story by Ruth Nicolaus
Mark Kasperbauer is the 2016 and two-time cutting champion in the Nebraska High School Rodeo Association.
The eighteen year old cowboy lives seven miles south of Spalding, Neb., and for his event, rides a nine year old mare named Harley. Harley, a blue roan, doesn’t have the most pleasant personality in the world, but she’s good at her job. “She’s one of the most athletic horses I’ve been on,” Mark said. “She has a big stop and is very gritty on a cow. Not many cows get by her.” She has a temper and isn’t “very fun to be around,” he said. Mark is able to overlook her character flaws. “She performs well in the cutting pen, so that makes up for it.”
Kasperbauer graduated from Spalding Academy this spring, where he was a starter on the basketball team, played varsity golf, was on the quiz bowl team, honor roll, and is a member of the National Honor Society. He is an active member of the National Cutting Horse Association. Of his three sports, rodeo is his favorite, and he compares golf to rodeo; they’re both mental games, requiring lots of concentration. “You’ve got to keep your cool” in both sports, he said.
For fun, he and his friends like to float in the stock tank on the Cedar River, play golf, and read. His favorites are the classics, including Jules Verne’s books like Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea and Around the World in Eighty Days. He also likes to play the guitar.
This fall, Mark looks forward to attending the University of Nebraska at Kearney and majoring in agri-business. He won’t compete in college rodeo but will team rope at local jackpots.
Mark enters the state finals in first place in the cutting. He’s competed at the National High School Finals the last two years.
His favorite food is his mom’s grilled steak, cooked rare, with Cookie’s Barbecue Sauce and French Fries. His favorite dessert is cherry cheesecake, his favorite soda pop is Squirt, and his favorite candy is Butterfinger bars.
He has two older brothers: Chad and Drew.
He is the son of Jene and Janet Kasperbauer.
