Chris Richards / staff
Rene Rodriguez participates in rodeos across the country. In 1999, he placed fifth in the nation in the National High School Finals Rodeo in Gillette, Wyo.
Cholla High Magnet student 'riding horses since I was a baby'
By Angela Soto
ARIZONA DAILY STAR
Roping is in Rene G. Rodriguez's blood.
"I've been riding horses ever since I was a little baby," said Rodriguez, 18, and a senior at Cholla High Magnet School. "My grandfather is part of a pioneer ranching family called the Gallegos."
Rodriguez, who participates in rodeos across the country, competes with Wrangler High School All-Star Rodeo Team. He placed fifth in the nation for team roping at the 1999 National High School Finals Rodeo in Gillette, Wyo.
His favorite event is team roping, in which he and a partner tie up a calf in a race against the clock.
"I love to rope," he said. "All the pressure isn't just on me, I have a partner to help me out."
In a sport where one slip-up can mean serious injury, intense concentration is key, Rodriguez said.
"You have to stay focused and visualize the run," he said. "Once the gate is open, my mind is blank."
Rodriguez lives on the West Side in a ranch-style home crowded with buckles and saddles - all rodeo trophies - along with two sisters, his mother, a teacher, and father, a middle school counselor. On the family's 5-acre spread, he practices roping three hours a day, four times a week.
"I try to stay modest about my roping, and I know there's lots of room for improvement," Rodriguez said.
His hands are rough and calloused from constantly clenching nylon rope. His compact, athletic body has been stepped on by his horse, Valentine, and even thrown off a couple of times. But he loves the sport - injuries and all.
"Although I plan to go into education like my parents, I plan to always have rodeo in my life," he said.
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