Wildcats “stirrup” passion with UK Rodeo Team

California native Amelia Torretto has been riding horses since she was five years old but didn’t start rodeo until her senior year of high school. Just learning how to do barrel racing and pole bending, her peers had a head start when she joined her school’s junior rodeo team.

Amelia Torroteo poses for a portrait while leaning against a gate at K Bar C Ranch on Friday, Aug. 9, 2024, in Wilmore, Ky. Photo by Karsten VanMeter

“I don’t come from a rodeo family so everything I learned, I learned on my own or with the help of my friends and trainers. I felt like I was always a little bit behind and had to work twice as hard to get to where I am,” Torretto said.

Now a junior at the University of Kentucky, Torretto is the vice president of the rodeo team, where she does barrel racing and team roping. 

When she joined the team her freshman year, the rodeo team was still relatively new and had few members. This season, 15 barrel racers alone have joined the team, according to Torretto.

Torretto said one factor that drew her to UK was Lexington being considered one of the “equine capitals of the country.”

She said rodeo members come from all across the country, where they practice to compete in the National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association [NIRA].

According to president Matthew McGee, schools in the West have rodeo programs that are comparable to Division I basketball programs. He said some schools have multi-million dollar facilities, offer scholarships and recruit members.

While UK is not on this level when it comes to rodeo, McGee said he wants to work to get the rodeo team’s name out there.

“We don’t really have a big name for ourselves in the region or in college rodeo, so I want to send some people to College Nationals Finals Rodeo (CNFR) and put us on the map, and hopefully if that happens, we can get funding from the university and maybe … get a couple more glances,” McGee said. 

One of the club's driving principles is to promote and develop rodeo. Even if they can’t garner more attention and members, McGee said he’s happy to educate others and help his team develop their skills. 

Matthew McGee smiles after picking up his hat following a fall from a horse at K Bar C Ranch on Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024, in Wilmore, Ky. Photo by Karsten VanMeter

While some members like Torretto join the team as seasoned riders, not all have the same story. 

Gabe Martin, a senior bull rider, came to UK from Delaware. Growing up watching rodeos on TV, Martin said he’d always wanted to ride bulls but the lack of access forced him to brush it off as a childhood dream.

Years later, during freshman orientation, Martin said he was about to leave but instead turned back around and saw the rodeo team’s booth.

“I was like ‘do I need to know anything?’ and she was like ‘nope, we’ll teach you everything,’ I haven’t looked back since,” Martin said.

Now one of the team’s few traveling members, Martin travels to compete against schools in the Ozark region, the closest one being Murray State University, a four-hour drive from UK. Martin said he’s lucky to have had understanding professors but sometimes has to attend a Zoom class while on the road to a competition or do homework in hotels.

Martin said when he started competing, he quickly learned that UK doesn’t endorse the rodeo team, leaving the financial responsibility up to them, but Martin doesn’t let this stop him from riding.

“It's kind of like a motivator really, like you don’t think we’re anything, I’m about to show you we’re something,” Martin said.

Since day one, Martin said he’d been itching to get on bulls, but his coaches told him he needed to practice and build up the muscle to prove he was ready.

Martin said his first time on a bull was at a weekend rodeo during his first semester of college.

“There’s so much adrenaline you black out. I remember being face down in the dirt and getting up and being angry with myself, but I was ready to get on another one,” Martin said. 

More than just a sport to Martin, he said he feels it’s “divine intervention” that allows him to walk out of the arena safely. 

A rider jumps over a barrel obstacle on horseback during a practice session at K Bar C Ranch on Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024, in Wilmore, Ky. Photo by Karsten VanMeter

“I owe a lot of what I have through rodeo to God. I feel like I was very lost when I came to school, and it was a God send that he put me on the rodeo team and … I’ve been able to see how blessed I truly am to be able to go and do this,” Martin said. 

McGee also joined having never ridden a horse or been around livestock. He joined the rodeo team his freshman year after riding a bull one weekend in Ohio and has spent the last year training and trying to educate others on rodeo.

McGee said that while some people think it’s “animal cruelty,” the barrel racers adore and care for their horses and do everything they can to keep them healthy.

“Within rodeo, what a lot of people don’t realize is the animals are treated like athletes, so they’re very respected, they’re treated well whether that’s at home or in the arena. It’s really a congregation of people that love animals,” McGee said.

Torretto, who also owns her own equine therapy business, emphasizes the importance of maintaining the horse’s health in rodeo. To succeed, riders have to know what to feed their horse, take them to the vet regularly, perform bodywork and massage on the horse.

Torretto said that some members struggle with affording the care a horse needs, yet another financial responsibility that could be alleviated by school funding.

Despite rodeo being all about competing, oftentimes for a cash reward, Toretto said that’s not what she rides for.

“I’m in it for myself and to break my own personal records and to make sure my horses are happy and healthy, and build a good reputation for myself,” Torretto said.

Torretto said it’s nice to be surrounded by people with the same goals and morals as herself, that the environment has always been welcoming and being a woman in rodeo has never been an issue.

Amelia Torroteo feeds a horse named Stetson at Three Crowns Farm on Friday, Aug. 9, 2024, in Lexington, Ky. Photo by Karsten VanMeter

While bull riding may be the skill most commonly associated with rodeo, barrel racing is made up of mainly women. According to McGee, out of the team’s almost 30 members, over half are women.

Ava Vrany, a senior team roper, has been doing rodeo since middle school and joined UK’s team her freshman year. 

An equine science and management major, Vrany said that while she hasn’t faced challenges due to her being a woman in rodeo, she has felt the impact in her professional life in the agriculture field.

“I’ve seen how it’s been a male-dominated sport in the past, but I believe changes have been made … women have been a part of the rodeo world since the beginning. I think the future has so much to hold for women in the rodeo industry,” Vrany said.

One thing is clear with this team: their passion for rodeo is unlike any other sport. Bull rider Martin said he was able to find a place close to home in New Jersey to ride when he’s away from school.

“If you’re really ate up with it, you’ll find somewhere to ride. Whether it’s an hour away or ten hours away, you’ll find it,” Martin said.

Torretto hopes to continue to make a name for herself and build up the business that she started her freshman year. Though she’d never planned on becoming a barrel race trainer, Torretto said that as she continues to win shows, more and more people are reaching out to her to train their horses.

Photo by Karsten VanMeter

“It’s interesting now to have a lot more eyes on me, having people counting on me, looking up to me. I remember being younger and being that girl that would look up to the other ones and be like ‘that’s what I want to be when I’m older’ and now, I’m her,” Torretto said.

With the rodeo team’s season just beginning, these riders will be spending their time practicing for competitions and training the influx of new members. At practice, Martin and McGee show new bull riders how to mount a horse, while Torretto helps when needed and lends advice to new barrel racers. Torretto said she tries to teach the girls that showing up and putting in the work is how they’ll see results.

Martin said that despite rodeo being a very individual sport, the camaraderie in it is like nothing he’s ever experienced. When traveling, members and coaches from schools he’s competing against will support and help out. Torretto said the rodeo team is where she found all her healthiest friendships in college.

“Rodeo is bigger than winning or losing. It’s definitely a family and the deeper you get into it, the more you feel it,” Martin said.