Rodeo Life

Category: Archive

  • On the Trail With Rayne Grant

    On the Trail With Rayne Grant

    Wheatland, Wyoming, cowgirl, Rayne Grant, took home the 2022 National High School Finals Rodeo All Around title, AQHA horse of the year, pole bending championship as well as reserve world champion in the barrels. “It feels crazy still,” said the 18-year-old. “I remember in junior high looking at all the national champions; those kids seemed so cool to me. Now that I’ve won it, it doesn’t feel any different, I’m still just a normal person.”

    Growing up on a fifth generation ranch south of Wheatland, Rayne is accustomed to roping and riding. She started riding when she was three, and watched her older sister, Allie, and her dad, Mike, compete. Rayne started competing in Colorado Junior Rodeo Association when she was five, entering all the events she could. Rodeo News wrote about her seven years ago. https://mwdatademo1.com/association/meet-the-member-rayne-grant/

    She moved up to Wyoming High School rodeo and also helped her parents put on a weekly team roping jackpot in the summer. Rayne competes in the Colorado Pro Rodeo and the Wyoming Rodeo Association as well as entering futurities with her barrel racing prospects.

    Her barrel racing and pole bending horse, Chily, won the girls AQHA Horse of the Year award at the 2022 NHSFR. VF A famous Lady, has been part of the Grant family for four years. “We were looking for a barrel horse and she was a really nice horse – Chily was 8 and I took her to some races and it went good. A year and a half later, my pole horse got hurt so I entered Chily in the event. Her first time running, she clocked a 20.3 – the fastest time I’ve ever made.” The Grant family all ride Quarter horses. “They are the best – I don’t know why I’d try anything else.”

    Rayne will be a freshman this fall at Laramie County Community College in Cheyenne, Wyo., where she will continue to compete in college rodeo in team roping, breakaway, barrels, and goats. “This region (Central Rocky Mountain) is so tough; I feel like I fit in well here. I’ve been fortunate to go to Arizona in the winters, but I don’t want to go to school there.” She is studying applied management; “to do something with horses. I want to train futurity barrel horses – they are amazing, and I love being in that industry.” She will take five of her quarter horses with her to school; four to compete on and one colt that she will continue to train and futurity on. “I’m confident about going to college and making it all work with the horses and school. My parents have prepared me very well. I am pretty independent, and I’ve taken five or six horses to rodeos all year, so I can handle it.”

    The Grants have been buying, training, and selling Quarter horses for years. “We have one that we raised, but for the most part we buy two or three-year-olds,” explained Rayne. “You are investing in bloodlines, and you find the bloodlines that are winning and you like and go from there. My dad trains more of the head horses and I do more with the breakaway and barrel horses. Mom (Becky), videos and supports us and gets mad when we buy more horses.” Mike still does general ranch work on the family ranch, but he also manages Fox Farm Storage, a company the family has built up. Rayne is quick to be grateful to her parents for providing her with horses all of her life. “I’ve ridden so many – I’ve had four-year-olds since I was 12 and then I’d sell them. It’s what I want to do for a living, train and sell horses. You keep going and better yourself to move up.”

    One of the obstacles Rayne had to overcome at the National High School Finals was three broken vertebrae. “I had a horse fall with me a month ago before Nationals and broke L1, 2, and 3.” Doctors orders as well as the pain made practice for Finals impossible. “I think I went to two jackpots between state Finals and Nationals and I wore a back brace at Nationals. The doctor said I could do what felt ok to me – they told me to take it easy, that’s why I didn’t go anywhere but it didn’t stop me from going to Nationals.”

    She made Nationals all four years of high school. “Nationals is a completely different set up – it’s not like any other rodeo you’ll compete at in the high school level. It’s the top four people from every state and the competition is tough.” One of the advantages that Rayne had was the winters spent in Arizona. “We would head down in November and come back in May. My sister (Allie Eddington) and her husband – he’s a banker in Wheatland – live on the ranch and they stay and take care of everything. We take all the horses – we have three rigs that go down every year.” With this win, Rayne will add three more saddles to her collection of 9 trophy saddles. Rayne’s interest is strictly horses. “I honestly don’t think I could do anything else.”

    For now, Rayne is heading to Cheyenne for college. “I’m excited about college – I’m ready to experience something new, move out and be on my own.” She’s not sure she’s excited about the winter though. “Wyoming will always be home, but I can train horses a lot better in the heat than in the cold. When it’s hot, I can still ride in the early morning – when it’s cold I just can’t get away from it.”
    One thing she is sure of is that she is following her passion. “Do whatever makes you happy and have fun. I think part of myself having this success, is I’ve always wanted to rodeo. It truly makes me happy and I focus on all the positives and have fun. I think people forget to have fun – I love my horses and I want to take care of them, and you do whatever you have to do. It makes winning a lot sweeter.”

  • Today’s Youth Culture

    As David was gathering his “Mighty Men” there was a group of warriors who showed up. These 200 chiefs came with their relatives and are described as: “…from Issachar, (these were) men who understood the times and knew what Israel should do” (1 Chronicles 12:32)
    Swords, horses and bows are important. More important, as any strategist will tell us, is a wise plan. Having such allows us to understand and gain wisdom. The Ancient’s confirm this. In Tsung Tsu’s famous “The Art of War” he states: “If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.”
    In Lukianoff and Haidt’s, “The Coddling of the American Mind”, they address the “untruths” that a corner of our culture is inculcating into our youth. Birth to college, the not-so-subtle messages are making inroads. I agree with their thesis and want to springboard with my own thoughts. As always, I hope they are helpful.
    Students are being told, untruly, that they are emotionally fragile. They are not. The point, in part, of childhood is to be able to explore unsafe things in a reasonably safe way. The job of parents is to help develop the child to be unafraid of real-life challenges because they have incrementally been exposed to controllable danger and have learned how to adapt, toughen and grow. Safety is a fantasy. Nothing is safe. Even love is dangerous. Maybe the most dangerous actually. But I digress.
    This safety notion started, like them all, with good intentions. Expand and over apply an exaggerated concept of safety, over several decades, it morphs into our current situation where even an opposing “idea” is considered dangerous. We “cancel” people and shout them down with mega-phones if someone has challenging ideas. We create “safe spaces” and help them flee to wallow in their own pseudo-brilliance instead of having legitimate debates in the marketplace with older experienced voices.
    The word “dangerous” has been reduced to include hurt feelings now. Our children are not being carefully coached toward resiliency and the ability to move wisely, with strength and thoughtful compassion in the face of opposition. If someone is pretending to be a duck, anyone who questions that will be attacked in some form. The pretender catastrophizes the issue and claims they are in a dangerous space. The pretender, today, has more voice than the one asking questions it seems.
    Now, of course you know, like me, that words can hurt. They can do tremendous damage. Especially to young children. There is a big difference however, from a fathers overly harsh words in a family of origin setting (which hurt) and a college campus where opposing ideas are supposed to be presented. When our ideas cannot be discussed and debated without being seen as “dangerous” we have lost our idea of democracy. We have further lost the idea of college (higher education) which is traditionally and intentionally the place for ideas to be studied. Instead of squelched.
    They are being taught, consciously or unconsciously, intentionally or unintentionally, to be fragile and easily offended. Someone who disagrees is dangerous and to be silenced. Words like “triggered” and “micro-aggressions” are common. Casual conversations among friends are often framed in negative terms and discounted, instead of offering the benefit of the doubt.
    Further, increasingly, friendships get broken, and lines get drawn. Us against them is more prevalent. Good guys and bad guys are more distinct. This polarization creates division, and they blame outside forces for their life situation. Personal responsibility for thoughts and actions disappears. Some other group or ideal is to blame for life’s normal hardships.
    When I guided the big white-water rivers of the Northwest, there was a clear pattern even rookie guides noticed early. If during a flat-water section another boat initiates a water fight, the boat will band together. But shortly after the outside threat is gone, someone in the boat will throw a bucket of water on or push their own boat-mate overboard. Someone will get mad or lose a contact or a hat. And the boat tears itself apart. Sound familiar.
    Our youth are resilient and strong. We should not teach them to be fragile and weak. We need to help them to grow stronger and face challenges instead of reinforcing an emotional fragility.
    I need to stay tuned with the culture to be able to have a wise voice. However, if I shout, I might be cancelled. If I stay silent, I will have failed them.
    David needed cultural wisdom. So do I.

