Even though rodeo has been a big part of the Andersen family near Viborg for decades, it wasn't a sport that 18-year old Shane Andersen took seriously until fairly recently. Now as a high school graduate, Shane plans to continue his rodeo career as a college student-athlete.
It’s not uncommon to find a strong rodeo family in South Dakota, but it is a little rarer in the southeast part of the state. The Andersen ranch and arena three miles north of Viborg has existed since 1994, and since it was established, a legacy of rodeo for the family was born.
Leland Andersen has been counting the consecutive years that the Andersen family has had representation at the South Dakota High School Rodeo finals.
"So our kids have been there 12 years, and since my brothers and sisters started too, I think we're looking at 26 years somebody's been at the South Dakota state finals," explained Leland Andersen. "When they were in Rapid City, Heron, Belle Fourche, and now this year Fort Pierce, so we've been blessed to go to all that stuff."
But not everyone in the family was as quick to fall in love with the sport. Shane Andersen, who just graduated from Viborg-Hurley high school this spring, didn’t fall hard for rodeo until right before his freshman year.
"It wasn't something I was interested in. Every year from fifth to eighth grade, my dad would be, "Oh, you want to go to the 4H rodeo?" I'd say, "Yes, I will," to make him happy," Shane Andersen said. "Every time I did it, it just got more fun, and it was something that I enjoyed doing, and going into my freshman year I knew it was something I wanted to do."
Shane now loves rodeo and puts everything he has into it. His favorite event with the sport is steer wrestling.
"The reason I enjoy it is, my brothers, they never did it. Seth and Wyatt, my dad, they never steer wrestled. My Uncle Bill, he's the only one that steer wrestled, and I knew that if I started it, I'd have a good person teaching me the things I need to know and the right techniques," stated Shane Andersen. "Even after college, I plan on especially around the summer when more of them come around, but traveling to rodeos, even out west, they're always fun to go to, and my plan is just to keep the family tradition going, and keep riding, and having fun."
Next fall, Shane will attend Mitchell Tech to continue his rodeo career. Even though he’s now done with high school rodeo, he hopes his best days with the sport are just getting started.
