MISSOULA — When you rodeo, the ride doesn’t always go your way.
Especially when you’re a rookie.
“I never rodeoed or anything — jumped my first steer about a year ago today," Montana Tech steer wrestler Justus Peterson said. "Never got into it until, really, last year and thought I'd give it a go.”
But Peterson isn’t your typical college rodeo newbie.
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“I grew up around rodeo," he said. "My dad rodeoed and my uncles and my grandpa. Grandpa was a world champ. My dad was a two-time college national champ, so I always grew up around it and just wanted to do it.”
Growing up in Dillon, though, traditional high school sports took first priority. Peterson was an all-state football player and track athlete at Beaverhead County High School.
That led him to a college football career at Montana Tech.
“I love the programs down there — got a construction management degree, going into welding right now, I love the programs," Peterson said of why he chose Montana Tech over hometown Montana Western. "Love the football aspect. The coaches were great. Just fell in love with Butte.”
So much so that he’s having a hard time leaving the Diggers.
He’s wrapping up his fifth year at Tech this spring and will be back in the fall to begin his sixth year of schooling.
"With the Covid year, I got another year of eligibility technically, so I'm going to stay, finish up, get a machining degree that kind of correlates with the welding," Peterson said. "And I can actually rodeo fall and spring, and then do indoor and outdoor track, too.”
That’s right — with his football-playing days behind him, Peterson is now a two-sport athlete for the Diggers, competing in this spring rodeo season as well as the outdoor track and field season.
As a team, Tech placed second at the recent Frontier Conference track championships.
But in the rodeo arena, Peterson represents the Diggers all on his own.
“It's all me right now, but, living in Dillon, we got an arena at our ranch south of town, so run down there every now and then and practice and stuff," Peterson said.
As Tech’s only rodeo athlete, Peterson has been forced to put aside the Diggers’ rivalry with Montana Western.
“Get along with the Western guys really good. They come out to our place and practice and run steers, got to know them really good," Peterson said. "Like, Jhet Murphy was hazing for me (at the University of Montana Spring Rodeo). He's been hazing for me throughout this whole season, so definitely a great group of guys down there, too.”
Peterson will often travel with his Western counterparts to split fuel costs.
Rodeo, after all, is largely self-funded.
"There's so much involved," Peterson said. "And I'm lucky that I'm blessed with a great family that helps me out, and my family's so supportive of it. My dad's been helping me with horses and getting them all worked out, but it's definitely worth it once you back into the box. The adrenaline's going, and there's not quite a different feeling that can replicate that.”
Peterson failed to make the short go at the University of Montana rodeo, but he did find some success at others this spring.
"The biggest thing is having a good horse that can get you in the right position and then just trying to slow things down, getting the horns nice and tight to your body, being able to get that nose deep, getting your feet to place out right, and see where the chips fall," Peterson said of what it takes to have a successful bulldogging run.
And he has got the itch now. He’ll try his hand on the pro circuit this summer before returning to Tech to give it another go in the fall.
“I think it's just the thrill, the excitement, ... just the adrenaline and being able to travel and make memories and see cool places with a great group of guys," Peterson said. "It's been really fun.”