  • Advice for Incoming Freshman

    My advice for incoming freshmen across the country. As a student athlete, let your actions speak louder than your words! College coaches make a million promises during the recruiting process, understand it won’t be as easy for you as they’ve made it sound. There will be adjustments and tough times, but they brought you there for a reason and believe in you!
    Some first-year tips for your first year on campus…
    Embrace your team as your family: Whether you are moving across the country, crossing borders, or staying close to home, things are about to change. Treat your coaches like your parents away from home, they are there to support, encourage, and discipline you. Your team mates are your siblings, there is bound to be some sibling rivalry (expect that) but your team mates will be your support system as you adjust to this new life. Other than your family, coaches and teammates no one cares how you do.
    At some point you will need help. If you are feeling overwhelmed, seek out support from your coaches or your teammates. There are tutors to help with classes, there are people to talk to if you are home sick. If you are having trouble adjusting, you are never alone. Seek out help when you are feeling swamped and let your community support you through the first few months. The home sickness will pass as you get more comfortable with your new schedule, and surroundings.
    Time management will be the toughest obstacle when you arrive on campus. Between class, practice, homework, rodeos, study hall, travel and a social life, your time will be spread thin. You need to prioritize your tasks and have good time management skills in order to manage and enjoy it all.
    Have a great attitude and enjoy the daily process, be someone that your teammates and coaches want to be around. Too many freshmen get frustrated and bitter too quickly over their struggles. This is a process, enjoy the ride. Your freshman year will be over quick! It’s not about how quickly you start your career, but what you are able to accomplish over your entire career. Have a great attitude while developing during your first year as a student athlete!
    Understand there are opportunities to learn and improve every day! Practice is your biggest opportunity, take advantage of it. Every Single. Day
    Film your practices and at rodeos, let it be a great reflection of your skills, speed and maturity. The film doesn’t lie. Watch it with your coaches, seek to improve through watching film.
    Do the work that others won’t do. There are many ways to improve, but most of those involve hard work. Do the drills on the dummies that others won’t. Put in the work in the weight room that others aren’t willing to. Go to study hall when others go out.
    Surround yourself with positive teammates. As a freshman with few friends, choose your circle carefully. The people you choose to surround yourself with will go a long way in determining your success in the classroom and in the arena. Keep your distance from those who don’t have the same goals and dreams as you.
    Your college experience will be as good as you make it.

  • Karen Vold

    Karen Vold

    Karen Vold calls trick riding the desire of her heart. But the sport of daredevil skills and showmanship on horseback was even more than that to Karen, who held on to it like a lifeline through turbulent times in life. She learned to know and trust God through her experiences on the rodeo trail, and now has the privilege of sharing lessons learned through her trick riding school, Red Top Ranch Trick Riding School. “Because of rodeo, I’ve had a very wonderful life,” says Karen. “I started out with not such a great youth, but as I got older and got into trick riding, it got better. I thank God to not only trick ride, but to be in rodeo, where I met my husband.”
    Before Karen became Karen Vold, wife of the late, legendary stock contractor, Harry Vold, she was already leading a life heavily steeped in rodeo. “Dad (Andy Womack) was the only person at the Phoenix Rodeo who was chairman more than one year during the war, and he hired the announcers and clowns and specialty acts. They would come to our house and have dinner, and I was so enthralled with the trick riders and listening to their stories. So at a very young and tender age, I decided to be a trick rider.” When she was about eight years old, Karen learned to trick ride from Louise Tex Lee, a woman trick rider who worked at the Womack family’s riding stable in Phoenix. Later, Karen’s parents purchased a palomino, Gold Dust, from a trick rider who worked the Phoenix Rodeo, and he became Karen’s bosom friend and trick horse during her parents’ divorce. Louise had taught Karen three tricks that she knew, and when Karen got her PRCA card in 1953 at age 14, the Phoenix Jaycee Rodeo was the first PRCA rodeo she worked. Her dad also worked as the clown that year.
    When Karen was 18 and a senior in high school, her dad paid for her to have lessons with the world champion trick rider Dick Griffith at his ranch in Colorado, provided she learn the full shoulder stand the way Dick performed it. It was a more complicated stand that faced forward and required diving over the saddle horn, rather than the side shoulder stand. “I did learn that for my dad, and always did that particular trick as an honor to him,” says Karen. The following year in 1958, Karen took a hiatus from trick riding when she was crowned the Phoenix Jaycee Rodeo queen. Through them, she represented her home state as the first Miss Rodeo Arizona at the Miss Rodeo America pageant. “It added some very lovely adventures to my life and wonderful memories. There used to be a program called Queen for a Day, and they took me to California and I was on TV. I invited their program to the Phoenix Rodeo. At the Miss Rodeo America pageant, there were a lot of interesting things for a young girl to do and see. Jane Russell, who was a very popular actress in those days, was one of the judges. Arlene Kensinger was the chaperone for Miss Rodeo America for many years, and she taught me a lot of things that were helpful.”
    Karen returned to trick riding in 1959, and in 1962, she formed her own troupe, The Flying Cimarrons, who performed together for a few years before disbanding. Not long after that, Karen and Dick Hammond, a fellow student she met at Dick Griffith’s school, formed The Fireballs trick riding team, together with Dick Hammond’s wife, Bev, and brother-in-law, Butch Morgan. Karen still lived in Phoenix at the time, and the other members of the team, who lived in Colorado, came to practice at her place in the winter. They met Canadian stock contractor Harry Vold at the rodeo convention in Denver, and he asked them to come perform at several of his rodeos in Canada. “The first rodeo, it rained three days and three nights—I’d never seen so much water in my life. The rodeo was canceled, and we were so impressed that Harry paid us, even though he didn’t get paid for the rodeo.”
    The Fireballs were invited back to Canada the following summer, which further developed Karen and Harry’s friendship. They married in 1972, combining their families, including Karen’s daughter from her first marriage, Nancy, and Harry’s four children, Wayne, Dona, Doug, and Darce. Harry and Karen were also blessed with their daughter, Kirsten. Once Karen married Harry, she put trick riding aside to help run Vold Rodeo Company. Her knowledge of rodeo showmanship and attention to detail helped continue Vold Rodeo’s reputation, which earned Harry Vold the PRCA Stock Contractor of the Year award 11 times. One of many highlights for Karen was Vold Rodeo Company working in Helsinki, Finland, at the invitation of bull rider turned rodeo producer, Jerome Robinson. “I’ve had lots of favorite rodeos for different reasons. Naturally in trick riding, you love the big arenas. For Santa Fe and Colorado Springs, this is our 55th consecutive year putting those rodeos on, and Prescott is 50 years and we’re still putting it on. My daughter Kirsten is still in charge. First I was the stock contractor’s wife, and now I’m the stock contractor’s mother. Those places are special because you see the same people once a year like a family reunion, and the people make the difference.”
    Karen makes her home in Avondale, Colorado, and travels with Kirsten in the summers to the rodeos they’re producing. She also continues to run Red Top Ranch Trick Riding School, one of the few trick riding schools in the country, which she started in 1988. At 83, she teaches alongside Linda Scholtz, a former student of hers who was a professional trick rider for 20 years before coming to teach at the school. Karen also handles much of the cooking for the three-day schools and the rodeo crews coming through for Vold Rodeo Company.
    One very special person to Karen was her trick riding hero, Tad Lucas, whom she met when the women were both inducted into the Cowgirl Hall of Fame in 1978. Karen made another friend in author Tracie Peterson, who came to the trick riding school to research the sport for one of her historical fiction novels. “She’s a very famous author and has written over 100 books. I wrote two cookbooks and took a year for writing each,” Karen says with a laugh. “Those are the types of experiences I wouldn’t have had without trick riding or rodeo. When I was in high school, I went to a church camp in Prescott and I thought if I wanted to serve the Lord, I had to go to South Africa. Little did I realize that I could still serve the Lord in my backyard by teaching and having those schools. I can share what the Lord has done in my life with students and their parents. I enjoyed 53 years shared with my husband, providing wholesome family entertainment in rodeo business, and got to perform in trick riding. When you’re teaching, you feel the same thing you experienced when you were riding, and when a student is working hard on something and accomplishes it, you feel same excitement.”

