Working Ranch Blog

Rodeo Bible Camp by Brett Haas
Jun. 16 2010, 10:27 PM

Every year about this time, I take off from the ranch for a couple days to go help with a Rodeo Bible camp that is put on at the Johnson County Fairgrounds by the Spoon Creek chapter of the Fellowship of Christian Cowboys (F.C.C.). There is a Jr. High camp that lasts three days and a senior camp that is five days. I always do the Jr. camp. I only take off three days at a time so I can save the rest of my vacation days for family outings. That and those Jr. High kids don't quite know everything just yet, so they are a little more pliable and easier to teach.

My brother Ty and I have been helping with this camp for a while now. Ty has been going for about ten years now. I think this was my eighth. We both love it and look forward to it all year long. We both work directly with the kids as team leaders. Ty oversees all the team leaders and prepares the devotions and such. We cover the spiritual aspect more than the rodeo part. This is a good thing. I and my brother are neither dumb/brave enough to get on the back of a bull, so we'll leave that part to those other guys.

The rodeo events are covered in full from horsemanship to bull/steer riding. Dedicated instructors come back year after year giving up their own vacation time and or rodeo time to help the next generation of buckaroos. The bull riding instructor, John Adrian, and trick riding instructors, The Gratnys, have been with the camp every year since its inception. The camp takes a lot of work to organize and usually planning for next year starts the day after the current year's camp ends.

The Boys (L to R) Colton, Clayton, Joe, Brandon, Landon, Fynn, and Tommy...well, being Tommy.

As always my kids that I had in my group were great. Three of 'em, Tommy, Fynn, and Brandon had been at previous camps, so it was good to see how much they had improved in their events and had grown as young men. The rest, Joseph, twin brothers Clayton and Colton, and their friend Landon, were all first-timers. Joseph's older brother had done steer riding at previous camps, so now it was his turn. Clayton, Colton, and Landon all had some rodeo experience back home in Missouri.

I think the best part of camp is watching the young men learn and grow in their events and as young men. Even if they are experienced it seems as though every year God brings them a new struggle to deal with and overcome to refine them into the men He desires. It's funny how dealing with livestock, whether it's your horse or a snotty bull, will bring out the best, or worst, in a person. Either way, you have to learn to deal with your fear, and if you stick with it, you'll experience some of the greatest joy in life that you can only get by seeing a job through. As I said before, all my guys were great this year. One in particular though and his experiences stuck with me, and I feel a need to share it with you.

As I previously stated, this was Joe's first camp. He'd seen his brother battle the steers before, so now it was his turn for a go at it. John and Charky were the instructors this year. John had a run in with a 1400 pound rowdy female at the sale barn the week before camp, so being on crutches he enlisted the help of Charky to do what he couldn't. I imagine that coming to camp for the first time and seeing your instructor with a broken leg, puts all kinds of scary thoughts into a young gunsel's mind. Maybe when they learned it was a cow and not a steer that disabled him, it might have eased their minds for a little while, but, on the other hand, if a cow can do that, well...I can almost here them thinking.

So John and Charky start the kids out on the Mighty Buck and give some basic riding techniques and gear overviews. John builds his own ropes and chaps, www.abropes.com, so he provides the kids with a lot of equipment if they don't have it already.

So Joe took his turn on the Mighty Buck like all the others and did pretty good. Jr. camp is only two days of instruction and the third day is the rodeo. So they spend some time on the Mighty Buck in the a.m., but they're on steers usually that first afternoon. Joe was feeling a little queasy that first day in the morning. (Heck, if I weighed 100 pounds soaking wet, I'd be a little queasy getting on an 800 pound steer.) He did cowboy up the next day though and took his first ride. As usual with your first ride, it was over pretty quick. Thanks to bullfighter Ronnie and some good instructing, he lived to ride another day, although it wasn't that afternoon. That went for all the boys as well. That first time puts some fear into them. Even if they make a good ride, most need some time to soak in the fact that they just hopped on an animal that God never intended for us to ride. They're bullriders though so you try tellin' that to 'em.

Here's Tommy two seconds away from the winning catch.

Well, before you know it in Jr. camp, it's rodeo time. Saturday got here pretty quick. The boys had one more practice round in the a.m. The afternoon brought the real deal. Around lunchtime the parents started trickling in. After a good dinner we headed on down to the arena. This was the first time it didn't rain that I can remember. Usually the arena is a mud pit, but today the sun was shining and the dirt was nice and dry. Horsemanship took the stage first, followed by trick riding, poles and barrels, goat tying, roping, and then the bull boys were up.

Joe had drawn the first go. During the roping I went back and talked to the fellas. They were excited, but a bit nervous. (I can't say that I blame 'em.) Joe is a quiet kid to begin with, but he was extra quiet right now. After he'd geared up, he took a seat and I could tell he was having a time with what he was about to do. I gave him a few words of encouragement, but he still needed a little more time, so Colton went ahead first. Colton had trouble with a rank steer who tried to get in his head just in the chute the previous day. He didn't make a ride then, but today it was now or never. He donned the chaps, vest, helmet, and cowboyed up on him this time and let Mr. Steer know who was in charge. Colton didn't make the buzzer, but he didn't bail off right away either. He held his ground as long as he could (twice as long as I would have) and made a pretty good ride. He had gotten past a huge hurdle. I was proud of him as was John and Charky.

Bull Riding instructor Charky gives a few words of encouragement after one heckuva ride by Joseph.

So now we're back to Joseph. John wasn't gonna let him pass again. It was now or never. I snapped his helmet on and gave him a few more words along with the rest of the fellas. He was scared, but he didn't show it. He wasn't backing down now. Charky helped him tighten the rope just right and gave some last minute instruction. Joe gave the nod and was off. Well, not right away, but pretty quick. He had overcome. He got past his fear and faced it head on. Needless to say he was all smiles afterwards (and a few tears). Mom came on over and gave a hug along with Charky. Charky was so proud of him along with everyone else. He gave Joe and few last words on his ride and let him know he done good.

Winston Churchill said, "There is something about the outside of a horse that is good for the inside of a man." I think this can be said not just about horses, but all animals. When you work with stock, it can try you at so many levels. Animals, especially large ones, test your fear, patience, humility, and a variety of other attributes that are too numerous to list here. Livestock, can take you from the mountain top to the valley in a matter of seconds. They can instill a fear and a great joy from one day to the next. In short, God can really use a critter to show you who you really are, and refine you into what He wants you to be. I was proud of all my fellas this year, because no matter the event they all got refined a little more into the young men that will shape the future of rodeo, stockmanship, and the world itself.

Tell me about the mentoring you do to the next generation at thekansascowboy36@gmail.com, Facebook, or Twitter.