Rodeo Life

Author: Siri Stevens

  • On The Trail with Shelley Morgan

    On The Trail with Shelley Morgan

    “When I look back, it was God’s perfect timing on every aspect of my life,” said Shelley Morgan, the 2022 AMERICAN champion barrel racer. Winning $100,000 in Arlington, Texas, on March 6, was the most money she has won at a single event. She plans to take the money and “tithe 10% to the church and put the rest in my fuel tank.” The 49-year-old from Canton, Texas, has never craved the spotlight, but the stage she was on in Arlington was “pretty cool.” Canton is located an hour southeast of Dallas with a population of 3,805. Shelley grew up there and that is where she and Rex raised their two sons. Before competing in barrel racing full-time she taught school and coached basketball for six years.

    After winning the 2008 barrel racing title in the United Pro Rodeo Association, Shelley and Rex made the decision to buy her pro card. “I had a great horse, Short Go, and we thought we could have a run at the NFR.” Short Go and Shelley made that goal in 2009. “The first year was a huge learning curve,” she admits. “We were kind of dumb – we entered a lot, mapping out where we went according to the rodeos and their location. Short Go got off his feed and I learned about ulcers. We got all that fixed and then in 09 we were going for it all. The boys (Zach and Tanner) went everywhere with us.” Shelley describes the adventure as amazing. “To be able to do what you love and do and have your family there; what more could you ask for. I stole my husband from his job and we probably didn’t make any money, but it was great.” Rex had built his own company, Eagle Security, from the ground up and thanks to reliable help, he was able to go with Shelley and the boys.

    Shelley was 14th coming into the NFR in 2009, and finished the year 10th with $103,960. She placed in four out of ten rounds. In February of 2010, her run for another spot at the NFR came to a screeching halt. “I was at San Angelo; Lisa Lockhart and I had traveled back there from Tucson,” she explained. They turned their horses out in paddocks next to the arena and went to grab some lunch. While they were gone, Short Go kicked through the wooden panels and brought them down on top of him, breaking his back legs in half. “We sat there with him until the vet got there and put him down. I called my mom and dad (Bobby and Barbara Bridwell) who live in Canton. He loaded up his stock trailer and drove six hours to get him.” Short Go is buried outside the family’s arena.

    Without another horse, Shelley went home to start over again. “The boys had gotten to the age when they wanted to stay home and get involved in sports, so the timing was perfect,” she said. “I went to all their games and started looking for, buying, and training horses.” She competed locally and eventually found the next horse, Radar, to take down the road. “We don’t have the money to go buy big named horses,” she said. Shelley has ridden her whole life and started competing in high school, training all the horses she competed on. “We buy prospects and I train them.” The family has 220 acres including a 55-acre hay meadow. Together with her parents, they run 75 head of cattle, and Shelley has around 10 horses on the place.

    Her dad, along with other people they know, help find horses for Shelley to work with. When she found Radar, she admits she didn’t like him much. “That horse took up barrels like you wouldn’t believe and ran fast as lightning.” Shelley missed the NFR the first year aboard Radar by less than $1,000 – his feet got sore, and the duo had a hard time finishing the year strong. After that, Radar developed some bad habits, and it was back to searching once again for the perfect horse.

    Kiss is the mount that took Shelley to the pay window at The AMERICAN, ponied into the arena by her former mount, Radar, who has turned into a rock-solid pony horse. “You can drop his reins and do something with Kiss – he doesn’t mind her wallering all over him. Kiss likes him – and that’s important – Kiss doesn’t like just everybody.” Kiss came to the Morgan’s via a connection from her brother-in-law. “He contacted me to train two three-year-old’s; both by the same sire, but different dams. When they led Kiss out of the barn and up the driveway, he said, ‘this is going to be the next world champion.’ She was this tall lanky filly with not a big hip at all. I would not have bought her – she was just sent home with me. I got on her and I thought she was going to dump me in the dirt. A Brazilian had started her, but she hadn’t been worked with in almost six months. If I had walked up to a barn, I would not have picked Kiss out.”

    Within two weeks, Shelley changed her mind. “I knew she was the most like Short Go I’d ridden yet.” Their personalities were complete opposite, though. “Short Go was quiet and laid back; Kiss is high strung, moody, and doesn’t like crowds. I love her to death, but she is night and day different. They both trained themselves; natural from start to finish.”
    The timing is perfect for Shelley and Rex to hit the road again. The boys are grown and pursuing their own lives. “Zach (25) is working with the family company – he’s amazing and allows Rex to be gone and stay gone. He’s building a house – God knew all along what needed to happen with Eagle Security,” said Shelley. Tanner (21) is working while pursuing an education in the IT field. They both help take care of the place while Shelley and Rex are on the road. Rex and Shelley are high school sweethearts, meeting when they were juniors in high school. “He was a city boy,” admits Shelley. “His family came to the country, bought a calf roping horse and a few cows and Rex tried calf roping and team roping. I was a cheer leader, and he was a football player.” They dated for four years and got married in 1992. Rex went to college but didn’t go to class.

    “I had a job, but I didn’t like school,” he said. “I’m smart, but I didn’t try. I worked for an alarm company for 6 years and decided to open my own company. I took a pay cut for the first few years until I got it up and running.” Rex could have pursued team roping, but he devoted his time to Shelley, his family, and business. “My job on the road is to drive – I drive 99.9% of the time,” said Rex. “I do all her entering and help her on the road. I don’t do a whole lot at home with the horses, but I can fix a shoe and I can map out where we’re going. “When she wins, I win; when she loses, I keep my mouth shut.” Rex also helps keep Kiss calm when she’s being a dragon. “She likes me to rub her between the ears. Sometimes I’ll lead her away from Shelley when she gets too wound up – Kiss that is, not Shelley.”

    The couple will celebrate 30 years of marriage and while on the road they spend 24/7 together. The secret to their long happy marriage is simple.
    “She does what I tell her to do.”
    “He knows I’m always right.”

    Career Highlights
    • 2021 – Entered the Wrangler NFR ranked third with $94,229 and finished the year ranked 4th with $202,202 after winning $107,973 at NFR. Finished seventh in the average in a total time of 147.19 and placed in five out of 10 rounds
    • 2020 – Won $63,308 at the Wrangler NFR after placing in five rounds. Finished the year ranked 9th with $116,383.
    • 2019 – Finished the year ranked 29th in the world with $50,283. Won California Salinas, Longview (TX) PRCA Rodeo, the Rose City Roundup (Tyler, TX), the Great Plains Stampede Rodeo (Altus, OK) and Apache (OK) Stampede. Finished second at Oakley City (UT) Independence Day Rodeo and at the Rodeo of the Ozarks (Springdale, AR)
    • 2018 – Finished with $11,224
    • 2017 – Finished with $1,438
    • 2016 – Finished with $6,513
    • 2015 – Finished with $29,106
    • 2014 – Finished 17th in the world with $69,447
    • 2013 – Finished the year ranked 95th with $10,269
    • 2012 – Finished the year ranked 35th with $30,537
    • 2011- Finished the year ranked 48th with $24,433
    • 2010 – Finished the year ranked 34th in the world with $25,937
    • 2008 – United Professional Rodeo Association Barrel Racing Champion; 2008 Cowboys Professional Rodeo Association Finals – average champion and year-end reserve champion.

