”

Although not limited to college rodeo students, all three offered events are ones a lot of Tarleton’s rodeo athletes compete in. 

Goat tying is the event in which a rider rides her horse down the center of the arena as quickly as she can to a goat tethered to a string. She then dismounts her horse, most always while it’s still running, grabs the goat, flanks it (flips it over), and ties three of its legs together. The goat must stay down and tied for six seconds in order to be considered a qualified run. 

At Tuesday Night Lights, goat tying contestants pay a $120 entry in order to make a round one and two run. 

Breakaway and tie-down follow the same system of running two rounds, but with a $150 entry fee instead. 

Tie-down roping is the one men's event at Tuesday Night Lights.

Not only do tie down ropers have a rope in their hand, they also have a string in their mouth to tie with. A tie down roper’s first job is to throw their loop and catch the calf around the neck. Once the calf is secure, they dismount, run to the calf, flank it and tie three of its legs with the string. The calf must stay down for six seconds. If either the roper misses when he throws his loop or the calf gets free before the time’s up, the run is considered a no time. 

Breakaway is similar to tie-down in the fact that a calf is roped, but the difference is the rope simply breaks away once caught around the calf’s neck. The rider stopping her horse once the calf is caught is what causes the rope to snap loose as a result of its continued forward momentum. If a rider misses on her swing and the calf isn’t roped, it’s an unqualified run.   

All three events pay out the fastest qualified times in round one and two along with an aggregate score (a competitor’s times in the first two rounds added together). 

On Tuesday, Sept. 10, goat tying paid the top two fastest times in both rounds and the three fastest in the average. Breakaway paid four spots in both rounds and five in the average, and tie-down paid the top three in round one and two and four in the average.

As a result of higher entry fees, the payout to the winners typically increases, and that’s no exception at Tuesday Night Lights. 

Breakaway roping paid out the highest, awarding $680 to the two round winners and $1,224 to the average winner. The tie-down roping wasn’t too far behind in cash given, followed by goat tying. 

Another major factor that contributes to how much is paid out is the number of entries in each event. 

At the debut Tuesday Night Lights of the new school year, there were 68 breakaway ropers, 29 tie-down ropers and 19 goat tiers. 

It takes dedication from many sources to put on a jackpot with guaranteed crowds on a Tuesday night. 

“It's all hands-on deck - our coaching staff and athletes put on the jackpots each week, from setting up panels, running the events and tearing down,” Kibbe said. “One of our student athletes, Colter Ellis, announces and runs the sound each week.”

Despite the hard work that comes into it, Ellis is grateful to be a part of Tuesday Night Lights. 

“Being an announcer, student and fellow athlete at Tarleton rodeo functions is a dream come true,” Ellis said. “I love hyping up my friends and trying to elevate the atmosphere for both spectators and competitors alike.” 

The college rodeo students especially appreciate the elevated atmosphere and what all it takes to reach that level for a weekday jackpot. 

“Last year when I first came to tour Tarleton, I entered a Tuesday Night Lights jackpot and instantly was impressed with the production, Tarleton team and all of the competitors that showed up,” Richmann said. “As we gear up for the fall college rodeo season, these jackpots have prepared me to get some practice runs in against the best.”

The goal of Tuesday Night Lights is to prepare all rodeo athletes, whether collegiate or professional, and represent what Tarleton rodeo is all about - preserving the values of the sport itself and the cowboys and cowgirls who love it. 

“We like using the term ‘level up’ and competing in a set up like this (the Doty Rodeo Complex) does exactly that for them,” Kibbe said. “The more competitors enter, the better they compete - both mentally and physically. It’s just a great resource to have that opportunity here at home on a weekly basis.”

For more information on entering or spectating the next Tuesday Night Lights, the event’s flier can be found posted on both Tarleton rodeo’s Facebook and Instagram page.