Beatrice man back in the saddle at rodeo

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BY TOMMY DAHLK / Lincoln Journal Stars

There really aren’t too many professional cowboys in Nebraska.

That’s what rodeo participant Shad Chaloupek has learned since he moved to Beatrice a couple of years ago after spending most of his life in Beaver, Okla. and Amarillo, Texas.

So in Beatrice, Chaloupek has become known as “the cowboy,” and his neighbors beg him to share rodeo stories he encountered growing up.

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Shad Chaloupek of Beatrice rides Silver Fox during his second ride in the bareback competition of the PRCA Championship Rodeo at Pershing Center on Friday night. (William Lauer)

Shad Chaloupek of Beatrice rides Silver Fox during his second ride in the bareback competition of the PRCA Championship Rodeo at Pershing Center on Friday night. (William Lauer)

“I’ve told my neighbors stories about the rodeo,” Chaloupek said. “They just eat them up.”

Finally, Chaloupek got to show his neighbors the rodeo first-hand,  as more than 40 of his neighbors  made it to Lincoln to watch him compete in the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association Championship Rodeo.

Chaloupek competed in the bareback bronc riding. Unfortunately, he didn’t fare as well as he would have like. He was disqualified in the first round but came back and scored 57 points in the second.

Although Chaloupek hoped to win the event, he admitted it is just great to compete, because he hasn’t been able to very often since he came to Nebraska with his wife so that she could attend the University of Nebraska College of Dentistry.

Two years ago, Chaloupek broke four ribs and punctured a lung. The injuries kept him out of competition.

Finally, he decided it was time for a comeback.

“I decided it was finally time to go hard again,” Chaloupek said. “I haven’t practiced much because nobody around here has bucking horses. But it’s kind of like riding a bike for me, and you don’t forget how to do it.”

For Chaloupek, rodeo might come easier than riding a bike. He started competing in amateur events when he was 13. 

Chaloupek concentrated on rodeo growing up in Oklahoma and never seriously got into any other sports, not even football.

“People asked me to play football because I was bigger, and football is pretty big down there,” Chaloupek said. “If you don’t know, we have a little football team down there called the Sooners that are pretty good. I didn’t want to play it, though. I wanted something a little more to beat on me.”

Concentrating on rodeo proved to be a wise choice. He eventually recieved a full-ride scholarship to compete in rodeo at Eastern New Mexico University.

Competing in rodeo on the collegiate level was quite the thrill.

“You can’t compare the rodeo down there to the ones up here,” Chaloupek said. “It is just amazing down there. It is just like what Nebraska football is up here.”

But now Chaloupek finds himself in Beatrice and is a welder who owns his own business, building fences.

Although Chaloupek and his wife love Beatrice, they look to go back down South with their 7-month-old son after she gets her degree in four months. Until then, Chaloupek is looking to compete in some more rodeos here.

“The people here are amazing, and we love them,” Chaloupek said. “But it’s just so cold here.”

Reach Tommy Dahlk at 473-7431 or tdahlk@journalstar.com.