    Sponsors:
    5-Star Equine Products – Best pads ever created, create great support for my horses under their saddles, they are never back sore from saddle pressure and pads’ effectiveness as well as appearance hold up like new after years of hard day to day use. So many options to choose from to fit everyone’s style and needs.
    Eagle Security Systems – amazing clear cameras (even at night) on all my horses so I never miss a moment with my special equine partners as well as can keep an eye on the ones at home when I’m gone.
    Rock & Roll Denim/Panhandle Western Wear – keep me looking sharp in and out of the arena. Most comfortable jeans I have to ride in.
    Bluebonnet Feeds and Stride Animal Health – provides quality feed and supplements that I have been running Kiss on since the beginning of her career. Always one phone call away.
    Shiloh Saddlery – the best saddle I have ever sat in since I have started riding. I didn’t know I was missing out so much until I got my Shiloh.
    The Muffler and Hitch Shop in Canton – squeezes me in and helps me with all the accessories my truck needs to haul up and down the road, the gooseneck ball, bed liner, bumper replacement and best of all, big nice extra fuel tank….. troubleshoots any problems I have with my trailer .
    Western Dove – amazing tack set, my mom always says Kiss looks like she is wearing a sparkly crown!
    Resistol – giving us some of the most amazing hats at the NFR and American.
    There are so many more others who have been so key in helping my team succeed down the road, thank each of you so much, I appreciate each and every single one of them.

  • American Hat presents: Jackie Crawford

    American Hat presents: Jackie Crawford

    Jackie Crawford is accustomed to pressure. The 20x World Champion breakaway roper backed into the box at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, and made a 2.26 second run to win The 2022 AMERICAN and $100,000. “When you’re roping at this level, once you leave the box, you don’t think – you can think before, but muscle memory has to take over. You’ve got to nail the barrier and take your first best shot.”
    Jackie has been amongst a handful of women that have blazed the way for breakaway ropers to rope for incredible amounts of money. When she saw a need for a breakaway roping event in California, she started one – California’s Richest. “I drove out there for two years to make sure it got going.” When they added breakaway roping to the rodeo in Ellensburg Rodeo in Washington, she drove there from Texas to support it. “I was trying to be a face there supporting it and thanking the committees for it,” she said. Her son, Creed, was a newborn when she started making that trek. She has given back to the sport by teaching what she knows to others, creating the next generation of successful breakaway ropers.
    One of her many sponsors is American Hat. “American Hat is one of the companies that our family is proud to be part of. It’s not just about putting a hat on,” she explains. “They’ve tried to help us as endorsers to be more successful in our business. They have invested in us and our future.” Jackie and her family have been welcomed into the American Hat family with open arms. “They are one of my favorite companies.”
    Jackie and her husband, Charly (11-time PRCA NFR qualifier Team Roping Header), make their home in Stephenville, Texas. Along with Creed, they have a step-daughter, Kaydence, and a daughter, Journey Lynne Crawford, who is celebrating her first birthday in March. Jackie roped her last calf at the NFR, just three months before Journey was born. She had a special saddle made for her, without the horn, to accommodate her growing baby. “The day I roped my last calf at NFR I quit; from December to March.” Although she missed riding and roping, she did other things. “I try to look at the positive in everything in life; I took the time to do what I don’t do when I ride.” She decorated her house and got it ready to be featured as part of cowboy cribs: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FhFrytGGfm8.
    The family literally lives within the barn, where the horses are. “We built everything under one roof: a three-bedroom home, the gym, an apartment, and a six stall barn. Our horses are part of our family.” In order to be as ready as she can be for an event, she has built boxes in one of the two outdoor arenas that are adjustable, so they can be changed to the setup for wherever she goes.
    Jackie juggles her time between family, roping, riding, clinics, lessons, preparing for her weekly group coaching meeting, social media, interviews, and helping around the place with the rentals and numerous other things that pop up during the day. “Having kids – honestly – it’s like trying to manage a walking circus; you figure it out and keep going forward. I can’t do the things I used to do – I don’t have the time.” She admits she has a hard time delegating. “I want to be whatever everybody needs.” She and Charly have lots of things in the works in preparation for the future. “We don’t want to look up one day and be broke down and broke.” They feel blessed to have accomplished all they have done. “To be able to have this home is a dream – it’s more than either one of us expected to have – Rodeo has given us this opportunity and to have our kids grow up with these opportunities is truly amazing.”

  • American Hat presents: Shane Hanchey

    American Hat presents: Shane Hanchey

    “The name speaks for itself,” said Shane Hanchey about American hats. “American hats and American cowboys are what the Western way of life is all about. There is more concrete getting poured and less ranching, so it makes it that much more special.”
    Shane is proud to be part of the American Hat Company brand ambassador program. “If you go down the roster, it’s the who’s who of professional rodeo.” Shane has been on the team since 2018, and loves wearing the American hat. “I am part of the positive times movement that was started by the late Keith Maddox and his legacy for positive times and American hats are the best – made right here in Bowie, Texas.
    From Sulphur, Louisiana, Shane started roping left-handed when he was very young, roping with his brother, Jason and his uncle, Butch Loft. Jason switched him to right-handed when he was five. “He said it wouldn’t be a fair advantage to be left-handed, only six guys have ever made the NFR left-handed.” Shane played a lot of sports and didn’t get serious about roping until high school. “I realized I could make a living at this.” He went through the Louisiana High School Rodeo Association, making Nationals three out of four and winning the state twice. He went to college in 2009, making the CNFR, and earned Resistol Rookie of the Year in 2009. He made his first of 12 appearances at the Wrangler National Finals in 2010. Shane won the World in 2013 and won the National Finals twice – 2013 and 2020.
    Shane has had his share of misfortune, missing two world championships by one tenth of a second. He has also lost two horses, one two weeks before the 2021 WNFR. He has never let any of adversity stop him. “I still battle with it every day – I still think about it; but in order to move on and keep my head up, I’ve got to be confident and trust what God has in store for me and He has a bigger plan than what you think you have.”
    Shane met his wife, Taylor Jacob, through rodeo. She made the WNFR in 2013 and 2015. They started dating in 2015 and got married in April of 2021. They both just won a round at San Antonio, qualifying for the finals there. They have relocated to Texas, where Shane is sharing his Louisiana culture by running a food trailer, Bo’s Boil n Geaux, specializing in crawfish boils, shrimp, gumbo, and all things Cajun. “We go from Stephenville to Weatherford, and Giddings. “Taylor and I run it – and it’s something we can do after our careers in rodeo. I usually lay low from March until June, and this works out perfectly.” Shane is now technically a chef, and his love of Cajun food is what got him started on this path. “I love everything about Louisiana from the people to the food and I wanted to bring that to the people in Texas.”
    The first thing that comes to his mind about future goals are more world titles. “That is obviously the first thing, but after that, we want the food trailer to be successful. We hope to have kids and I’d like to be retired from rodeo by the time I’m 40. Then I want to ride off into the sunset with no regrets.”

  • On the Trail with Briar Teague

    On the Trail with Briar Teague

    Briar Teague, from Rattan, Okla., makes his living with a rope. He is headed back to the Lazy E to defend his 2021 Cinch Jr. Ironman Championship. The 20-year-old is approaching the upcoming event as he approaches any event. “I’ve always had a natural way of not getting nervous. I don’t know if it’s from roping my whole life, but I know with each run I’ve just got to catch them – I do what I can with what I draw.”

