story by Lily Weinacht
Alan Schmidt hails from the Cornhusker State, having grown up on a ranch outside of Arthur, Nebraska. His dad team roped, and Alan, now 31, took up his own rope and started competing in junior rodeos. He junior high and high school rodeoed for Nebraska and joined the NSRA soon after. Today, Alan competes in steer wrestling and tie-down roping, but he also used to team rope. “I like the steer wrestling best – it’s more of an adrenaline rush,” he explains. “I like competing, and it’s fun going to different places. Arthur is one of my favorites, since that’s my hometown rodeo. I’ve done well there.”
Over the years, Alan’s dad, Jim Schmidt, has been his greatest inspiration in rodeo, as well as steer wrestler Paul Cleveland. Alan learned to throw steers at Paul Cleveland’s famous steer wrestling clinics, and he qualified in the event for the 2014 NSRA finals. He’s also competed in the KPRA finals, and enters M-SRA rodeos as well. His dad has since retired from roping, but comes to watch several of Alan’s rodeos every season.
Alan competes on two horses, Ray, 18 and Cope, 15. Ray was his head horse before Alan started steer wrestling off him, and he bought his haze/calf horse, Cope, as a yearling out of a horse his dad had owned. “I also have some younger horses I’m bringing up for when my other two retire.” Alan usually practices several times a week, hauling his horses and steers to arenas in the area. He was traveling with several other steer wrestlers up until last year, when he got married and started traveling with his wife, Nicole. They met when Nicole and her 11-year-old daughter, Mackenzie, moved to Arthur. They have a newborn son, Taw, while Mackenzie enjoys riding horses with Alan.
The Schmidt family lives near the Nebraska Sandhills, a National Natural Landmark that is a habitat for wildlife and millions of birds that fly the North American Central Flyway. Alan helps his dad on the family ranch and has also managed another nearby ranch the last eight years. He enjoys coyote hunting, but juggles the majority of his time between ranching and rodeoing.
Alan won Brush, Colorado’s Fourth of July Rodeo in 2014 in the steer wrestling. His goal is qualifying for what would be his first trip to the M-SRA finals, along with a second trip to the NSRA finals.
