Riordan is always searching for ways to fundraise and grow the school, and this year for the school’s 75th anniversary, the Riordan Roundup, headlined by the Cow Plop, returned.

Originally run in the 1990s by Ron Isola ’61, father of Jeff Isola ’98, the Cow Plop is a classic Riordan fundraiser that funded a variety of Riordan projects.

Isola explained that back when the event started, “each square was only $20 and the main prize was $1000,” which is “quite a difference from the prize money in this year’s event.”

While the prize money and costs have gone up, the heart of the unusual event remains the same, with people purchasing squares on the football field and two cows walking around until plopping on a square.

Two cows wandered around Mayer Family Field for nearly half an hour before the event was called. However, as soon as it was pulled off the squares, one of the bovines finally relieved itself.

The winner was instead chosen by a random drawing, and Anthony Pantaleoni ’70 was awarded the grand prize.

The rest of the evening consisted of food, line dancing in the gym, and blackjack in the cafeteria.

Isola said that he “had seen the cow plop idea in an athletic directors’ magazine and thought it would be a fun event to try.”

While it must have been an interesting meeting where he revealed the idea, it got off the ground and was extremely successful to fundraise for the school, like in 2009, where “the money was used to fund various teams’ travel funds.”

This year, Agnello Farms sponsored the event and supplied the two cows. Alex Pavnoff ’01, the owner of the farm, described growing up in a farm environment and wanting to “get his own farm” since his “grandpa was a farmer.”

Isola said, “Obviously it goes to a great cause—supporting Riordan High.”