    Briar has been on a horse since he was born. His dad, Philip, started roping when he was 27. His four sons, Briar, Clancy (18), Cutter (16), and Tryan (13), spent their childhood riding horses, roping, and raising cattle, including show cattle during their time in FFA. The family runs around 450 pairs on a few thousand acres outside of the small town of Ratton. There is one stoplight in the entire county. He graduated with a class of 20. Briar won his first buckle at the age of 3, winning the dummy roping at a USTRC roping his dad was competing at. He started competing in a youth rodeo, the OYRA, when he was 8 and a year later was competing at the USTRC ropings with his dad. He started with team roping (both ends) and breakaway roping, moving into calf roping, saddle bronc riding, and steer wrestling during his time with the Oklahoma Junior High and High School Rodeo Associations. He rode saddle broncs all four years of high school, making the National High School Finals (2017-2019) in that event as well as calf roping his senior year and team roping his sophomore, junior, and senior year. Riding saddle bronc riding started with encouragement from Wade Sundell, 8x WNFR qualifier in the saddle bronc riding. and a good friend. He didn’t pursue riding broncs after high school. “It helped me ride a bucking horse so that was good.”

    He started bulldogging his junior year, competing his last year in high school. Briar went to Tyler Pearson’s school and had never jumped a steer before. They did all the dummy work, and that afternoon, they jumped two steers and he threw both clean. They had a two head jackpot that he won as well. At the beginning, Briar used one horse, his dad’s heel horse, Casino, for all events. That horse gave his all to all the boys. As Briar got older, the family was able to buy other horses and today there are 30 horses on the place with specific jobs in the arena. Hard work and dedication paid off for Briar. He won the All Around title for the Oklahoma High School Rodeo Association in 2019 and 2020. Along with rodeo, Briar found success in FFA, showing cattle and pigs. He earned the State Farmers degree while in FFA. He played baseball as well as basketball.

    “We did this as a family,” said his mother, Misty. All six of them would into a living quarter trailer and spend weekends on the rodeo road. Having four boys kept Misty on her toes. “It’s probably better than raising four girls,” laughed Misty, a physical therapist who went from fulltime to part time so she could take care of four boys. “They are energetic and full of life. It took all of us – it was fun times and lots of work but well worth it.”

    “I’ve always tried to teach the boys that if you want something, you’ve got to work for it,” said Philip. “You can’t be afraid to reach your goals – you can’t sit back and play it safe all the time.” All four boys rope aggressively. “You don’t get anywhere running them three quarters of the way down the arena – that goes for roping as well as life – you’ve got to take your shots. I raised those boys to be confident – don’t let anyone tell you can’t do it and keep pushing forward.”

     

    Briar is a freshman at Western Oklahoma State College in Altus, Okla. He competes in Central Plains region where he is sitting in the top five in all the events, with the goal to make it to the college finals. After college, he plans to rodeo for a while and then come home and work for his dad. Most of his classes are online, and he spends several months in Arizona in the winter, roping every day. “This is my main source of income right now,” said the #7+header an #8 heeler. “I trade a few horses now and then, but that’s it.” He works his classes into his ropings. “If I miss a roping for class, it’s not a big deal there’s another one the next day.” He will be in Oklahoma the middle of February for his first Spring college rodeo and begin getting ready for the Junior Ironman March 10-12 at the Lazy E Arena in Guthrie, Okla.

    Preparation takes on many facets including heading to Tyler Pearson’s (5x NFR qualifier, 2017 World Champion steer wrestler) to find a horse to take to the event, and practice. Horses for calf roping and team roping will come from Briar’s herd. “I train a few of the ones I own – and ride a few colts. We have 8-10 colts at the house. We’ve raised a few and bought a few from online sales,” he explains about his horsepower. “I look for what fits me – size – bigger, I want something I can do both ends on. I’m not real good at breaking them, so I want something I can rope on.”

    “There’s a lot of God given talent but there’s a lot of hard work that goes into this,” admits Briar. “Plus the tremendous help I’ve gotten from so many different people. I hope my brothers will be able to look up to me and try to do the things I do just as good or even better than me.”

    “I work harder than most people and I’ve had a very supportive family to give me the resources to do what I love. I do it every day – you’ve got to get good at it eventually or you’d give up.”

  • On the Trail with Hailey Frederiksen

    On the Trail with Hailey Frederiksen

    Hailey Frederiksen, Miss Rodeo Colorado was crowned Miss Rodeo America 2022 on December 5th. The eight-day Miss Rodeo America Pageant was held at the South Point Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nev. The pageant was last held in December of 2019 due to Covid. Like many of the 32 queens across the country, Hailey, from Wellington, Colorado, represented the Centennial State for two years. She is the sixth Miss Rodeo Colorado to win the coveted Miss Rodeo America title, last won by Tara (Graham) Rowe in 2001.

    Hailey grew up in the saddle; she ran barrels in gymkhanas and jackpots. Born and raised in Platteville, Colo., she was in 4H for 11 consecutive years showing market and breeding swine. “I was a pig gal,” laughed the 24-year-old. Through 4H, she learned responsibility, stewardship, and an appreciation for what farmers and ranchers do on a 24/7 basis. “A lot of our family friends and neighbors are farmers and it drove my platform to be an advocate for agriculture – which I did through my reign as Miss Rodeo Colorado.”

    Hailey started competing in dance in high school and had to make the tough choice between horses and dance. She picked dance and went through the ranks of competitive dance at the studio –which included a trip to Las Vegas to compete. “Even though dance is as far away from western as you can get, it taught me stage skills and confidence which is so important when competing in queen contests.” She switched her focus to Poms team. “I discovered I enjoyed that, so I transitioned into competing with my Poms team. We placed third in state my senior year.”

    Hailey’s first queen title was as had held one title previous as the 2009 Johnstown Saddle Club Princess. She spent the year traveling with her mom’s old barrel horse. “Puffy had a mind of her own, but she took very good care of me.” The pivotal moment in that reign happened at the Estes Park Rooftop Rodeo, where Hailey met the reigning Miss Rodeo America (Megan Ridley Hollinder) and the reigning Miss Rodeo Colorado (Audra Dobbs McNicolaus). “I wanted to be just like both of them and here we are.”

    She went to college at Colorado State University in Fort Collins, Colo., and realized how much she missed her roots. “Until you take a step back do you appreciate what you were able to grow up with,” she said. It was during her junior year in college (2018) she held her second queen title as Miss Rodeo Deer Trail. “That began my journey back into queening.” She rode a 4-year-old mare that her mom was working on making a barrel horse. “Honey was a rock star with flags, parades, and everything.”

    She tried out for the crown of Miss Rodeo Colorado twice (2018, 2019). “I knew I was going to be there,” she said. “Not winning fueled my passion to do better and win.” The critique from the judges was at the end of the day they didn’t know who Hailey was. “I worked hard the next year on being genuine, passionate and inquisitive … they must have seen the change, because they picked me the next year and again this year, as Miss Rodeo America.”

    During her two year reign as Miss Colorado, she spent the first year traveling to rodeos outside the state of Colorado. “When Covid first hit, we didn’t travel. My first rodeo back at it was Woodward, Okla., in June. Those small rodeo committees appreciated having us there.” She traveled with Miss Oklahoma, Miss Idaho, and Miss Kansas. “Putting ourselves out there helped us fulfill our obligation to represent rodeo and the western way of life.” She also created a Kids Corral, producing a video every Wednesday at 10 am. “I posted more than 40 videos of me reading kid’s books or interviewing rodeo personalities like Justin Rumford and Shali Lord. I interviewed my farrier, my vet and even did some kids crafts, I had a lot of fun with it and it kept me present as Miss Rodeo Colorado.” She plans to continue the Kids Corral as Miss Rodeo America.

    She is quick to attribute her win to her parents. “They have been there for me the whole time – I might be the one on center stage, but this title is as much theirs as mine.” Her parents instilled in her to work hard for whatever she wanted. “Everything I’ve put my mind to requires a bunch of work, When I was a dancer, I wasn’t flexible, so I had to work at it. I never had the best animals in 4H, but I knew if I worked hard and walked my pigs every day I’d get to where I wanted to be.”