  • Back When They Bucked with Dan Ariaz

    Back When They Bucked with Dan Ariaz

    Story by Dan Ariaz

    It’s a marvel a career in fighting bulls would lead to a career in fighting the most dangerous insect on earth. The feared mosquito infects hundreds of millions of humans worldwide and kills millions a year. When the bucking chute opened, a door to save millions opened with it for Dan Ariaz. Although a massively muscled, enraged bucking bull was dangerous enough for the bullfighter, Dan, the tiny, biting mosquito offered him a more daunting challenge. Malaria, Bubonic Plague, Dengue Fever, West Nile Virus, Yellow Fever, Encephalitis, Lyme Disease, Chikungunya, Zika, and Bluetongue in livestock and deer herds, are just a few of the diseases that ravage our populations. As he grew up to be a man, Dan’s knowledge of such diseases grew too. Dan was to devote his life into combating disease-carrying mosquitos.
    A man from humble roots, Dan was introduced to the ranch life in 1958 when his stepfather, Don Bowman, moved the family from Los Angeles to Smokey Valley, NV. From 1959 to 1962, the family lived on the Babbitt Ranch located near the Grand Canyon. There was no electricity and no heat except for a wood-burning stove. Instead of plumbing, outhouses were used, and water had to be hauled in by truck. Chores were overwhelming. Dan had to care for the ranch horses Dan’s stepdad broke to move cattle in the scorching summer and frigid winter. As a youngster Dan learned the harshness of life on the ranch. At twelve years old, Dan’s stepdad, introduced him to rodeo clowning and bullfighting. He found a new passion, securing rodeo as an integral part of Dan’s life.
    At fourteen, he moved to Tollhouse, CA to attend Sierra High School which was known for its outstanding agricultural program. Under the tutelage of Bob and Doreen McColaugh and Tom and Susanne Dean, Dan became a decorated FFA competitor. He excelled in market and showmanship cattle and sheep events throughout California with championship wins at the famed Cow Palace in San Francisco. While in FFA, he began competing in high school bareback, saddle bronc, and bull riding (where he spent more time eating dirt and manure than staying on for the eight second ride). With his athletic ability, two good feet, and love for coming face to face with an angry horned bull, bull fighting was the perfect compromise. Another incentive was the cash from bullfighting he could put in his billfold.
    In 1968, Dan was drafted by Uncle Sam into the United States Marine Corps. After boot camp, he fought bulls for the All-Pro-Rodeo Armed Force Teams, which Andy Jaurequi stock contracted. After serving in the military, Dan attended Modesto Junior College, later transferring to the University of Nevada where he continued to fight bulls for the National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association. Also, during this time, he fought bulls for various stock contractors: RSC (Roddy, Sperick, Cook), Western Rodeo, Christian Brother, J Spear, Prunty and Gondolfo, and others.
    ‘Clowning around’ brought a new job opportunity for Dan. When in Reno, his clowning act needed a water truck, but Washoe County’s water truck was broken. This wasn’t a problem for the creative ranch kid with plenty of mechanical experience. Dan used a Coors beer pop top lid to adjust the points and fix the truck. The general manager of the Reno Rodeo arena noted his mechanical skills and desire to please, so he offered Dan a job maintaining the livestock pavilions of the Reno Rodeo grounds for Washoe County. The full-time job with insurance and retirement benefits provided enough incentive for Dan not to pursue a card-carrying Professional Rodeo Clown Association career and stay in Reno.
    The connections Dan had made in Washoe County and the investigative techniques he learned in the military proved useful. When the Washoe County Health Department posted a job for an environmental investigator, Dan applied and was hired. Responsibilities included tracking down those who damaged or vandalized public lands and fouled water sources. The Vector Control department specialized in insects that transmitted diseases to both man and animals. Occasionally, Dan’s responsibilities would intersect with Vector Control. Insect foggers that dispersed liquid Pyrethrum, a chemical derived from the chrysanthemum plant, were being used by the county to mitigate the bugs and when they wouldn’t start, Dan was the handyman they called. Fixing the foggers connected Dan with the Vector Control Coordinator who requested Dan be his replacement since he was leaving. As the new coordinator, Dan had a lot of learning to do. The only thing he knew about mosquitoes was the sting of their bite. Washoe County’s director of environmental health, Carl Cahill, assisted and supported Dan in his mosquito education, creative brainstorming, and equipment upgrading (all which eventually made Washoe’s County’s mosquito abatement program a success). Having been bitten by the mosquito, Dan now had the resources to bite back.
    As the door of cowboying was shutting, a new door was opening that would lead Dan to invent a mosquito-fighting machine. The start of this invention began in 1983, when Dan was fighting bulls at a collegiate rodeo where he saved a young cowboy, a microbiology student from Texas A&M, from serious injury. When this cowboy reached out to Dan to thank him, a mutual interest in mosquitos was discovered. The student was studying Bacillus Thuringiensis, a bacterium also known as Bti which is naturally occurring. It contains toxin producing spores that can target the larvae of black fly, fungus gnats, and mosquitoes. This product seemed to be a brilliant alternative to pesticides that were having disastrous effects on the environment. Washoe County’s expansive ranch lands became the testing ground for Bti.
    Such testing revealed a need for an invention. The new product utilized minute granules for application, which rendered the old foggers used to disperse liquid chemicals useless. Dan got to working on how to make something that could work with this new product. In his garage, he created the ARROGUN, a new fogger capable of granular distribution. By 1985, ARROGUN was patented, manufactured in the United States, and sold worldwide.
    Since then, Dan’s company, Bio Rational Vector Control, is recognized as a global leader in mosquito abatement. The company has invented a catch-basin which distributes granules into storm drains, a handheld fogger called The Bullet, electric foggers, a sand-fly injection system, and an amphibious dual-purpose vehicle. Now, Dan travels globally to Africa, Australia, Europe, and the Caribbean to teach the benefits of using environmentally conscious products to control mosquitoes. He continues to consult with governments in developing countries on mitigation of disease bearing insects. Presently, he is consulting on the construction of several high-end resorts outside the United States that need his expertise in combating vector-borne diseases. Dan’s well-earned nickname ‘Mazzie Dan’ (Mazzie means mosquito) or ‘Mosquito Killer’ is known throughout the world.
    After thirty years of fighting bulls, Dan’s last bull fight was at Truckee California in the early 90’s. By 1998, he had gone full mosquito. As president of the American Mosquito Control Association, he and his team lobbied Congress for funds to combat West Nile Virus. The millions of dollars helped to set up staff, education, health districts, and disease prevention programs. In 2009, Dan was awarded the Medal of Honor from the American Mosquito Control Association in recognition of a career distinguished by leadership, innovation, and dedication in mosquito control.
    A lot has changed for Dan. His arena has transformed from dust and dirt to humid swamps and beaches. He now ‘fights’ with a dipper, microscope, and soft chemical applications. His cleats have been traded for rubber boots and he no longer wears make-up, a wig, or a flamboyant clown costume, except when he regularly attends and supports the Rodeo Clown Reunions. The cowboy hat that now rests upside down on a closet shelf has been replaced with a baseball cap embroidered with a mosquito icon and the phrase, ‘Bite Me’. Whether he is wearing Levi’s or shorts, one thing that hasn’t changed is his trophy belt buckle that proudly displays his past in rodeo (and keeps his britches up). Dan loved his life of clowning and fighting bulls, but today he enjoys watching the action from his lounger. As the bulls get meaner and the purse gets deeper, cowboys remain tough competitors as they did in Dan’s era. Although there was a time when one bullfighter did the job of today’s two or three, the goal for these fighters remains the same: protect the cowboy from harm. Dan’s purpose is no longer fighting a nasty, snot-nosed bull to save a man’s life. Now his purpose is to save millions of lives by controlling diseases spread by mosquitoes. When the bucking chute gates opened, new opportunities arose for Dan, which transformed a rodeo clown-bullfighter into an acclaimed mosquito fighter.

