Riders move around a bull in the ProEdge arena in 2023. Courtesy | Micah Hart

InterVarsity will host a trip to ProEdge Rodeo for a night of watching bull riding and mutton busting March 29 at 7 p.m. at ProEdge Arena in Osseo, MI. 

“It’s a very unique experience to have gone to and been a part of,” senior Noah Schmidt said. “It’s a fun thing to do with other people. It’s this big spectacle to go enjoy together with friends.”

According to senior Madelyn Bunch, this is the third time InterVarsity has taken a trip to the rodeo. 

“Professional bull riding is the main event of the rodeo with the Gospel, patriotism, and halftime games thrown in,” Bunch said in an email.

ProEdge Rodeo is hosted every Saturday night from October to April, and junior Anna Teply said the rodeo is explicitly Christian. 

“Before the rodeo starts, they’ll have a message and a couple of worship songs,” Teply said. “Then the rodeo starts, and it’s a typical rodeo with bull riding. It’s really interesting, and a really fun experience.” 

According to Schmidt, the rodeo plays upbeat Christian music, and if someone gets hurt, they stop and pray for them. Schmidt said he thinks mutton busting is one of the best parts of the rodeo.

 “You get these three or four year old kids, and they just cling on to a sheep and the sheep runs around,” Schmidt said. “It’s very funny.”

Bunch said the event serves both as a mode of connecting with students across campus as well as promoting a better cause.

“It’s an exciting evening with friends,” Bunch said. “Attending the event also supports ProEdge’s commitment to sharing the Gospel and supporting healing from addiction that is so prevalent in the rodeo field.”

Bunch said doors open at 6 p.m. and the rodeo begins at 7 p.m.

“I feel like the rodeo is one of those things that should be a bucket list item for people to do before they graduate,” Schmidt said.