    Megan and Trevin have been the biggest supporters of Hailey. “Dad works in oil and gas, and mom is a stay-at-home mom. She taught yoga and fitness ever since I was a baby, but her main job was being a mom.” They were both home quite a bit and helped Hailey with horses and whatever she needed. “I barrel raced growing up, but my dad put a rope in my hand and now I’m team roping with him. My dad taught me a good lesson when I’d get frustrated; there’s always going to be another steer in the pen.” He just finished the arena at their new place east of Wellington and now they can rope whenever they want, picking from any of the five horses that they own.

    Trevin has always believed in Hailey and told her before the competition. “Honey this crown does not define you – all those that love you know you don’t need to bring that crown home.” Trevin designed and built the two carts that carried all her very carefully picked out wardrobe for the competition.

    She spent many hours preparing for the Miss Rodeo America Pageant. “I am very OCD – and organized. I’d been packing for pageant for at least a month. I had all my outfits – 15 garment bags on one rack, and 17 pairs of Justin boots and 7 Greeley Hatworks hats on the other cart, a suitcase and a duffle bag. All in one trip. Appearance is one of the major categories of the pageant. “It tells the story of you – it took a year to figure out what I was going to wear. I worked with countless designers getting the clothes I needed for pageant. You only have 8 days to impress those judges.” The part of the pageant that she really enjoyed was the interviews. “We don’t get much one on one time with the judges. Those interviews were only 15 minutes.”

    Her first stop as Miss Rodeo America is the National Western Stock Show, where she will make appearances every day for 16 days. Then she’s off to Lake Charles, Louis. Her schedule is filling up. “She is worthy of whatever God has planned for her,” said her mother, Megan. “There’s no wrong or right – you pray it works out for the good – be healthy and happy is all we can wish for her.”

    “I can’t wait to see what lies ahead and the opportunities that will be available to me … I’m thrilled to see where life takes me next.”

  • Max Reynolds

    Max Reynolds

    Keeping the Spirit of the West Alive

    “Heroes get remembered, but legends never die,” is a quote from Babe Ruth that gets used a lot, but Max Reynolds takes it a step further with his Wild West Acts. Spinning guns, trick roping, cracking whips, and Roman Riding while portraying Buffalo Bill and Wyatt Earp are just some of the feats this Lexington, Nebraska, cowboy has showcased to countless fans over the years to keep the spirit of the Wild West alive.
    Everything from the opening of the National Finals Rodeo to a private family party for the sheik in Abu Dhabi fills Max’s long list of performances. He was also the stunt double as Buffalo Bill (played by Peter Coyote) on the 1995 CBS mini-series “Buffalo Girls” starring Reba McEntire as Annie Oakley, Anjelica Huston as Calamity Jane, Sam Elliott as Wild Bill Hickock, and Russell Means as Sitting Bull.
    As a kid, Max watched the likes of Leon Adams and Jerry Olson perform and was inspired to learn Roman Riding on ranch horses at home. There wasn’t much the young cowboy was afraid of while growing up in Arapahoe, Colorado — except for getting caught by his parents.
    “I was afraid they wouldn’t let me do it, so I did it out behind the barn where nobody could see me,” Max said. “I was afraid they’d stop me, but I got to where I could gallop around. Then one day, I had them going good and I came out by the house and I guess Mom was out putting clothes on the clothes line and I came flying down the road on those horses and she saw me, but it was too late to stop me then. They were supportive of it, and probably would have always been, but I was afraid they wouldn’t be.”
    When he started trick roping, there weren’t any instructional videos on how to do it. Instead, it was books with drawings and instructions on which direction the rope was supposed to spin. Luckily, he soon crossed paths with J.W. Stoker who took him under his wing and taught him the ropes. His first performance was at a high school talent show at a neighboring town where he did some trick roping. He started performing at rodeos when he was 15 years old and by the time he was 16 he landed one of his first big performances at the National Little Britches Finals in Littleton, Colorado. “I can’t remember much, but I do know I was nervous,” Max said. “If you aren’t a little nervous I think you lose your edge.”
    Learning the skill was one thing, but learning the trade was another. Getting his name out there and picking up jobs performing was tough work when relying primarily on word of mouth. “You have to prove yourself, then once you do that everything takes care of itself and people will start calling and you’ll get more contracts and it just snowballs from there. It’s like anything else, you need to get known before you can get anywhere.
    “As an amateur, a man by the name of Floyd Rumford from Abbeyville, Kansas, gave me my first big summer run of rodeos and that was a big first for me,” Max said. “I was in college then, so I was about 19. Then when I turned pro, Bob Barnes gave me my first big run of professional summer rodeos in 1982.”

    After graduating high school with a class of six in Arapahoe, Max competed in team roping and calf roping while attending Colorado State University in Fort Collins. Although he earned his degree in animal science from CSU, he opted for a career in animal art instead. While in college he met Jerome Robinson who eventually produced Pro Rodeo Classics. Robinson also produced the Western American Extravaganza, a show that was taken around the world to places such as Finland, France and South America. “Some of the overseas shows were with people I looked up to when I was little, like Leon Adams and J.W. Stoker,” Max said of his travels in the 1990s.
    Now 69 years old, Max continues to perform and has several gigs in the works with his wardrobe designed by his wife, Cathy, whom he married in 1980. Wild West Acts is just himself performing at rodeos and other Western events and he’s been part of the Great American Wild West Show since it was started by Don and Sharon Endsley in the mid-90s.
    “Don and J.W. Stoker were very good friends, so I guess Max was the second one we called,” Sharon said. “J.W. said ‘Max Reynolds would be perfect because he is so versatile and can do so much,’ and now I love him like a brother.”
    Not too long after that, The Great American Wild West Show did 97 performances in 28 days with millions in attendance in Los Angeles. They were also featured in a documentary which landed Max on the cover of the LA Times. “He has been one of the backbone performers for all of these years,” Sharon said. “I can’t brag enough about him.”
    Timing is everything for Max. “You only have so much time you should be out there performing, six to ten minutes is the maximum,” he said. “You need to hit the happy area where you leave them wanting to see more, but you need to do your best stuff in that small timeframe.”
    He considers Roman Riding to be his riskiest feat since there’s fire involved. “You’re jumping through fire, and if the arena conditions are muddy or slick, or if one of the horses decides not to jump, it leaves you out there,” Max said. “It’s the most dangerous, but it’s also the most fun.”
    Audiences agreed, as his Roman Riding was the part that stuns the crowd the most. “Max on those two horses brought down the house everywhere we went,” Sharon said. Finding the right horses is harder than it sounds since they need to be able to learn to perform, and they need to look the part.
    “For Roman Riding, you need to have one with a good mind on them and I have had all kinds,” Max said. “Some would take anything, and since you put them in a lot of different situations you want them to handle those without blowing up on you. Some of them are naturals and nothing bothers them, like some people can give a speech and not have a problem, but some are scared to death of giving a speech.”
    Trick roping and gun spinning took the longest to master since the action is too fast to think about. “Your mind and body have to be coordinated,” Max said. “You can’t think that fast; you work at your craft for all of those years and it’s automatic.”
    Practice paid off as Max was nominated for Specialty Act of the Year three times in the 1990s. “You never know where life is going to lead you,” Max said. “I don’t know how many can say they were in a movie with Reba McEntire and Peter Coyote, and the rest of those stars. It’s not like I made a living at it (acting), but it was an adventure.”