  • 5 Star Champion Featured Athlete Jimmie Smith

    5 Star Champion Featured Athlete Jimmie Smith

    In a word, the 2022 rodeo season has been all about driving for Jimmie Smith from McDade, Texas. Sky-high gas prices aren’t keeping her at home after 2021 almost sidelined her completely. “Last June, I was in a super bad semi-truck accident,” the professional barrel racer said. “That really shook things up. It took my good rope horse and barrel horse out of the trailer for the summer. But through the wreck, I met some really great people and that’s how I got paired up with Viper who kept me in the standings.” Jimmie and Viper landed in the 17th hole last season. Now she’s approaching the year with a new mentality that’s truly paying off.
    “Each year it seems like there are different goals. This year I’m just doing what’s best for me and my horses; minding our own business and taking care of ourselves.” Jimmie admits that she’s put a lot of pressure on herself and her mounts in the past three rodeo seasons. “I wanted to make the finals every year and keep up with everyone else by going to all the rodeos; especially over Cowboy Christmas.” Rather than going to every rodeo on the map, Jimmie is picking wisely. She’s hyper focused on competing in the rodeos that her horses will perform well at. “I’m trying to rodeo smarter. I’m choosing rodeos that I enjoy, which I usually have more confidence at anyways. I’ve stopped chasing rodeos and money.” Focusing on her horses is putting the joy back into rodeo as the pressure eases off. It’s a great strategy for Jimmie’s mental game as she’s looking to breach the top 15 this year just as she did for the first time in 2018.
    “I’ve rodeoed my whole life and then did college rodeo. I was more of a goat tier and breakaway roper originally. I made the college finals in both of those.” Even though Jimmie’s been a lifelong barrel racer, prior to 2016 it had been a while since she had a top mount to turn the clover leaf pattern. It was in the fall of 2016 that Jimmie found Lena On The Rocks. “I had been looking for a horse that would be the next best thing to raising babies since all my own were still too young to go yet.” Lena was 6 when she got paired up with Jimmie. Their first major event together was the Lucky Dog American Semi Final Qualifier in December. After qualifying for the American, Jimmie realized Lena was something special.
    “I was really focusing on my college rodeos, so I was saving Lena to make the college finals. I graduated from Texas A&M in May 2018, we went to the college finals and we entered all the rodeos that summer.” It was Jimmie’s rookie season and she managed to clinch the year-end title thanks to her partnership with Lena. That was the same year Jimmie landed her very first sponsorship contract with 5 Star Equine. “I really appreciate and love the atmosphere that 5 Star provides and all their products are American made. They’re super great to work with as a team.” When Jimmie qualified for the American semi final in 2016, she won herself a pink 5 Star saddle pad. It was her first experience with the brand and now she can’t imagine riding anything else.
    “I love my pink 5 Star pads. They keep my horses super happy, and I don’t have any issues with soreness in their back.” Jimmie rarely saddles her horses with anything but a pink 5 Star pad anymore. She enjoys matching her pad with her horses’ boots and her own shirt. She also uses their mohair breast collars to pull the entire 5 Star, usually pink, ensemble together. “I just really like that they keep my horses happy. I don’t have issues in their back, they’re never really sore when it comes to my pads and saddles fitting, they just fit accordingly. And my horses are able to perform to their best.”

  • On the Trail With Statler Wright

    On the Trail With Statler Wright

    The last of the Wright’s is making his run for the Resistol Rookie of the year, joining his three brothers, Rusty, Ryder, and Steston, on the rodeo road. The Utah All State Linebacker, owes his love of riding broncs to Covid. “I was part of an undefeated football team – we took state two years in a row – and then Covid hit and we couldn’t play anymore,” said the 18-year-old who graduated six months early to hit the rodeo trail. “I got after dad to let me get on, and ever since, it’s been a full head of steam.”

    Growing up, he didn’t participate in much of what his older brothers were doing. “If they needed help, I was the pickup man, I did get on one saddle bronc steer and the only saddle that would fit me was too big and after that I didn’t get on another bucking horse until I was a junior (in high school).” He liked going with Stetson to ride bulls. “My freshman year, I got on a few and the third bull I got on slammed me and broke my collar bone; I hung it up after that.”

    The main reason Statler started riding later in life was due to his size. Statler got his mom’s genes for being bigger than the rest of his siblings. “My dad was 6’4”,” said his mother, ShaRee. “He was always eager to rodeo. Cody (his dad) was hesitant because Statler was bigger than the other boys. When you grow that fast, you get hurt easier. Cody would just tell him in due time, you will get on.’” ShaRee has supported her husband as well as all her kids in whatever endeavors they pursued .. except riding bareback and bulls … and she continues to be their biggest fan. “Now we’ve got five grandkids and one on the way. As a mom with busy kids and lots of grandkids you don’t have time to think about anything else.”

    Cody started all four of his sons to ride bucking horses the same way, on a saddle horse. “He told us that if we could spur a saddle horse, then we could spur a bucking horse – the kicking helps you throw your feet forward,” explained Statler. “I started riding bucking horses right handed and I bucked off to the left. Dad told me to ‘get my riding boots on and walk across a real thin metal pole. Whatever arm you stick up to balance is the one you use to balance.’ I stuck my right arm up and so I started riding left-handed and it’s worked out.”

    All the boys lean heavily on Cody for advice as well as entering. “It’s the respect that they have for him – not just as a cowboy that’s done it, but as a dad and a person … we are a super close family – we all live within a couple miles of each other,” explained ShaRee. “We are always together when they are home.” Their younger sister, Lily Jo, is chasing cans when she’s not playing softball or basketball. “My boys always tease that as athletic as they are, she got far more genes than any of them.”

