NRM graduate student Emily Brodbeck unveiled as new Masked Rider
Texas Tech University today (April 19) named Lubbock's Emily Brodbeck as its 58th Masked Rider. A graduate student in Texas Tech's Department of Natural
Resources Management, she'll serve in the position for the 2019-20 academic year.
"Having the honor of representing my university as the Masked Rider is something I've dreamed of for a long time," said Brodbeck, who is focusing her research on wildlife, aquatic and wildlands science and management.
During her time at Texas Tech, she has served in several leadership roles with the
Texas Tech Equestrian Team, the Red Raider 4-H Club and the Texas Quarter Horse Youth
Association. Brodbeck served as a Masked Rider assistant and as part of the Field
Safety Team. She's also an on-site resident at the Texas Tech Equestrian Center, and
serves as a volunteer teaching assistant for the Texas Tech's horsemanship courses.
Brodbeck had her first horse-riding lesson when she was just five years old. When she turned nine, her interest in competing led her parents to purchase a show horse named Basic Transportation. Soon, she was riding in local shows with her 4-H Club and the American Quarter Horse Association (AQHA). As a junior in high school, she began riding and showing her third horse, Protect My Chips, and traveled all over the country, continuing to compete even as she graduated from Lubbock High School in 2013 and began her undergraduate degree in biology at Texas Tech.
In all, Brodbeck has earned 15 AQHA all-around awards, nine top-5 and top-10 placements at the Texas State 4-H Horse Show and a top-15 placement at the All-American Quarter Horse Congress in Youth Western Riding. She qualified for the AQHA Youth, Amateur and Open World Shows the past nine years, and in 2017 she and Protect My Chips placed sixth at the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association (IHSA) Alumni Horsemanship semifinals and seventh at the Lucas Oil Amateur World Show, Level 2.
"She's always had nerves of steel and is cool, calm and collected," said Danica Jorgensen, coach of the Texas Tech Equestrian Team.
Brodbeck will graduate with her master's degree in spring 2020, just after her time as Masked Rider ends. She said she hopes to work for the government or a private company as a wildlife biologist. She also has an interest in following in her dad's and grandmother's footsteps, working for the National Park Service. For now, she's looking forward to what she'll accomplish representing the university she loves.
"It's a once-in-a-lifetime thing, and she'll do an incredible job," said Todd Brodbeck, the new Masked Rider's father.
CONTACT: Mark Wallace, Chairman, Department of Natural Resources Management, Texas Tech University at (806) 742-2841 or mark.wallace@ttu.edu
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