  • Molly Otto – 15th Barrel Racer

    Molly Otto – 15th Barrel Racer

    Barrel racer Molly Otto’s horse was on the sheriff’s patrol at 2 years old and set an arena record on her first run out at 3 years old. Now five years old, she helped Molly qualify for the National Finals Rodeo on the cowgirl’s first season of hitting the rodeo road hard.
    Not bad for a horse who was named for chewing the tails off all the horses in her pen.
    Chewy (registered name Teasin Dat Guy) is owned by Katie Lindahl but was turning heads and barrels all over the country with Molly. Molly, 34, attributes some of that success to Chewy’s background on patrol.
    “She was so broke and easy and not afraid of anything,” Molly said. “She’s just very confident in herself.”
    Confidence is a quality the horse and rider share. Nobody in Molly’s family competed in rodeo or rode horses, but she was determined to follow her dream.
    “They were all terrified of horses … well, that may be a little dramatic,” Molly said. “They’d say it was a phase, and that I would grow out of it. I’d been asking for a horse for as long as I could remember. It was at the top of my list for any holiday, but my parents always said no since we didn’t live on a farm, so I would cut out ads of farms for sale.”
    Persistence paid off. Molly started riding lessons in seventh grade and her parents leased a horse for a year when she was 14 years old. But Molly knew she was destined to do more and was willing to work for it. She got her first horse at 15 and worked at a pet store and cared for other people’s horses to fund it.


    Now she trains horses professionally and qualified for the RAM Badlands Circuit Finals Rodeo the last three years in a row. She joined forces with Chewy in July 2019 and the North Dakota cowgirl knew she had something special on her hands after her first run out. They broke the arena record at a jackpot in Solway, Minnesota, with a 13.9-second run. But this was no ordinary jackpot record.
    “I previously held the arena record there on two different horses, one of them won three rounds at the Canadian Finals (Eyema Rare Bug, ridden by Cayla Melby) and another was a pro rodeo winner (Famous Charm, ridden by Sydney Forrest, Andrea Busby, and Michelle Alley),” Molly said. “It was cool she went out there and beat those horses’ records her first time out.
    Molly filled her WPRA permit in 2011 but as the saying goes, “life happened.” Living in Grand Forks, N.D., it takes a few hours of driving to reach a jackpot, so it was nearly a decade before she felt ready to give the NFR a shot. Katie was surprised that Chewy did so well, but Molly’s success didn’t surprise her.
    “I don’t know of Molly setting a goal and not accomplishing it,” Katie said. “I was excited when Molly was willing to put in the time to go for it. I’d asked her what her thoughts were on rodeoing more even though futurities were her bread and butter. We decided to see how the spring goes and then it was a quarter-by-quarter thing since neither of us has the resources to go when you’re not winning. She needed to win enough to stay on the road.”
    It wasn’t until after the Fourth of July run that Molly felt she’d reached a turning point as she jumped from 25th to 17th in the world standings. Tensions were high as the season’s end drew close and the race for the Top 15 was tight. It got worse when Chewy had to take the sidelines in September due to an abscess and Molly hadn’t qualified for the ProRodeo Tour Finale in Salinas, California.
    “I didn’t think I was going to make it,” Molly said. “There were so many people from 10th to 20th that weren’t too far apart.”
    Molly won her 12th rodeo of the season on Allison Ness’ horse, aptly named Mr. Right Now Guy. A 17.39-second run at the Wild Rides Rodeo Dickinson (North Dakota) was a hometown win of sorts, and the Sept. 18 win for $869 gave her a boost in maintaining the No. 15 spot. Molly qualified for her first NFR by a margin of $4,761.
    “I was relieved…Like, I went through all of that hard stuff all year and made all of those sacrifices and it all paid off,” Molly said. “I feel like it’s God’s purpose for me and this is the platform he gave me to use. All year, when I’d feel unsure if I was supposed to be out there, it was like ‘bam,’ he would give me something huge and my horse would win a rodeo.”
    The encouragement from her family and friends also helped throughout the season. Now her husband, Andy, and their sons Sterling, 15, Rowdy, 12, and daughter Blaisy, 5, will be cheering her on at the Thomas & Mack.
    “I wanted to show my kids that with God anything is possible, and I hope to inspire them to have a ‘no quit’ attitude in life and that if they work hard enough, they can achieve anything,” Molly said.

  • Hamblen Hats

    Hamblen Hats

    Travis Hamblen Starts A New Hat Company.

    Travis Hamblen started out with $28 in his pocket when his life abruptly changed course. After four years of working for another hat shop, his new path led toward starting his own business, Hamblen Hats. “I tell people this isn’t my hat shop, it’s God’s shop and my customers’ shop, because without my customers and God there’s no way I’d be where I am,” Travis said. “I was a single dad starting over from scratch.”
    Travis started with 250 American Hats and a mobile shop in a trailer that was taken to jackpots and other events across Colorado, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Texas, Wyoming and Nebraska. “We got all of our hats a week before COVID shut things down and it was tight quarters in that trailer, about 10-by-10 feet,” Travis said. “Keith Mundee (President of American Hat Company) helped us get going. We picked up the Atwood hat line too since they’re made in America. That’s why I went to Brooks Atwood. We checked his cows, prayed over dinner and these are my people.”
    In less than two years he went from a small trailer to opening the first Hamblen Hats store on June 28 in Ault, Colorado, about 40 miles south of Cheyenne, Wyoming. “We’ve grown a lot over the last couple of years and with the storefront it’s doubled,” Travis said. “It’s an amazing community here in Ault. We are getting to the point where there’s a crew of people who stop by to talk and it has a coffee shop atmosphere.”
    Travis shaped his first hat over a tea kettle when he was 13 years old and by the time he was 16 he had shaped all of his hats. “I didn’t want my hat to look like a store-bought hat, I wanted it shaped like Ty Murray’s,” Travis said. “I dropped out of high school about six months before graduating, and my grandpa (Sam Hamblen) told me if I went back to school he’d buy me the best hat that he could. But, I couldn’t shape that hat. That was my love language, so I said I can put up with six months of not liking school.”
    Sam received the first custom hat Travis built in January 2020 and he was at the grand opening of Travis’ store shortly before passing away in the fall of 2021.
    Before diving into the hat business, Travis worked with the Wild West Cattle Company in eastern Colorado, doing anything that needed to be done for the competition, including announcing. “I’ve always been around cowboy stuff and I just love the lifestyle.”
    Now he enhances that lifestyle for others, and it comes with a wide brim. “We had a cowboy tell us ‘the relationship with my hat shaper is the most intimate relationship I have. My hat is ME, the stories that are in the hat, the work I do every day, it has a lot to do with my personality so having a hat shop that understands my lifestyle and passions, and me as a person, is what gets me,’” Travis said. “That’s what guys who wear hats every day want, not to just grab one off the shelf.”
    Striving for a unique product presented some equally unique opportunities. Claire Parr sold her hat business, Claire West Designs, to Travis before losing her battle with cancer in early 2021. “She was building hats for Jay-Z and Beyoncé,” Travis said, holding Claire’s notebook of measurements with a letter of encouragement to him.
    As for which celebrities Travis makes hats for, that’s up to his clientele to reveal. “They come to us because they want to have that confidence and be treated like a person.”
    James Young (guitarist in the Eli Young Band), Dalton Risner (offensive lineman for the Denver Broncos), comedian Steve “Mudflap” McGrew, and rodeo contestants such as Sadie Jackson, Kyle and Maddie Dickens, Devon Burbank, and the entire Colorado State University rodeo team are some of his clients. Hamblen Hats also sponsors nationally ranked ranch sorter Shawn Elliott from Greeley, Colorado.