    ShaRee has spent her life supporting her rodeo family. “I remember when Cody and I were married, we had Rusty and Ryder; he was pouring concrete for his dad. Cody put together a video of his bronc rides to send to Shawn Davis, the rodeo coach for college of Southern Idaho. He told Shawn that he wanted to be a bronc rider needed to be learning from someone like Shawn. When Shawn accepted him to CSI, he packed up his clothes in a truck with a camper shell and headed to CSI.” ShaRee stayed behind with Rusty and Ryder. Cody found an apartment after a couple months of living in the back of his truck and we moved to Twin Falls, Idaho.”

    Cody, one of 13 siblings, came from a small town called Milford, Utah, in Southern Utah; a town with no stoplight and where the Wrights are the main attraction. He ended up a father with 13 NFR qualifications and two world titles and three sons with a combined 15 NFR Qualifications and seven world titles, and a young daughter, Lily Jo, who is capable of joining her brothers either as a barrel racer or softball or basketball star. Statler feels very blessed. “I love being the youngest (of the boys). I get to be in the truck with three world champs. As a rookie, you don’t get that privilege and it’s awesome.”

    All three of his brothers give him advice on different things. “Stetson likes the pressure moments and it’s all on you and coming out on top. Got nothing to lose and everything to gain. Rusty is like the all around situation- he’ll tell you what you need to hear. He knows everything it seems like. He’s good with the bronc saddles, he knows a lot about those. Ryder – he’s the motivator – I love it when I go after Ryder, he’s on the back of the bucking chutes. He always says; ‘lift and stay back’ – that’s the one jump that’s mandatory is the mark out – Gas it and give it to ‘em. All these guys were trial and error and they get to tell me what to do and how to do it.”

    As far as getting advice from his dad. “He’s still the boss – I can totally get in trouble with my dad, I’m the king of it. I’ve always been the troublemaker. My dad does the entering, from the horses to the days to get up. I love it – they’ve all been pro rodeoing and I get to benefit from that.”
    Growing up with a football background has helped him as well. “I was either the leading tackler or second with that – I was all over the field, either guarding the receiver or stopping the run. I had to read what the quarterback was going to do. You still have to try like it’s 0-0 like anything else. I’m not number one but the come behind win is always better than the pull away win.”

    In his pursuit of the Resistol Rookie of the Year, Statler has been on more bucking horses this year than he’s on in the last two years. “I love it – I love getting on bucking horses. Waking up getting to do what you love there’s nothing better.” He also loves it when the little kids come over to take a picture. “I’ve only been graduated a month and to have that impact on that kid is mind blowing to me.”
    Cody has instilled the most important quality he could to his family – humbleness. “If they feel they got jaded, he tells them ‘You do you and don’t worry about anything else’. Cody is super humble and he’s instilled that in his kids – to appreciate the opportunity to do what they do and be competitive at it.

    “They know their dad opened lots of doors for them,” concluded ShaRee, “but they work hard – people may not realize they aren’t winning because their last name is Wright – they put a lot of work into it. They appreciate the family for the guidance, but they put the time in. Just because you’re a Wright, the work never ends. There is always a way to do better. It’s a humbling sport for sure.”

  • Good People Make Good Nations

    Good People Make Good Nations

    Our recent 4th of July celebrations caused me to ponder our nation. This is my summary.
    Good ideas, taken to an extreme and governed by the exceptions, die of their own kindness.
    This is why government can never be the essence of a good and lasting nation. Governments take what seem to be ‘good ideas’ and legislate them. The problem is kindness and compassion cannot be mandated. Good people already do those things because they are good people.
    Good people need very few laws to guide them. Societies need a few. In my mind, not that you asked, the ‘good people’ to ‘good society’ cycle needs to start somewhere. To me it starts with the individual. One person at a time. You. Me. This is ancient wisdom. Before Plato, who mentions this idea, humans have known this.
    Good people are good. They do good things. Good people find good people. They do good things together. They cooperate and get things done. They give and take and share their ideas in a safe and healthy way. They have core values of honesty, courage, loyalty, fierceness and kindness. They protect what they have built from those who seek to steal it. They are self-sacrificing for a good cause and want the best for others.
    As a result, they attract good spouses and together they build a strong and safe world for each other. They support each other in the life journeys of easy and hard. They love hard, bond and speak kindly and honestly to each other. Of course, as goes with humans, that proves itself physically. They have children.
    Their children grow up in principled, emotionally, and physically safe and structured homes. They are imprinted early with the values of good humans. Not taught as much as caught. The values are lived in front of the children in such a way that they are planted deep in the child’s mind and heart. They become the normal and expected way life should be lived. Respect. Honor. Integrity. Mercy. Strength. Contribution. Humility and Initiative are practiced daily in tangible ways. Forgiveness and grace are the standard. They know these things, not because of a speaker on a campus, but because that is how life is lived in good homes. They become good people because they were saturated and matured by good people.
    So, they attract good people. The cycle continues and they raise good children. They create good homes that make for good neighborhoods. Good neighborhoods make good communities. Good people band together and build hospitals, schools, libraries, roads, parks, benevolent funds, scholarships and civil laws. Again, good people need very few laws. They can, in good faith and love, figure their own stuff out.
    Good cities, make good counties which make good states in the case of the US. Good states make a good nation. Good nations make good laws that serve its good citizens and care for the exceptions. Out of a good citizenship, this nation is strong and kind. It defends what it has worked hard to form. It does not let the exceptions become the rule. It sees needs in areas around the world and serves them out of its strength and abundance. Out of its goodness.
    There will always be those who rebel and behave like deconstructionistic narcissists who insist they are special and need accommodation. They will see it as their right, all others be damned. They care for nothing that has been built because they have built nothing. They seek, not to contribute to the strength and unity, but rather seek to tear down to serve their own specialness and be accommodated. They will force their distinctiveness on the masses and demand accommodation. These do not make good neighbors. In fact, they make contentious neighbors generally and probably don’t contribute to the benevolence fund or the parks they want benefit of.
    Two illustrations: Susie and I saw an emergency roadside assistance vehicle on the side of the road. It had a flat tire and was out of commission. Roadside assistance vehicles can assist no one when they don’t have the reserves to help. My decades of Mountain and River Rescue work have a code. Stay alive. A dead rescuer helps no one and in fact, becomes another liability. Good nations must do the things needed to stay strong.
    Nations must be built by good people making good homes and neighborhoods. In turn they make good cities and states. In turn, it follows, that they band together and unify, make a good nation. Bottom-up works. Top-down never does for long.
    Good people make good nations. Not the other way around.

  • June & July Are The Months of the College National Finals Rodeo

    June and July are the months of the College National Finals Rodeo, The National High School Finals rodeo, the Best of the Best, the National Little Britches Finals, and the International Finals Youth rodeo. For many of the young contestants that are coming up through the rodeo ranks, these are the biggest youth rodeos they will have ever competed in for national championships. Today I had a parent ask me what my best advice to get a student ready to compete at one of these events was. How would I prepare a student to go to one or more of these events?
    Every year since 2007 I have helped college students prepare to compete at the college finals in every event. In every case, there is a difference in the competitor, but I do believe there are a few things that students can do to better prepare themselves to compete at a high level.
    The first thing I see is that students who continue to compete are usually better prepared. Practice is great and you need to continue to practice, but there is no substitution for competition. Find rodeos to compete at, find jackpots to compete at, but make sure you are competing. You should be willing to step out of your comfort zone and compete against a higher level of competition than you usually compete against. Enter an open roping, enter a pro rodeo, the top contestants you will be competing against at any of those events listed above are competing at these events.
    The other main thing I see is that most contestants spend the majority of their practice time and efforts practicing on the physical side of their event. The majority of contestants I know put in plenty of time in the practice arena working on the physical elements of their game. Where most of the money and championships are won are with the mental side. I will say it again most of the championships are won by those contestants who are strong competitors mentally.
    Focus should go into practice to prepare yourself both physically and mentally if you want to compete at a high level of any sport. Most people like to practice with ideal circumstances and their choice of livestock; that’s great in a perfect world. Most rodeos are won by contestants and competitors who can win on what they draw and do not need the proverbial luck of the draw to win. Mentally strong people seem to always find ways to win consistently. Work on your mental game.
    And the final advise I give to all of my student competing—You can’t win it on your first one, but you can lose it. Very seldom does anyone remember who won the first round of the CNFR or the High School Finals, but they all remember the champion. Most of the rodeos I mentioned are three or four head averages. You have to do well on three or four head to win. Have a game plan and be able to execute your game plan on each individual animal you have drawn. Good things happen when you can execute a game plan.
    Good Luck!

