Association teaches youth the rules and nuances of rodeo

RONAN - After she blazed through a pole-bending run with the immediacy of the cavalry, 8-year-old Hailey Wieble tried to bring her pony to a stop. Many times her size and body weight, the large animal came to a stop just before it got to the fence but Wieble's momentum had other ideas.

Looking like a stuntwoman for a Hollywood movie, the Charlo cowgirl kept flying forward, went end-over-end and then onto the ground. It was a spectacular spill that caused a few gasps and one would think that the little tike might be a bit gun shy after taking such a tumble.

Nope.

Minutes later she was back on her pony with a big smile on her face.

"It's fun," she said.

While she may be small in size, Wieble's not afraid to go fast.

"She wants to be a barrel racer," Southwest Youth Rodeo assistant secretary Martha McClure said. "She wants to rodeo."

Her mother Janette said that although she's familiar with horses, it was her first rodeo.

"She used to horse show a bit," Janette said.

Even though she had a tumble in her first attempt, McClure said that Wieble really wants to be a good rodeo athlete. Not one to be afraid of speed, she just has to learn how to master that stop at the end of the run.

"She's been fighting that pony for weeks," McClure said.

Hailey was one of 63 participants last weekend at the Southwest Youth Rodeo in Ronan. The Southwest Rodeo Association is state-wide non-profit organization that tries to introduce the sport of rodeo to youth.

"Girls fall in love with the horses," McClure said. "Boys like the danger of riding the bulls."

The completely volunteer-run rodeo featured steer riding, dummy roping, pole bending, goat tying, team roping, breakaway, flag race and barrels. Brad McCray, of the Ronan fire department, used one of the engines to spray down the rodeo grounds and Cory Symington donated his tractor and time to rake the grounds. Several parents also donated their time to help run the various aspects of the event.

"It's a family thing. We have some older kids that have little brothers and sisters in the seven and under category," McClure said, "We're here to teach the kids about competition, good sportsmanship and taking good care of your livestock."

Eleven-year-old Racyhell Lien, of Ronan, was quite versed in tending to a horse.

"You have to feed them, water them, bathe tham and make sure their pads are thick so the saddle isn't rubbing on them," she said.

Lien competed in the pole-bending event but also wants to be a barrel racer.

"It's kind of cool to see how fast you can get out there," she said.

Pole-bending is no walk in the park either, as it takes a good relationship between the rider and horse for a good run.

"You have to come in wide on the first and last pole," 12-year-old Skyler Frame, of Charlo, said.

Frame's horse, Hoyt, usually has a pretty good understanding on what to do in between the poles.

"He does it mostly on his own, except the first and last pole," she said.

That means the rider has to make sure they're not impeding or interrupting the horse's movement.

"You just kind of go with the flow," 13-year-old Callie Otoupalik, of Arlee, said.

One event in which riders can't go with the flow is the steer-riding event. McClure said that even though the animals have been castrated and have less testosterone, they still provide a nasty ride.

"You can have steers buck as hard as miniature bulls," McClure said. "There's a fine line between steer riding and bull riding."

The bull riders even squared up against some heifer cows on Sunday, and the result was cows 1, cowboys 0.

"The boys in the last round got their butts kicked by a bunch of girls," McClure said.

Tyler Adams, of Arlee, was one of the brave 11-year-olds that jumped on the back of the steers.

"My mom [Loretta] bribed me to get into rodeo," Adams said. "Before that, I was scared of horses."

He said he isn't scared anymore, and he's certainly not afraid of steers.

"It's really fun, you get a lot of adrenaline," he said.

It's his first year of riding them, but he's been practicing in an interesting way.

"I put a bull rope on my horse and ride her bareback," Adams said.

The steers, heifers and other livestock are the hardest thing to get for the rodeo. Since it's a non-profit rodeo, the animals are usually donated for use during the event. All the proceeds and donations go to the year-end rodeo awards, as the association gives out approximately $10,000. McClure said that rodeo, in general, is a hefty investment by the parents.

"We're not talking about a pair of basketball shoes," she said.

When you rack up the bills for a horse, truck, trailer, entrance fees and travel, it can get to be quite detrimental to the pocket book.

McClure said people wouldn't want to spend that much money for just a few events a year.

"For a lot of people, rodeo isn't a season, it's a way of life," McClure said.

The Southwest Youth rodeo season lasts two months in the middle of summer. McClure said that it's here that the kids learn the rules and customs of being in a rodeo.

"We're dealing with 10-year-olds," she said. "We're always telling them to button their shirts and keep their hats on. When they get in these stricter divisions, like the Wrangler Division of high school rodeo, then they're prepared and they know what a dress code is."

Kids of varied backgrounds participate in the association.

"It's been a good place for those raised in rodeo," McClure said. "And then we have kids whose parents don't know anything about rodeo. They'd just never done it before."

Regardless of whether the kid wants to become a professional bull rider or just be part of something, the Southwest Youth Association tries to cater to all.

"Rodeo can be a very cutthroat sport sometimes, but that's not what our association is about," McClure said. "We're going to help every kid and help them succeed."