    No appointments are needed and there’s a catalogue of hats to choose from at hamblenhats.com.
    “We can custom fit them, custom design them and build them from scratch,” Travis said. “We can rebuild hats too, so if they bring in a dirty, nasty hat we can block it, flange it and re-craft it.”
    The first time someone brings in a beat-up old hat, they’ll toss it on the counter as a challenge – “I’ve got one for you, see what you can do.” But after their first one is fixed; the rest are brought in with a bit of a somber and hopeful tone of “see what you can do.”
    “It’s nice to see their eyes light up when they brought in a hat that’s all caked up with grease and dirt and they thought we couldn’t do it, but then we did,” said Travis’ employee Parker Longbottom.
    Parker started shaping hats about two years ago at The Wrangler in downtown Cheyenne. “I taught myself the ropes there and came here to get further into it,” Parker said. “Hats are one of those things where it’s more than just a hat. There’s that style to it and being able to help someone make theirs unique.”
    Travis also gets help around the shop from his parents, Carol and Cliff, and his sons, Braxton, 14, and Kasen, 12.
    Travis prefers not to clean his own hats. “They have memories. They’ve been to the feedlot and funerals and been with me when I won the only buckle I own and when my kids were born,” Travis said. “Hats are no different than pickups; the better you care for and maintain them, the longer they last; and it’s fun making them last a little longer.”
    Shaping hats takes about 15-20 minutes, picking one out takes a bit longer. Fitting one and custom designs can take a few hours. Depending on the hat’s condition, it could take two to three weeks for it to be cleaned.
    “It very much is an artform, every hat has eight to ten raw manhours put into it,” Travis said. “We take a blank hat and pick which block based on the shape and size of their head and the design of the hat. Then we’ll hand-finish it to smooth it out.”
    It’s not just cowboy hats – there’s top hats, bowlers, fedoras, broadbrim fashion hats, and just about anything a customer could want.
    “We always ask people if they want the Flying H on the back of their hat and the coolest thing is seeing that on the back of a hat since they made the conscious decision to support our brand,” Travis said. “That’s what means the most to me since that brand is no different to me than ‘riding for the brand’ when I worked on ranches.”
    Travis likened the relationship between a cowboy and his hat shaper to a woman and her hairdresser.
    “Hat people and cowboys make a living with their hats, it’s part of their equipment,” Travis said. “Our slogan is ‘keeping cowboy cool,’ so I try to stay close to those roots.”

  • Profile: Cole Patterson

    Profile: Cole Patterson

    Cole Patterson shatters regular season earnings record with $104,516

    Announcers used to introduce Cole Patterson to the crowd as the son of four-time world champion steer roper Rocky Patterson (2009-2010, 2012, 2016). That’s not the case any more as the young steer roper won the 2021 steer roping world title.
    “I’ve grown up my whole life being ‘Rocky’s son,’ so it’s definitely a change whenever they have something to say about me other than what my dad’s done,” Cole said. “It’s hard to believe that you’ve joined that elite group of people that have won. In steer roping it’s particularly difficult since there’s only been about five guys who have won it in the last 30 years.”
    Cole shattered the steer roping regular season earnings record with $104,516, a solid $15,089 leap over the previous record of $89,427 set by Tuf Cooper in 2018.
    “When you go in with a lead like that, everyone expects you to win,” Cole said. “After the first night of the Finals I was just thinking about the average since I had about a 7-second lead and winning the average is just as hard as winning the world, I think.”
    Now he has both buckles, as world champion and winnger of the 2021 National Finals Steer Roping average with 97.7 seconds on nine head.
    Cole’s horse is also making a name for himself as RBS Badger Tigger, or just “Tigger” for short, won the 2021 Nutrena Steer Roping Horse of the Year Award.
    “I didn’t have him for all of last year, but I had him for all of this year and I’m still pretty green at this, so I feel like I’m getting better as he’s getting better,” said Cole, 26. “He had no other option but to win it after the year we’ve had and the places we won. He’ll never will know he was Horse of the Year, but I am grateful that he did win it since he changed everything for me.”
    This is the second horse Cole’s ridden to win this award. In 2019, Mr. Blackburn Chex 113, “Dunny,” won and helped Cole claim the 2019 Steer Roping Rookie of the Year title. Cole bought Tigger during the spring of his rookie season and he wasn’t a steer horse at the time.
    “I cracked him out too early and too green, so we had some growing pains together my rookie year,” Cole said. “But then the COVID break came along and I guess that’s when he figured it out. He scores good, has tons of run and is really strong. Man, he also has about the perfect drag for me too. I can’t name a downfall on him. He’s definitely been what I needed.
    “I don’t know what he’s thinking, but he definitely has a personality – he is a pain in the rear to tell you the truth. He’s like a spoiled kid; he knows he’s good, so he expects special treatment and he’s super lazy when you get on his back. In the arena, he struts around after you tie a steer on him. He’s definitely got a personality.”
    Cole finished 15th in the PRCA world standings in 2019 with $43,671 and was fourth in 2020 with $87,405. The Pawnee, Okla., cowboy credits a lot of his growth to Tigger.
    “I don’t know why, but the wins all seemed to come at the right time,” Cole said.
    Cole got married shortly after last year’s NFSR on Nov. 21, 2020, and his wife, Natalie, watched the season unfold.
    “It was kind of surreal but definitely very exciting,” Natalie said. “It was like, ‘how can we top this?’ I didn’t think it could get much better, but then it did. I’m so proud of him. His horsemanship has really evolved over the last few years, same with his roping. He’s getting comfortable in knowing what to do in different situations and adapting to anything that can happen and that comes with experience.”
    Now he’s shooting for the 2022 world title.
    “Everyone is chasing the same thing, you know, so the crazy part about it is there’s people who dedicated their entire lives to trying to win one and never did. You know it’s not easy, but that’s it for me.”

  • On the Trail with Steer Wrestling 101

    On the Trail with Steer Wrestling 101

    Six of the 15 steer wrestlers at the 2021 National Finals Rodeo have two things in common. They’re all chasing the gold buckle, and each of them will be using the skills they learned in Tom Carney’s Steer Wrestling 101 program to try to win the world. Combined, these six cowboys are bringing 27 collective qualifications to the NFR and three world titles.

    “It’s huge, but I’d like to have more than half,” Tom said. “That’s a personal goal of mine. But, I’m just as happy to have a guy out there trying to get his first steer thrown down as I am about having six guys at the NFR. That’s where it all starts. I look at these guys and to see them get where they are is beautiful. I know where they came from and they were in my pen starting from scratch. How many am I training now that will be in that same position? I hope it’s all of them.”

    Jacob Talley, 30, finished the regular season No. 1 in the PRCA World Standings. He will be joined by Dakota Eldridge, 30, who finished third followed by Tyler Pearson, 36, in fourth. Tyler Waguespack, 30, ranked sixth for the regular season and Rowdy Parrott, 27, was 12th, followed by Tristan Martin, 25, in 14th.

    “Rowdy Parrott is the smallest guy at the NFR, but he’s one of the most powerful because his technique is so good,” Tom said. “On the other end of the spectrum, Jacob Talley is a workout guru and one of the most powerful guys out there, but we softened him up and don’t let him use his size. We made him smaller.”

    Tom grew up around rodeo and had legends such as John W. Jones Sr. guiding him and influencing his style. Watching how other cowboys steer wrestled and cherry picking the parts he liked is how he developed his own style, but that wasn’t his only source of inspiration. Tom was 10 years old when his 20-year-old brother died in a car accident.

