All Posts - The Stallion

ABAC Wildlife Society Goes to Conclave

-

May 8, 2026

This spring semester, ABAC’s Wildlife Society went to the University of Florida and competed in the 2026 Southeastern Conclave Conference. The conclave is split into two areas of competition, individual and team competitions.

ABAC’s team placed second in team competition, first in obstacle course and first in drawing. This was the result of hours of student-driven preparation and studying. Wildlife Society President Ethan Stark says, “We don’t practice as a club for really any of the individuals that’s left off to the individual person, but we do have Quiz Bowl practice every week.” This success is the result of individual students taking the initiative to prepare themselves.

The Wildlife Society’s Quiz Bowl section prepared akin to Jeopardy contestants, with Stark saying at practice they will “buzz for the question, and if you get it right there is a bonus question for the entire team to work on.” The Quiz Bowl practices are conducted with advisors, and with specific items to prepare in mind. The questions asked depend on the region the team will be competing in, for example, this year the competition was in Florida, so the team prepared with Florida specific terms.

Another point of pride for this year’s team was ABAC having a competitor in every category of the competition. This allowed for maximum points to be earned. There were two aforementioned first place finishers; ABAC placed fourth in taxonomy, field measurements, and archery. Additionally, two fifth place finishers in canoeing and bait casting. Each of these skills take hours of preparation to develop, and to receive so much success in competition with larger schools is a huge accomplishment.

The types of competitors ABAC faces when going to the Southeastern Conclave Conference are the likes of Auburn, UGA, Clemson, and UT. Entering a competition against nineteen other schools, and those schools being larger than ABAC, can be intimidating. To prepare in the best way, Stark established a good culture for the team. “We took a more ‘try out best and have fun approach to it last year, and it was very competitive and we wanted to win. But I wanted to let everybody kind of relax and just have fun when we got to Conclave this year.”

Conclave isn’t just a competition; it’s a networking opportunity. As Stark puts it, “With it bringing in all these different colleges now, you meet a lot of different people that you’re gonna see in the workforce because the wildlife career is a smaller one. You recognize people and make connections.” This can be a huge asset when thinking about graduate school, particularly with the professor connections from the larger institutions that go to compete.

The ABAC Wildlife Society has established a strong team culture that allows students to pursue their individual interests while benefiting the overall team, being student-led and committing the appropriate amounts of time to prepare well for the competition. Thus, the team saw great success against large institutions, bringing a shining light on the Wildlife Program, and ABAC as a campus overall.

Gee Haw, Woah Back: ABAC’s Rodeo!

Anika Rehberg

-

May 8, 2026

0

The Gee-Haw Woah Back Rodeo returned to ABAC on Friday, April 10^th and Saturday, April 11^th, hosted in conjunction with ABAC’s Foundation and Alumni Associations, 4L Rodeo, and ABAC’s Rodeo Club. These institutions, alongside the community of Tifton, make ABAC’s annual rodeo possible.

The main organizer of this event is Ms. Hillery Culpepper, who is a development officer for the Office of Advancement, working with the ABAC Foundation and Alumni Association. Ms. Culpepper worked hard throughout homecoming week to bring campus together, defining homecoming overall for Ms. Culpepper. When discussing how campus comes together, Ms. Culpepper highlighted ABAC Police Department, Sodexo, the Rodeo Club, Agronomy Club, Forestry Club, AGR, and AET Club. The entirety of campus comes together and welcomes everyone onto campus, providing a space for the community of Tifton to come together.

ABAC’s Rodeo Club played a major role in the rodeo organizing and providing volunteers for the night. The Rodeo plays a huge role for the club members as well, by working the Rodeo ABAC students are exposed to the operations of a rodeo, and provided an opportunity to work on the skills rodeo necessitates. With 4L Rodeo coming in and providing the necessary animals required for rodeo competition, alongside judges, the Gee-Haw Woah Back Rodeo is an IRPA and PCA sanctioned event, allowing competitors to rack up points towards national rodeo competitions. This is a welcomed opportunity by Rodeo Club members.

Rodeo Club President Olivia Mitchell testified to such opportunity, discussing rodeo club members participating in rodeo photography and organization alongside actual competition in the weekend’s events. Mitchell also reminisced on last year’s rodeo, discussing how it allowed her “to meet the announcer, who has helped me and our photographer a lot. We talk to him probably four times a week, and he’s helped Ashley (photographer) get into PCA photography.” She also credited this connection for helping her secure a job post-graduate and attributed a lot of her success to the networking that happens at the rodeo.

ABAC Students look forward to the rodeo because it provides opportunities for them to practice skills that struggle to get practiced. For example, student Buck Watkins, who is a junior Livestock Production major. When preparing for an event like this, “I rope a couple of times during the week to get my horse right, get myself right.” To prepare even further, students in the Rodeo Club will get together and carpool to towns close-by to practice with livestock. This isn’t available on ABAC’s campus when it comes to rodeo events that require livestock, but events like barrel racing can be practiced on campus.

ABAC’s Gee-Haw Woah Back Rodeo is a much-anticipated event, hosted by the collective campus for the community of Tifton. Providing this special environment for people of all ages to come and make core memories, and a night full of entertainment and laughter is a point of pride for ABAC as a whole.