Rodeo Newsletter - Spring 2020

Letter from the Head Coach

Eighty years of tradition. Eighty years of legacy. Eighty years of one of the greatest rodeos and rodeo programs of all time. That was how I originally started my “Letter from the Head Coach.” This newsletter was set to go out as we prepared to host

the largest Poly Royal yet. We were pulling out all the stops, collaborating with the Professional Bull Riders and featuring a prominent country music artist in concert. However, much has changed in the last few months as our country joins an effort to deter COVID-19.

Canceling such a large event seems minuscule compared to the loss and strife many are dealing with at the hands of this pandemic. I can't help but think about how the things that we think are concrete really can be fragile. Jobs, industries and entire ways of life that have developed over years of hard work have simply stopped for many.

It makes me, and I'm sure many of you, stop and appreciate what we do still have. Family and health are the first two things that come to mind for me. I'm blessed to have my wife, children and parents with me here and healthy through this initial wave. It has been a silver lining to this usually hectic time in my year. Eating dinner with my family each night, getting my boys on horseback daily, and reconnecting with my parents has been a godsend. From a rodeo program standpoint, it is our family that we are really appreciating right now. As the stock market seems unstable and as jobs and industries are falling off across the country, so many of our sponsors opted to honor their involvement this year. We understand that no one is truly immune to the economic impact of this recession, and it is heartfelt that they choose to stay with us. This newsletter, once intended to be handed to rodeo spectators, includes stories of our program and highlights the supporters who continue to stand with the Cal Poly Rodeo program to make it the best it can be for our students.

Thank you, everyone. Thank you for all your efforts to keep light at the end of this tunnel for us all. I'm very thankful for all in the Cal Poly Rodeo family. We are a strong bunch. Even though our season fell short, I'm confident we will all carry on and be stronger at the end of this, It’s the silver lining we see in the darkest times, and it's the light of that lining that carries us through.

Best wishes to all of you and your families.

BEN LONDO, HEAD COACH

CAL POLY RODEO PROGRAM