    “He was my hero and so I said I’d be like him,” Tom said. “I wasn’t the athlete he was, but I stayed with it and gave it everything I had trying to be like him.” Tom enjoyed a bit of success as a steer wrestler, qualifying for the high school and college national finals rodeos.
    “But on the pro level, my students are better trained and better athletes. All of them have their own individual talents and strengths, so we don’t try to cookie-cutter them. Their styles are all a bit different but if you look at their basics, they’re pretty similar.”

    Now 65, Tom is a Gold Card member of the PRCA. Unlike other sports, rodeo didn’t have a standard training program when Tom started Steer Wrestling 101 about 40 years ago. In 1989, Joey Roberts became the first of Tom’s students to go to the NFR and the list of steer wrestlers who went on to achieve great things continued to grow.

    “Last year we had nine state high school champions and that’s phenomenal,” Tom said. “Our style is advantageous to the smaller guys because we involve a lot of core strength. We have a lot of tools and it’s one the most efficient styles in steer wrestling.”
    Tom’s schools are typically held twice a year, one in Utah around Easter and one in Louisiana near Thanksgiving with about 40 participants. “My roster fills up within 30 minutes of announcing it online.”

    Tom also helps other schools around the country and pitches in with the college rodeo teams that ask for his guidance. When he’s not training steer wrestlers, Tom works for American National Insurance Company in Ruston, La.

    Tom’s training is from the waist down instead of the waist up, so footwork is imperative.
    “We’re one of the only schools to train from the waist down and that’s huge in our training,” Tom said, adding that he watches the footwork in boxing matches and the focus in the eyes of Olympic athletes. “Just watch the eyes of my guys. You won’t see any expression, that’s how Olympic athletes behave.”

    Unlike coaches in other sports, Tom didn’t limit his instruction to just scheduled time in the arena. He and his recently-deceased wife Tanya, T-Dog, brought the steer wrestlers into their home for extended stays while they perfected their craft. “She was such a big part of this because she would mother them and make sure they were fed right,” Tom said. “We had guys live with us for months and years trying to hone their skills and we’d take them in. She was like a mother to them, so it’s been quite a change not having her here.”

    Affectionately dubbed T-Dog, Tanya holds a special place in the hearts of each of the six steer wrestlers heading into the Finals as well as the rest of the cowboys she helped. “I’ll always remember the hospitality that he and T-Dog provided for me,” Dakota said.
    Pearson’s first time training with Tom was during his freshman year of high school and he recalls the impact she had.

    “He started us, but I think his wife had just as much to do with our success,” Pearson said. “Ms. Tanya was awesome and she’ll never be forgotten. She was the rock, the glue, that held everything together, that’s for sure. She was the reason I went back; she was a good-hearted woman.”

    Tyler Pearson’s coming into his fifth NFR (2013, 2017-19 and 2021). He won the world in 2017.

    “Pearson has great horses and is a great horseman — he’s just smart,” Tom said. “He bulldogs smart and has always been that way.”

    Dakota had already competed at the NFR three or four times before he got a chance to work with Tom. This year marks Dakota’s eighth NFR (2013-17 and 2019-21).

    “The first three years I made the Finals, it was off of having a great horse and athletic ability and the drive to win, and not so much technique,” Dakota said. “Before, I relied on my size and athletic ability but now I have just as good of a technique as anyone. Size and athletic ability are fine, but if you have all three it’s a great thing.”

    Dakota came close to claiming a world title after winning the NFR average in 2015 and 2017.
    “He breaks it down in a way that is very understandable and you can relay it to a lot of styles,” Dakota said, adding that he’s applied steer wrestling styles from a lot of people to his approach. “Tom was a huge part of bringing my steer wrestling to the next level of being consistent and knowing what I was doing in every run.

    Tyler Waguespack is entering his seventh consecutive NFR (2015-21). Winning the NFR average in 2016 and 2018 helped him win the world title both years. His dad, Mike Waguespack, would work with Tom and that played a big role in the young cowboy’s development.

    “Him and his wife, they’d go out of their way to help anyone at all; whether it was rodeo or not,” Tyler Waguespack said. “Tom was always willing to help and in a lot of sports there aren’t many people willing to go out of their way to help and he’s great at motivational talks. He’s a really good motivator. They’re two very special people to me.”

    Jacob started training with Tom in 2010 and this year marks his fourth time at the NFR (2016, 2018, 2020-21).

    “When I went there, I had no idea what to expect,” Jacob said. “I had ridden horses for fun, but nothing serious and not involved in rodeo. Tom’s program is so broken down into the baby steps where you can get all the little details figured out before you even jump your first one.”

    Rowdy is returning to the NFR after last qualifying in 2017. Growing up near Tom’s place, Rowdy has worked with Tom countless times since his freshman year of high school.
    “I definitely wouldn’t be where I am without his help,” Rowdy said. “I’m a smaller guy, 5-10 and 185 pounds, so I have to do it correctly and he teaches how to do it correctly.”
    Tristan got his start in steer wrestling by working with Tom when he was about 10 years old. Now he is celebrating his first NFR qualification.

    “Growing up, there was never a lot of steer wrestlers coming from the South, but now there’s more guys coming in from Louisiana and that’s a big statement in itself,” Tristan said.
    There’s no secret to their success as the Steer Wrestling 101 YouTube channel has been active for several years with instructional videos that were shot by Rob Pierce and are free to the public. Some of his videos have been viewed as much as 80,0000 times. Whether it’s in person or online, Tom breaks down the run and slows it down so that every aspect is fine-tuned, and then it’s on to repetition and dummy work.

    “You see if now with little guys sliding steers and making great runs,” Dakota said. “I don’t remember kids being able to technically bulldog like they do now at a young age. When I was in high school, it was grab them by the horns and wrestle them, but he has it down to a science and technique.”

    The game has changed over the years. It’s no longer just cowboys learning to steer wrestle as athletes from all walks of life are getting in the saddle.

    “They come from being football players and wrestlers, and it’s just amazing the level of talent we’re getting now,” Tom said. “We had to step our game up and take an Olympic approach where they train like those pros do.”

    In addition to the basics, Tom works on the finer details that fans in the stands might not be able to see.

    “Things like the eyes and facial expressions, things you don’t see in their runs but I do,” Tom said. “I teach them to breathe, just breathe. In weight lifting, the first thing they teach you to do is breathe but nobody was looking at that in our sport. We’re training athletes and not just cowboys.”

    Tom also helps competitors rehab after an injury, such as when Jacob tore his pectoral muscle.

    “I’m never satisfied with where we’re at, if we quit learning then I’m done,” Tom said. “I’m a sponge. I absorb it and try to implement it if it works; and we’re receptive to all kinds of styles. We never say a style is wrong. If you can take a style and win with it, then it’s all right. I teach my guys it’s not about trying to beat any steer wrestler, it’s about beating your steer.”

    He also trains the parents and coaches on the importance of positive reinforcement since maintaining an upbeat attitude is imperative in rodeo.

    The adrenaline rush draws them in, and the friendships are often why they stay since their competition is frequently hazing for them. No other rodeo event or sport does anything like this.

    “Not only are they good guys, but they’re good people,” Tom said. “The spiritual side of it is huge.”
    I love the steer wrestling mentality. They’re all pulling for each other and are such a big family. It has more camaraderie and there’s not a selfish aspect about it. I love that, and we demand it — helping each other, hazing, pushing steers and those things. That’s the biggest part of steer wrestling and that’s not how it is in the other events.”

