Team member dealing with cancer
By Holly Neumann
The Rodeo City Riders Drill Team is known throughout the area for its patriotism, teamwork and horsemanship skills.
The all-female team performs choreographed routines in honor of U.S. veterans at rodeos in the Great Lakes area. Each rider enters the arena dressed in red, white and blue rodeo attire and carries an American flag while patriotic music plays in the background.
The team had a different look during its final performance of the season.
At this performance, each horse had a yellow ribbon painted on its rear hip and each rider wore a yellow ribbon around their neck in honor of their captain, Tabatha Luepke, who had been diagnosed with Grade 3 chondrosarcoma-soft tissue cancer, following the Mid-Western Rodeo in Manawa.
“It was extremely difficult to find out I had cancer during the rodeo season,” Luepke said. “Not only was I disappointed that my season was cut short, but I was worried that I was letting the team down.”
Luepke sees the Rodeo City Riders as her second family.
“Some of my best friends and family members are part of the drill team,” she said. “It was heartbreaking to tell them.”
“It was difficult knowing that she couldn’t ride with us,” teammate Krystal Paulson said. “However, knowing she was there supporting us and still being our captain on the sideline was huge. She was cheering for all of us.”
The yellow ribbons were a big surprise for Luepke.
“This was a symbol of the type of cancer Tabatha has,” Paulson said. “It was our way to show support and bring awareness.”
“It was very emotional for me to see the support from my team, especially after recently coming home from a setback in the hospital,” Luepke said. “Having that support means the world to me and makes recovery much easier. I have always known I wasn’t in this fight alone, but seeing the ribbons and paint made it all real for me.”
Luepke had surgery in August, in which her whole tumor and part of her spine were removed.
“It was replaced with three rods and 16 pins all held together by 43 staples,” she said. “I am ecstatic to say that I am cancer free. Those two words are such a relief to me, my family and my friends.”
So far, Luepke has had a long recovery with a few setbacks dealing with infection and antibiotics.
She hopes to be riding again during the 2022 rodeo season.
“My and my doctor’s goal is to have me back on a horse in six months,” she said. “I continue to push myself every day and wish recovery could go faster, but it’s going to take some time.”
“Lean on your support system,” Paulson reminded others who are battling the disease. “And know that you are not alone.”