Rashi Chopra, graduate student in computer science, walked into Weber Arena expecting something completely different from the rodeo she actually saw.

Chopra is from India and had never heard of a rodeo before, let alone seen one. The American National Anthem blared through the doors as Chopra entered the dimmed arena, giving her a first impression of "rodeo culture." She said her first thought was, "Wow."

"The smell, the costumes - the audience people even wore that attire - the full-time commentary, the music, everything ... We just entered and you feel like you're not in central Kansas anymore," Chopra said.

K-State had its annual KSU Collegiate Rodeo Friday night to Sunday night. The winners of the previous rounds on Friday and Saturday went on to compete against each other Sunday afternoon and night.

Chopra said she had never seen these kinds of sports before. They don't have anything like it in India. She said that horse-riding is only done at amusement parks for children in her country.

"Basically horses are used to carry goods," she said. "People riding on animals is very different. I was afraid to see people actually riding and thought they might get hurt. But it was very exciting when I saw the first ride."

Se Jin Kim, freshman in computer engineering, is from Korea and this is his first semester at K-State. He said that people in his country don't ride horses or bulls for sport but use them strictly as work animals.

"If the cow is hurt, that's a big problem for my country, for farming," Kim said.

But despite the possibility of injuring the animals, Kim said the rodeo was exciting with all the large animals. He said his favorite event was bull-riding, and considered the riders quite brave.

"I think it's the biggest part of the rodeo. It must be dangerous," Kim said. "I was surprised. I had never seen that kind of thing before."

Chopra said she thought the steer wrestling was the most dangerous event because the irritated bulls could have hurt the contestants with their horns.

Kim said the rodeo attire also was new to him. He had only seen cowboy boots and Stetsons on TV and in movies.

"Their clothing had the cowboy Texas touch," she said. "They had the whole costume. I don't think anything was missing.

The men's rodeo events included bareback riding, tie-down calf roping, saddle bronco riding, steer wrestling, and bull riding. Women's events included breakaway roping, goat tying, and barrel racing. Team roping was a coed sport.

Jerod Struthers, junior in finance, competed in the team roping event. He said he has been riding in rodeos since his freshman year of college.

"My family farms a ranch, so I've always ridden horses," Struthers said. "It's like if you grow up in town, your parents and siblings play football."

He said his favorite part of the rodeo is having all the people there watching the events.

"All your friends get together - it's a good time," he said.

Chopra said she was surprised at how many people were packed into the arena. It was standing room only and the stands were a sea of cowboy hats.

"I didn't think it would be on such a large scale with all those people," Chopra said. "I didn't think it was that popular."