  • Madi Outhier wins second consecutive world title

    Madi Outhier wins second consecutive world title

    Madi Outhier has won more than half a million dollars in breakaway roping and she’s just getting started. The Fulshear, Texas, cowgirl was crowned the 2021 Breakaway Roping Rookie of the Year at the end of the regular season.

    Not a bad way to celebrate her 19th birthday.

    More recently, the Texas A&M freshman earned $60,000 and became the first to win back-to-back WCRA Women’s Rodeo World Championships in breakaway roping at South Point in Las Vegas on Oct. 29. Madi’s 1.91-second run to win the title also made her the only athlete to win the WCRA’s world championship and the WCRA Triple Crown of Rodeo in Corpus Christ, Texas, in the same year.

    Madi ended her high school rodeo career with an exclamation point, winning the 2021 Texas High School Breakaway Roping title. Madi didn’t consider her summer run to be particularly successful, so winning the WCRA title came just when she needed it most.

    “It was awesome to get my confidence back,” Madi said. “The production the WCRA put on there was amazing. It was first class and they put us contestants first. The final round aired on CBS and they say it had 2.3 million viewers, which was a record for number of viewers for a rodeo.”

    Madi narrowly missed qualifying for the 2021 National Finals Rodeo since she cut her season short to begin her fall semester in College Station, Texas.

    Madi is majoring in business and thanks to her rodeo winnings, she’s already started her own business making and selling jewelry. Although rodeo’s been profitable, the entrepreneur is in playing the long game and is prioritizing her education. “I went home to go to college while they continued to rodeo hard, so I missed some of the big ones at the end of the season.”

    Rodeo isn’t entirely on the backburner as she competes on the Texas A&M rodeo team in breakaway roping and barrel racing. Madi considers the competition to be just as tough at the collegiate level as it is at the pros. “All these girls are at the top of their game and it’s just as difficult to win at the college rodeos since they all rope so good.”

    Although she won’t be competing at the Thomas & Mack, she could still strike it rich in Las Vegas during the NFR as she’s set to compete at five nearby ropings. Fans can watch her in action at:

    • Vegas Tuffest Jr. World Championship at The Expo At World Market Center, Dec. 1-6
    • Junior World Finals in the Wrangler Rodeo Arena at the Las Vegas Convention Center, Dec. 9-11
    • The Masters Elite at the Henderson Saddle Association Arena, Dec. 2
    • Resorts World Breakaway Championship at Resorts World Las Vegas, Dec. 8-10
    • Rope For The Crown Breakaway Championship at The Plaza Hotel & Casino, Dec. 3-4

    “It’s incredible how much money is at the youth events,” Madi said. “The Resorts World roping is new this year and it will have a pot of $80,000.”.

    Beyond that, Madi has her eyes on The American and qualifying for the 2022 NFR. “I was just short of making the Finals, so that’s a huge goal of mine, then The American is going to pay $2 million and they include breakaway in the pot.”

    Madi continues to compete on Rooster, the grandson of Colonel Freckles, a futurity champion and one of the top cutting horses of his era.

    “Rooster is still my main man; I rode him at the majority of the pro rodeos,” Madi said.

    Just like her horse, Madi comes from a family that excels in equine athletics. Madi’s dad, Mike, competed in several events on both ends of the arena but is best known for saddle bronc riding, having qualified for the NFR four times (2001-04). He also won the All Around title at the International Finals Rodeo in 1995-97 and was a two-time winner of the PRCA’s Linderman Award (2004 and 2007). Madi’s mom, Kristy, was a professional polo player for 25 years.

    “It was cool getting to go to the big rodeos he competed in and I’d watched him compete at while growing up,” Madi said. “It was a new and awesome experience being on the road all summer.”

    Madi’s had a lot of firsts in her career. As a sophomore in high school, she became the first-ever breakaway roping champion at The American.

    “It was a pivotal moment in my career. I was juggling a lot of things between rodeo, school and polo and I was loving everything. I was captain of the varsity basketball team and didn’t know which area I would focus on, but after winning The American it pushed me to focus on rodeo and work on my roping. I wouldn’t be where I am now without that win. I got so many messages from younger girls or their parents saying I’m an inspiration, which I don’t view myself as, but it makes me want to be better and do better at everything.”

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • ProFile: Jim Dewey Brown

     

    Cheyenne 1998
    Jim competed at the 1998 Cheyenne Frontier Days Rodeo. – Dan Hubbell

    It’s double-duty for Jim Dewey Brown.
    The Arizona cowboy became general manager for Prescott Frontier Days in February and he will begin as commissioner for the National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association on Jan. 1.
    Although more than 1,100 miles separate his home-base and the NIRA office in Walla Walla, Wash., he will be serving both roles simultaneously.
    “I’m going to get a lot of frequent flyer miles,” Brown laughed. “Prescott is very, very proud and happy I have the position of commissioner because they see the importance of being connected to the youth of our sport and building those relationships so that when the kids go pro they can go to Prescott for the World’s Oldest Rodeo.”

    Brown, 44, earned a Masters in agriculture and a Bachelors in Animal Science from Tarleton State University while on their rodeo team and later as their assistant coach.
    “The cool thing with Tarleton was I could tailor my Masters to sports marketing and coaching classes,” Brown said.
    Brown started competing in high school rodeo in the spring semester of his junior year and climbed the ranks through college with Tarleton State. Now he wants to help others do the same.
    Brown also wants to help regional rodeos improve their productions to help grow college rodeo overall.

    “He’s a very well-prepared young man,” said standing NIRA commissioner Roger Walters. “He’s very personable and very organized and very driven and he wants everything to showcase itself to the best of its ability.”
    Brown was the New Mexico State University rodeo coach from 2002-15. There were 24 students on the team when Brown arrived, but that soon multiplied.
    “At my peak there was 92 and when I left there was 60-some kids on the rodeo team, which is much more manageable for one person,” Brown said.
    Under Brown’s leadership, the team had 157 CNFR qualifiers, 19 Academic All-Americans and 18 Scholar Americans.
    Brown coached six national champions: Matt Garza (TR 2005), Wyatt Althoff (AA 2008), Johnny Salvo (TD 2008 and ’11), Megan Albrecht (GT 2008), Bailey Gow (BA 2008).
    Helping younger students understand the steps they need to take to progress in rodeo is one of his goals. Some student-athletes get recruited, but Brown is more concerned about the ones who slip under the radar.
    “There’s some disconnect between high school and college and it’s important that we grow our student-athlete base and catch the kids who fall through cracks in getting to college rodeo,” Brown said. “One of the greatest things about college rodeo is it’s that next step — high school, college, then pro.”
    Walters has high hopes for his successor.

    Jim’s former student Trenten Montero qualified for the 2019 NFR. – Courtesy

    “I think he will do a lot more with social media than what has taken place during my tenure,” Walters said. “He will be good for students and sponsorships and just overall do a tremendous job.”
    Some of Brown’s students went on to excel professionally such as bareback rider Trenten Montero and breakaway roper Nicole Baggarley. Montero competed at the 2019 NFR and finished 10th in the world, and Baggarley is making her NFR debut this year, finishing 13th for the regular season.
    “The kids are what I am most proud of,” Brown said. “They’re outstanding individuals.”
    After 48 years of working in college rodeo as an assistant coach, coach, facility director, arena director and then commissioner for the last 13 years, Walters is looking forward to retirement.
    “I’ll be doing whatever my wife tells me to do,” Walters laughed. “We all need a to-do list and I have one so I feel like I’ll be good. I feel like new ideas and new blood will be good for the sport, especially college rodeo and Jim sure is the man to do that.”