ISU Rodeo Team Members Receive Road Scholarships

Ivy Schifflett is a sophomore at Idaho State University. Her major is secondary education with an emphasis in English, and a minor in business education. Keston Pallesen is a sophomore majoring in diesel technology.

What do the two have in common? They are both members of the Idaho State University Rodeo, and they both received Road Scholarships which helped them be able to attend college.

“The influence of having scholarships from the school itself and the rodeo team greatly encouraged me to go to school at ISU,” Pallesen says. “Without scholarships I wouldn’t be able to attend school at all.”

Schifflett says that the Road Scholarship impacted her education in a huge way. 

“It relieved financial stress,” she says, “and it ensures I can be a part of a club like the rodeo team here at ISU.”

ISU Rodeo club members compete nationally through an association called the National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association (NIRA). Pallesen likens it to the NCAA, but for rodeo. 

The association has divided the nation into eleven different regions and ISU is a part of the Rocky Mountain region. 

“In this region we compete against ten different schools from Idaho through Utah all the way down to Colorado,” Pallesen says. “Each school puts on a rodeo and we travel to them in our own vehicles.”

At the end of the regional rodeos the top three in each event, and top men and women’s teams, compete in Casper, Wyoming at the College National Finals Rodeo.

Pallesen and Shifflett both say they got their start in rodeo, similarly to how kids who grow up playing other sports such as basketball do.

“I started riding sheep when I was six and just continued from there,” Pallesen says. “I started rodeo about how a kid usually starts basketball or football. You see it on the tv or your mom and dad do it and you want to try. Instead of joining a school team though, parents are the coach and you take yourself to competitions.”

Shifflett started rodeo in junior high. She says she does the sport because she feels like it has core values that represent the western heritage, and she wants to be part of that.

“I wish people knew that rodeo is a sport and that we are athletes,” she says.

Pallesen says something similar. “I wish more people knew that there were levels to do just like other sports. Most people don’t realize it’s a highschool and collegiate sport.”

Schifflett, from Dubois, Idaho, competes in breakaway and team roping, and this year is excited to have her sister on the team with her. She says her career goal is to inspire future generations.

“I love my coach Kindee Wilson, and I love my teammates,” she says. “It is a fun and competitive group of athletes that are here to win!”

Pallesen, from Swan Lake just north of Preston, went to Marsh Valley High School growing up. He competes in calf roping and team roping. He would one day like to own his own diesel shop and work for himself.

ISU Rodeo Club’s schedule can be found online on the NIRA website. Events cost $5 for students, and are held at the fairgrounds in Pocatello. People can also stay updated by following isu_rodeo on Instagram or Idaho State University Rodeo Team on Facebook.