  • Back When They Bucked With Butch Tirelli

    Back When They Bucked With Butch Tirelli

    Roland ‘Butch’ Tirelli was born January 14, 1941 in the Knickerbocker Hospital in New York City to Rachel Lopez and Frank Tirelli. Butch grew up in Brooklyn. Although his father was not in his daily life, he did have an ‘off and on’ relationship with him. Butch’s mother married a man named Cohen when Butch was just a toddler. Cohen was a good father, but money was scarce. Butch’s mom saved her pennies to be able to give Butch dance lessons.
    At age 12, Butch and his mother were leaving the CBS Studio 54 Dance Studio in New York City; they were headed home by way of the subway, when Butch saw a marquee advertising the Madison Square Garden Rodeo. ROY ROGERS — RODEO – 200 COWBOYS!! Butch excitedly said to his mom, “Mom, mom! We gotta go see that!” She told him she didn’t have money for a ticket. They passed by the Belvedere Hotel, across the street from Madison Square Garden. Butch saw dozens of cowboys going across the street from the Belvedere and entering the Garden. One cowboy, in particular, stood out – he wore a purple shirt and had initials, C. T. on his denim jacket.
    Being from Brooklyn, Butch walked up to the cowboy and said, “Hey, I’ve never been to a rodeo. Can you get me a ticket?”
    The cowboy grinned, reached in his back pocket and handed him two tickets and said, “Here kid, have a good time!”
    Butch was thrilled!
    Although the seats were up in the top of the Garden a man sitting next to his mother offered Butch his binoculars so he could see the cowboys ‘up close and personal’. Butch never went to another dance lesson. He was hooked! He was going to be a cowboy – NO MATTER WHAT IT TOOK!
    Young Butch went to all the Saturday afternoon cowboy movies. He watched how they walked, how they sat on their horse, and how they held their reins. He secretly practiced ‘holding reins’ with his belt.
    In 1954, he saw an advertisement in the newspaper for a horse for sale. Butch asked his mom if he could buy it – the price of the horse was $125.
    “Go ask your dad, Butch,” she said.
    Although he seldom saw his dad, he was hesitant — but this was important. Surprisingly his dad handed over $125. Butch worked very hard to get the money to be able to feed and take care of his horse, Melody. He got up at 4AM to assist an Italian man groom his horse before he went to deliver ice. He also worked at the hack stables. Eventually he moved Melody to Bergen Stables.
    One of the boys he met at Bergen Stables was Joe McBride who also had plans of being a cowboy. Joe introduced Butch to the Black Diamond Wild West Show that put on performances in the area. Joe worked for them doing odd jobs. Butch hoped that he might get a job with them, and be able to ride some of the stock. The day finally came when Butch got a chance to ride a bull in a performance and he was ready — he thought.
    When the time came, he asked, “Hey Joey, how do I get off?”
    Joe told him, “Just let go.”
    Butch admits it was a little wilder than he anticipated. He landed on his head.
    Sixteen year old Butch and his friends spent hours at Bergen Beach Stables in Brooklyn. In fact, they called a building on the grounds their ‘clubhouse’. It even had a television set. One day the kids were all watching the Cowtown New Jersey Rodeo. Atomic Power, one of their best bulls just bucked a rider off when his friend said, “Butch, I’ll bet you could ride Atomic Power.”
    His friends had never been able to throw Butch off the barrel they had tied between the trees to practice their ‘bull riding’.
    His friend’s statement made him think about it. He called Cowtown New Jersey and when the secretary answered the phone Butch said, “I want to ride Atomic Power.”
    The secretary’s answer was, “You have to draw him.”
    Innocently young Butch didn’t realize what she meant by ‘draw him’. He thought she meant he had to take a pencil and draw a picture of Atomic Power.
    He responded, “I don’t want to draw him, I want to ride him!”
    The secretary finally realized he was a kid and encouraged him to come to Cowtown and enter the bareback event instead. And that is what he did. According to Butch he did OK.
    There were several western-style towns around New York for entertainment. In 1958 he went to ‘Dodge City’, on Long Island where he met Colonel Jim Eskew for the first time. Another show in New Jersey called ‘Cowboy City’ he often enjoyed. He met real practicing cowboys and asked lots of questions about riding broncs and bulls.
    By 1959 the Black Diamond Wild West Show was back in Staten Island. Jack Jackson, head cowboy, was a steer wrestler and bronc rider that had previously worked for Colonel Eskew. He hired Butch and told him to get on as much stock as he could. But when Jackson was handing out paychecks, at the end of show at Staten Island, when he got to Butch, he closed the cash box.
    Butch asked him why he didn’t get paid, Jackson said, “I’ll kill you off in two weeks.” Butch knew he wasn’t very big, he only weighed 110 pounds, but he knew he could do whatever he was asked to do. He was so mad and said to Jackson, “Hey old man, I’ll piss on your grave!”
    Instead of being offended Jackson just grinned and handed him $10 and directions to get to Syracuse, New York, in time for their next ‘gig’.
    When Butch realized he was being hired he asked how was he suppose to get there, Jackson answered, “See, you’re doing it all ready!”
    Butch found that they were loading the bucking chutes on wheels and going to haul them behind a vehicle to Syracuse. He hopped in and headed north.
    Butch’s friend, Joe McBride, gave him wise advice when he started working with the wild west shows: “You have to buy a loaf of Wonder Bread and some peanut butter and jelly and some ‘rodeo chickens’ (bologna) and carry it in your duffle bag – you never know if you’re going to get paid or not in these wild west shows.”
    Cowboys from the east often travel back and forth from New York to Florida to rodeo, depending on the time of year. Butch was no different, and went to John Evans’ ranch in Florida. He met Red Wilmer there, and Red offered to let Butch use his Severe-made bronc saddle, to ride at the Webster (Florida) rodeo. Butch won the bronc riding on that saddle. Butch won the bareback riding and bull riding at that rodeo as well as fought bulls.
    When Butch went to California he worked on Andy Jauregui’s ranch. He rode some bulls Andy had chosen to go to the National Finals. Years later Butch, who had worked as a stunt man, met Bobby Jauregui, Andy’s great-nephew who was also a stunt man, and relayed this story. Jauregui said, “I grew up hearing about this little New York guy that rode those bulls – so you’re the one!”
    Butch also travelled the rodeo circuit with Buddy Heaton, the bullfighter and funnyman, from one side of the country to the next. Buddy was known for his antics and creativity in and outside the arena. Butch admitted he learned a lot of do’s and don’ts from this experience.
    Although Butch was doing OK as a roughstock rider, he found he enjoyed the producing end of rodeo and wild west shows, too. Because he was of Puerto Rican descent Gerry Partlow, a producer of wild west shows, sent Butch to Puerto Rico to ‘make a deal’ to produce a rodeo there. Butch, who didn’t hesitate, did make a deal. The Diamond P Wild West Show, produced by Gerry Partlow, with lots of help from Butch, held the “Gran Rodeo Americano” in Puerto Rico in 1964, and again in 1965. The first year they didn’t make much money, but everyone got paid and sent home. The following year the event was highly successful.
    By 1978 Butch was the producer of another successful wild west show in Caracas, Venezuela which included well-known cowboys, such as; Hub Hubbell, announcing; John McBeth, Saddle Bronc Champion; performers – Tommy Lucia, J. W. Stoker, Gene McLaughlin. He leased King Brothers bucking stock, pickup men, flags, etc. The show was successful and as Butch proudly said, “Everyone was paid, and everything came back to the States, down to the final paper clip!”
    Butch Tirelli is a multi-talented cowboy. Being small in stature never stopped him from thinking he could be a giant. He also made his mark in the fashion industry which began when as a kid he bought six antique trunks from a junk dealer for $10 each. He did not know what was inside the trunks. They happened to be full of beautiful ladies silk chiffon blouses and gowns.
    “I took them to Manhattan’s most expensive boutiques and sold them all. I made $1,500.” That experience started him buying vintage clothing at a low price and selling it much higher. He took other Wild West Shows out of the country, which were held successfully and every performer got paid and returned home.
    Today Butch is involved in manufacturing saddle pads for barrel horses called EQUFLX, purchased through Master Saddles, used by world champion barrel racers. The blankets he designed and manufactured are used with the Master light weight barrel saddles. His talents and abilities have truly made a big wandering trail through the cowboy world. His versatility might have kept him from doing more as a competing cowboy, but the youngster from Brooklyn truly did fulfill his dream – to be a cowboy — NO MATTER WHAT!

