January 23, 2024 – COMMERCE, TX—The Texas A&M University-Commerce rodeo team looks to have a strong showing at its annual home competition scheduled for February 2-3 at the Hopkins County Regional Civic Center in Sulphur Springs, Texas.
Each day will begin with slack rounds from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., followed by a show performance at 7 p.m. A final round featuring the top 10 competitors in every event will be featured during Saturday’s show.
Homestyle food concessions will be available, and all events will be free and open to the public.
A&M-Commerce Rodeo celebrates a decade of competition this year, and the program’s growth over that time is evident. Starting in 2014 with just 12 members, the team now boasts more than 60 competitors across an array of disciplines.
The program has also seen plenty of success in its first decade.
A&M-Commerce Rodeo has featured a national champion at the College National Finals Rodeo (CNFR) each of the past two years, with Bryana Lehrmann winning the Women’s All-Around title in 2022 and Kincade Henry winning the Tie Down Roping event in 2023. Cutter Carpenter, who finished second in Tie Down Roping at the 2023 CNFR behind Henry, saw his horse “Twix” named the 2023 American Quarter Horse Association’s Horse of the Year in the men’s events.
In addition, several rodeo alums have gone pro after their time at A&M-Commerce and have appeared at the National Finals Rodeo.
Lion rodeo athletes have also excelled in the classroom, with 21 students being named a “Scholar American” by the National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association (NIRA) in the last decade. Head coach Dameon White has been recognized as an NIRA Southern Region Coach of the Year on multiple occasions.
White commented on building the A&M-Commerce Rodeo team from the ground up.
“It has been a blast building this program into a nationally recognized rodeo program,” White said. “These college competitors give it 1000% every time they compete.”
Anyone interested in learning more about the A&M-Commerce Rodeo program may email head coach Dameon White at [email protected] or visit tamuc.edu/rodeo
Photo: Matt Strasen, Texas A&M University-Commerce
