A 20-year-old Tarleton State University rodeo athlete died Thursday after an accident involving her horse while she was competing at the 81st Annual Sul Ross College Rodeo in Alpine, Texas. Alejandra Franco was in the roping box with her horse when she suffered the injuries that killed her, according to campus officials and her head coach.
Franco competed in breakaway roping, according to CBS News. Tarleton State head rodeo coach Mark Eakin told WFAA that Franco was in the roping box with her horse when the accident occurred, though additional details about exactly how it unfolded were not revealed, as reported by the New York Post. The precise mechanical sequence that led to her fatal injuries in the box remains unaddressed in official reports.
The accident took place inside the S.A.L.E. Arena, a lighted, covered venue on the Sul Ross State University campus that was completely rebuilt in 2020 to modernize its stock handling pens and team horse stalls, per the same account from the university. Sul Ross, in Alpine, is recognized as the birthplace of collegiate rodeo, the school where the National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association was originally founded in 1949.
A Tight-Knit Region Mourns
The Tarleton State rodeo team announced Franco's death Friday, saying she left a lasting impact on everyone who knew her. Tarleton State University president James Hurley said Franco was a cherished member of the school's Tarleton Transition Mentor program, a role that involves welcoming new students to campus, and that she represented the university on the rodeo stage. Hurley said she touched many lives through her smile, leadership, kindness and love, per the university's statement carried by the Post.
Franco's father, Alejandro Franco, remembered his daughter as his light in a letter posted to Facebook. Tarleton State, located in Stephenville roughly 70 miles southwest of Fort Worth, had marked Franco's birthday with a post on its social channels on August 25, weeks before her death. The university has won 37 national championship titles across its rodeo program's history.
The National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association issued a statement offering condolences to Franco's family, teammates and the entire Lone Star Region, acknowledging the shock rippling across the collegiate rodeo community, the same CBS News report notes. The Sul Ross rodeo is part of the Southwest Region.
Competition Continues, Ribbons Handed Out In Her Honor
Sul Ross State announced that competition at the 81st Annual Sul Ross Rodeo would proceed as scheduled in Franco's memory, with professional grief counselors available at the venue to support competing student-athletes. Tarleton State directed grieving students and teammates to its Student Counseling Services, making free support available through a 24-hour hotline at 254-968-9044.
Coach Eakin confirmed that the Tarleton State rodeo team decided to keep competing at the highest level in Franco's memory. The Sul Ross rodeo club said it would distribute purple ribbons at Friday night's performance and called on attendees to wear Tarleton State's purple color in a show of solidarity. A rodeo announcer captured the mood of the arena, saying, according to WFAA, “if one of us hurts, we all hurt.”
An Athlete With Roots On Both Sides Of The Border
Before she rode for Tarleton State, Franco was a member of the Escaramuza Charra El Gran Chaparral team.
Franco's death is a reminder of the physical risks of competitive equestrian sports.