  • 6 Over 60: Brenda Allen

    6 Over 60: Brenda Allen

    Brenda Allen was the first woman chosen as the official photographer of the NFR in 1981. She went on to photograph the Finals four more times, both in Oklahoma City and Las Vegas when it moved to Nevada in 1985. Among numerous other accomplishments, she went on to become the official photographer of the USTRC for more than twenty years, and only just retired from professional photography in 2016 at the age of 74.
    As a wife, mother to two, and a schoolteacher, Brenda didn’t set out to make history in the arena. But her camera savvy, attention to detail, and love of the excitement of sports made her the woman for the job. Brenda’s husband, Carl Allen, built a dark room in their home and enjoyed photography himself, but passed the camera along to Brenda so he could coach Little League football. She photographed the games and took team photos, and her familiarity with photography landed her a job with a photographer in New Jersey, where she and Carl lived at the time. She worked as a darkroom technician until Carl, who worked for Trans World Airlines, was transferred to California. “That’s where Carl met up with Jack Roddy and a few others he knew from way back in high school, and he started roping again,” says Brenda. “I was in my forties. I was teaching school, and I went along and sat on the fence and watched him rope. I started taking pictures, and I’d go home and develop them. The next week I’d take them back to the guys and started selling them. But then I was falling asleep in the classroom. I decided to take a sabbatical and the school said to come back when it [photography] didn’t work out, but it did. I got my PRCA card in 1978.”
    Although it had taken her 4 colleges and 16 years to finish her teaching degree due to moving for work, Brenda only taught for 5 years before discovering her passion for action photography. She traveled with Carl to his rodeos and honed her photography skills through trial and error, one of few women working a rodeo from behind a camera. She had been photographing rodeos for about a year when she received her PRCA card in 1978 at the recommendation of Jack Roddy, Dale Smith, and Dick Yates. Just two years later in 1980, she was the first woman to win ProRodeo Sports News’ Best Action Photos award and a silver buckle sponsored by Frontier Airlines. She shot the NFR from the sidelines, and in 1981, she was chosen as the official NFR photographer. “I just treated it like another rodeo. It was exciting to be a part of it—really exciting,” Brenda recalls. “My husband went with me and sold pictures at the NFR.” Like any other rodeo, Brenda asked for a hotel room with no windows in the bathroom so she could set up her darkroom there. Otherwise, she came prepared with tin foil to cover the windows. She kept meticulous records of all her NFR photos. “I had a piece of paper and a pen in my pocket, and I’d pull it out and make a note every time I shot.” This, added to the tasks of changing and rewinding her film every 36 shots—sometimes while climbing a fence to get out of the way of a human or animal athlete barreling towards her—made for plenty excitement of her own to manage. If it was an indoor rodeo, Brenda also had heavy batteries strapped to her belt to run her flash.
    While Brenda was run over by a barrel racer, her person and equipment mostly unharmed, she jokes that most of her close calls came from the fence rather than an animal. “In Sonora, California, I climbed a fence that made an alleyway where the bulls came through, and they were knocking the fence. It knocked me headfirst into the alley and I was hanging from the fence by my knees. Every time I tried to get up, the bulls would hit the fence and I couldn’t get up. John Growney the stock contractor was just laughing. It was totally quiet in the stands and everybody was watching. John Growney wanted to know if I’d do that act the next day.”
    Someone else’s mishap, that of world champion bull rider Charlie Sampson, landed one of Brenda’s photos in a national magazine. Brenda was photographing the 1983 Presidential Command Performance Rodeo in Landover, Maryland, with President Ronald Reagan in attendance, when Charlie Sampson suffered a severe head injury from his bull. Brenda happened to capture the historic accident on film. And while the photographers were instructed not to photograph the president directly, Brenda managed to position herself so that he was in the background of some of her photos.
    Along with rodeo, Brenda photographed other professional sports events including football, baseball, hockey, and the Indie 500, as well as photographing the start of the of CART Long Beach California Grand Prix from the pace car in 1989. She loved being a part of and capturing the excitement that came with each sport, but especially loved the thrills of rodeo and the lasting opportunities it brought. In 1988, she was hired as the official photographer of the USTRC, which she worked until 2016 when she couldn’t climb the fence anymore. Her sports photography has also been used by television networks ABC, CBS, and NBC, and even BBC, ESPN, and CBC.
    “I had a great career and really enjoyed it,” says Brenda. She particularly loves that rodeo introduced her daughter, Veronica, to her husband, world champion bareback rider Lewis Feild, because Veronica helped her mother sell rodeo photographs. “My grandson is Kaycee Feild, and I tell him that the only reason he’s here is because his mom worked for me selling pictures,” Brenda says with a laugh. She occasionally gets calls from people who have found proofs of their photos that they want developed—one as far back as 1993—which Brenda can still develop with the right information. She and Carl have made their home near Denton, Texas, since 1984, and when she’s not hunting for a long-lost photo, she can be found working in her large garden.

  • On the Trail With Tristan Martin

    On the Trail With Tristan Martin

    “This year has been absolutely the best season I’ve had so far,” says professional steer wrestler Tristan Martin. “I’m third in the world with $56,000 won, and coming off a great first WNFR gave me a lot of confidence. We just had our first baby, and knowing I have him to support I guess made me step it up.”

    The 26-year-old from Sulphur, Louisiana, has always been spurred on by family to do his best, from the youngest to the oldest. And as the oldest of 54 grandchildren in the Martin family, Tristan has the best chute help, practice buddies, and cheering section just a few miles away from his front door. His uncle, Casey Martin, steer wrestled professionally and made the WNFR five times, quickly making the event stand out to Tristan, who attended each Finals with his family.

