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Little do we realize that athletes who live and breathe the sport of rodeo are building strong resumes with a laundry list of compelling character-building traits. These admirable traits gain momentum in the arena and are showcased in their chosen field of work.
Endless opportunities show up behind the rodeo scene, giving individuals the window to expand on their passion whether inside the arena fence or out. A unique and cutting-edge opportunity presented itself to Colton Carlson of Jamestown, N.D., integrating his pre-med degree and the sport of rodeo.
Carlson unpacks his new venture in this interview. However, it only hits the tip of the iceberg on what is yet to come.
Where did you begin your college career, and what is the degree you are pursuing?
“I started my college career at South Dakota State University in Brookings, S.D. where I received a bachelor’s degree and majored in Human Biology while rodeoing for the SDSU Team all 4 years. I am continuing my education at the University of South Dakota in Vermillion, enrolled as a medical student. I used my grad school year of eligibility to rodeo for USD last year.”
How has college rodeo played a part in the education you are working towards?
“College rodeo has provided leadership opportunities to help me grow individually and has become a great resume builder as I further my education. Medical school is extremely difficult to get accepted into with almost all medical schools having an acceptance rate of less than 10%. This challenge has pre-med students searching for ways to stand out from the crowd from doing research work to assisting teachers to tutoring classes. I am extremely fortunate as my passion and involvement in rodeo has been the perfect niche. In most of my medical school interviews, the admissions board loved that I competed in rodeo and wanted to talk more about that than anything school related. I believe being a rodeo athlete has helped me stand out from other applicants and is a big reason why I was accepted into the program.”
An opportunity came your way that intertwined your studies and rodeo, which has been fascinating to say the least. Please share with us the research project that you are doing.
“I was introduced to Dr. Jacob Miller, a sports medicine doctor from Aberdeen, S.D. who did a study with the SDSU Rodeo Team while I was working towards my bachelor’s degree. After I was accepted into medical school, Dr. Miller reached out to see if I would be interested in being a part of a project that he was considering doing with Dr. Thayne Munce, a sports scientist at the Sanford Sports Medicine Institute.”
“Dr. Munce has spent his career researching head impacts in athletes, mainly in youth football players. The sensors that he used in these studies were contained within the helmets which limited his study to sports with a helmet. However, in the last year, Dr. Munce received access to brand new impact monitoring mouthguards with sensors that measure any impact happening to the head just as accurately as the helmet, but without the bulk. Dr. Munce was very excited to use this new technology to expand his research into different sports. Dr Miller and I urged him to consider trying the new technology on rodeo athletes who compete in rough stock events, since there is lack of research in this area.”
“I recruited several bareback, saddle bronc and bull riders in the Great Plains College Region to wear the monitoring mouthguards during their event throughout the spring college rodeo season. Along with the measurements from the mouthguards, we also videoed all of the rides to categorize the impacts based on how it happened; impact with the animal, whiplash, impact with the ground, etc. With this information we were able to determine exactly at what point impacts occurred in each event, how often they are happening and how severe the impacts are. We are optimistic that this data will direct us on how to lessen the impact or prevent it.”
How do you plan to use the research to improve the safety of rough stock athletes?
“We hope to use this research to improve the safety equipment that is used for rodeo athletes from amateurs to pros. Right now, most rough stock riders use helmets and safety gear that were developed for hockey or football players. While this gear is better than nothing, it is made for sports that don’t have nearly the impacts rough stock riders experience, plus the impacts come from completely different locations. Even the equipment that is made specifically for rodeo athletes often is based on personal experience and preference with no research behind it. With our research, we hope to guide companies in creating safety equipment that is suited specifically for rodeo athletes. Having specific equipment designed for the event will help the athlete perform at their best while being protected as much as possible from the smallest to the biggest impacts. Sports such as football and hockey have been doing this for decades, but we’re just getting it started in rodeo!”
Head Impact Readout [Image: submitted]
“The picture is of one of the images that we get from our head impact mouthguards. These images give a visual representation of where an impact occurs. This particular image shows an impact to the lower back of the head in bull riding, which occurs when riders get bucked off and fall backwards to hit their head on the ground. The data displays that this is one of the highest forces and most common impacts in the bull riding, which is something we did not expect. These images are accompanied by the straight-line G-force, rotational G-force, acceleration, exact time, and many other measures related to the impact!”
Who has inspired you in and out of the arena?
“My dad, Greg Carlson, is my coach and biggest supporter, inspiring me both in and out of the arena. He was very successful in team roping, calf roping, and steer wrestling when he was younger, earning the NDHSRA championship in all 3 events along with the right to compete at College National Finals in all three events. Outside of the arena, he was able to graduate from veterinary school and start his own vet practice in Jamestown while raising three kids. I admire how he put his family and career first, managing success in all areas while continuing to rodeo.”
To wrap it up, please share a piece of wisdom or quote you live by.
“I feel like I’m much too young to be giving out wisdom when I usually feel like I don’t have enough for myself! Right now, my goal in life has been to just pursue every opportunity that comes my way to its fullest extent. It sometimes leaves me overscheduled and way busier than I’d like, but some of these opportunities have led to some great experiences such as this project. I’d rather be too busy than be sitting around regretting missed opportunities.”
