Eric Gewecke – Hubbell Rodeo Photos
story by Lindsay Whelchel
Eric Gewecke grew up in a family of ropers, but that didn’t stop him from climbing on the back of a bucking bronc.
“We have an arena at my parents’ house, and me and my brother would rope after school through high school, but then my senior year I just decided to try out saddle bronc riding,” Eric said and added, “It’s always been fun to watch, and the classic event. My grandfather rode saddle broncs. It was just something that I kind of got an itch to try and as soon as I tried it, I was hooked.”
Though he still picks up a rope as a tie down roper and team roper in his quest for All-Around honors in the Northwest Ranch Cowboys Association, a title he’s won for the last two years, Eric is fully immersed in saddle bronc riding. He picked it up just in time in high school to make it to the National High School Finals in the event his senior year, and during his sophomore year of college he left his home state of Wyoming to move to South Dakota and compete in the rodeos there during the summers.
Now days, at 24 years old, Eric has his bachelors degree in Ag Business, lives in Red Owl, S.D, and is the director of the saddle bronc riding for the NRCA alongside his friend and traveling partner, Jake Moreland. When he’s not competing in the NRCA, going after another finals spot or in pro rodeos in his quest for a Mountain States Circuit Finals qualification, Eric works at CR Dreamworks, a custom cabinets manufacturer. He likes to hunt and fish in his free time.
“In the fall me and my family go elk hunting, and anytime we get a spare afternoon, fishing is kind of a must,” he laughed.
But mostly, Eric just loves to rodeo.
“The people are great, because you get to go all over and meet people from everywhere, and you get to experience everything. I’ve had a roommate from southern California, and we’ve been to Texas and North Dakota and Minnesota and everywhere, so it’s fun to see everything there is and get to rodeo along the way,” he said.
Rodeo has helped Eric see the world, but it’s also helped him learn about himself.
“I think it mainly teaches you how to take care of yourself, and I mean that like you have to keep a strong mind in rodeo, you can’t get down on yourself. Especially in an event like saddle bronc riding and team roping too, it’s a mental game, and if your mental game goes down and you lose your confidence, then you’re not going to win.”
He credits his traveling partner with helping maintain the morale.
“For me and Jake, when we’re going, the main thing is to keep a positive attitude, keep having fun, because you know, the reason we’re doing this is because we like it, and it’s supposed to be fun, so we just always try to keep a positive attitude and make it a good time.”
And with rodeo season in full swing, that good time is not hard to find.