    Tristan’s dream of walking into the box of the Thomas and Mack Center himself became reality in 2021, an accomplishment that was all the more meaningful for the hard work and sacrifice it took to get there. When Tristan reached September of 2021 and the last few pivotal weeks of the season, his grandmother, Betty Martin, passed away. Tristan had the difficult choice of flying home to attend her funeral and turning out of three rodeos, or staying out to finish the season. “I was 17th or 18th in the world and making the short round at Ellensburg, and I had Sulphur Springs and Walla Walla. I talked to Grandpa and my wife, and we decided Mawmaw’s biggest dream was for me to make the WNFR. I won White Sulphur Springs, Montana, and set an arena record with a 3.2, and I placed at Ellensburg the day of her funeral,” says Tristan, who also won second at Walla Walla, Washington. “Without that, I wouldn’t have made the WNFR.” Tristan flew to Albuquerque for the New Mexico State Fair and Rodeo, then hustled back to Oregon for the Pendleton Round-Up. On an impulse, he called his wife, Josee, and asked if she could get off work early the following day and fly to Pendleton to watch him compete. “She was pregnant, but she flew to Pendleton, and I won the short round and secured my spot for the WNFR. It was all part of the plan—God has a bigger design.”

    Tristan and Josee’s first WNFR was no less remarkable, with Josee nine months pregnant and due any day of the rodeo. “First things first, I was more worried about her than anything. We went twice to the doctor while we were there to check and make sure everything was okay,” says Tristan. “But it was maybe a blessing in disguise that we weren’t busy keeping up with everyone. My sponsors were awesome, knowing I couldn’t leave Josee some days but I could do autographs other days. I think that helped me a lot staying focused, not only to do good, but knowing that I had a baby to pay for in a couple of days, so I’d better make some money.” Tristan and Josee also had the support of their family, nearly all of whom made it to Las Vegas for the WNFR by the final days of the rodeo. It took two 30-passenger buses to transport Tristan’s cheering section to the rodeo. Josee attended every performance, as well as the ceremonies. “It wasn’t easy, but there’s nothing like that back number ceremony and watching him in grand entry,” says Josee. “Whether I was nine months pregnant or I had a baby on the hip, I wouldn’t have missed it.” Tristan placed in three rounds and won Round 3, finishing the WNFR fifth in the world standings with $172,827. He and Josee, along with Tristan’s dad, uncle, and younger brother, started the long drive home the very next morning, December 12. With several drivers, they traded off and drove straight through, stopping in Texas to drop several horses off before hurrying the rest of the way home. They made it home at 4:00 PM on December 13, and Tristan and Josee’s son, Boudreaux, was born at the hospital less than three hours later.

    Little Boudreaux went to his first rodeo about six weeks later, watching his dad win the 2022 Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo. “Tristan bought an 18-wheeler semi, and it’s Boudreaux’s truck,” says Josee. “He rides good in that.” She plans to take Boudreaux to Wyoming after the Fourth of July, where her family lives, and meet up with Tristan there to watch him compete. She and Tristan met at the NHSFR in 2014 where she was goat tying and he was steer wrestling, and they reconnected several years later at another rodeo. They got married in November of 2020, and Josee moved from her family’s ranch in Wyoming to put down new roots in Louisiana. “I really fell in love with Tristan’s family, and there’s such a great community here with them. Anywhere, from California to Florida, if you’re with rodeo people, you’re going to feel at home, I think. I miss doing the ranch stuff, but that’s probably the biggest difference—that and we don’t get snowstorms here.”

    Like Josee, Tristan was involved in rodeo from a young age—although her family wasn’t known for showing up with a freezer plugged into the horse trailer, packed with meat to feed a large family through a week of finals. “I roped a lot in junior high and high school, and I played sports up until I was in sixth grade. My dad said I could play sports or do rodeo because of the financial burden. Obviously, I chose rodeo, and I’m so glad that I did,” says Tristan, who is the oldest of his six sisters and one brother. Their parents are Stoney and Mandy Martin. Tristan is the second generation in his family to rodeo, although the family legacy really begins with his great-grandfather, Preston Martin, who owned a feed store and helped supply Tristan’s dad and uncles with horses to train and ride. “If I hadn’t seen the success my uncle Casey had, I probably would’ve stuck with team roping or tie-down roping, but bulldogging is like nothing else. Once I started jumping off a horse and seeing success in it, I didn’t want to touch a rope.”

    Tristan’s accomplishments in high school rodeo frequently put him at the top of the leaderboard—and on top of the world. He won steer wrestling his senior year, 2014, both at state finals and the NHSFR, as well as the IFYR. “I thought it was easy, and that the next year I would made the WNFR. Little did I know, it takes a lot more than thinking you’re going to be there,” Tristan recalls. He joined the McNeese State University rodeo team in 2015, but found he wasn’t meeting his school or rodeo goals. “2017 was when I made up my mind that I was either going to give rodeo 100 percent and be the best I could be, or I was going to take a different path in life. Since 2017, I’ve done nothing but try to make the WNFR every day. In 2018, I won the College Finals and ended up top 30 in the World.” Tristan also completed his college goals, graduating from East Mississippi Community College with degrees in fine arts and applied science of marketing.

    An integral part of Tristan’s newfound purpose was the mentorship of his uncle Casey and another professional steer wrestler, Bray Armes. Tristan moved to Texas in 2015 and lived with Bray for about six months. “Bray helped me grow up and get out of the college partying deal, and he was a great mentor to me. He and my uncle Casey are always God first, and both very spiritual men. They taught me how to be a man and take care of my business.”

    Fitness also became a top priority for Tristan in 2017. Several of his uncles committed to going to the gym with him at 4:30 each morning for six months. “I went from weighing 160 pounds soaking wet to 215 pounds. It was really a game changer for me, not only being bigger and stronger, but the mental aspect of being bigger and stronger too. When I’m in the gym and I feel ready to compete, that eases my mind a little bit. Even if I mess up, I won’t say, ‘If I’d been in shape, I wouldn’t have done that.’”
    Practice is a widespread family affair at the Martin’s arena located on Tristan’s grandparents’ property. “Most of my aunts and uncles live on the same family land, and me and Josee live three miles down the road through the woods on the same land.” Some of Tristan’s younger cousins compete in rodeo and practice in the arena with him. “I’ve never had trouble trying to find someone to help me practice or open the gate, and if I do, I find the first car coming down the driveway. There’s always someone around,” says Tristan. “There are six little cousins in junior high rodeo or younger, and that’s who I practice with, and the boys love it. They’ll have all the steers ready, including mine. They push me as much as I push them, and they make me want to do better. One day, I hope they are that for my son.”

    Tristan is traveling with fellow steer wrestlers Hunter Cure, Tanner Brunner, and Ryan Nettle this summer. Hunter is leading the steer wrestling standings currently. “At the end of the day, we’re not trying to beat each other, we’re trying to beat the steers. Because we’ve traveled together before, we know how to help each other or push each other. I love rodeoing with Hunter.” Also on the road with Tristan are his two horses. FedX, who carried him through the second half of the 2021 season and into the WNFR, belongs to Amy Craig and Kate Stayton. He is also hauling his own horse, Rez, to expose him to more rodeos this summer.

    Before the summer run started, Tristan and his uncle Casey hosted the Martin Family Bulldogging School in May. They had 29 kids attend, 6 of them Tristan’s cousins, who also pitched in with coaching. The family also helped host the Betty Martin Memorial Pro Rodeo in May, an LRCA benefit rodeo in memory of Tristan’s grandmother.

    There aren’t many rodeos on Tristan’s summer run that he hasn’t been to before, and he’s especially looking forward to Deadwood, South Dakota, which is close to Josee’s family, as well as Pendleton and St. Paul, Oregon. “Most importantly, taking care of my family is my main goal,” he finishes. “But as far as rodeo, my main goal is to win the WNFR and the gold buckle.”