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Home SC Life SC Life Features Learning the ropes
Learning the ropes
by Susan Hill Smith l Photos by Mic Smith
Jessica Burgess, from Starr, speeds through the barrel-racing competition, a fast-paced event that draws girls into the sport.
Photo by Mic Smith
Bull rider Logan Gaskins of Patrick hangs on at the 2013–14 finals for the South Carolina High School Rodeo Association. Starting with the 2014–15 season, bull riders are now required to wear helmets.
The grand entry ceremony at Clemson University's T. Ed Garrison Arena kicks off the last night of the 2013–14 state finals.
Cole Williams, 14, of Greer takes down a steer to earn his way to national competition.
Some days you conquer the beast. Some days the beast conquers you, as Tim Murphy of Simpsonville finds out on this wild bull ride. Murphy fared better during his bronc ride, winning the season's bareback title.
Caroline Burgen of Seneca pulls back after roping a calf during the breakaway-roping event.
Goat tying is a good way for junior-high competitors like Gracie Griffin of Pickens to learn the ropes.
Bulldogger Chance Broadaway drops off his horse so he can seize the steer and wrestle it to the ground. The talented 17-year-old won the all-around state high school title for the third time.
Barrel racer Gracie Moore of Saluda rushes back to the finish line during the junior-high competition.
Kelsea Williams, the 2013–14 SCHSRA queen, and her horse, Dude.
Maranda Williams stares down from the stands at her 14-year-old son, Cole, who is competing at the May state finals for the South Carolina High School Rodeo Association (SCHSRA). She knows the young cowboy has decided to take a calculated risk in the chute-dogging event, and if it works, he will earn a spot in national competition.
Cole has one chance to "throw" a steer by correctly wrestling it to the ground, which no one has accomplished so far today. As a result, speed is no longer as important as simply getting the job done, so Cole wraps his arm around one of the steer's horns early, before the animal leaves the bucking chute. That means he takes a 10-second penalty but has more control.
"C'mon, Cole!" his mom yells.
Within 3.173 seconds of the chute opening, the 6-foot-1, soon-to-be ninth grader maneuvers the steer into the arena and twists the bulky, black animal down to the ground until it comes to rest on its back with all four legs sticking straight into the air. Cole is laid out flat on his stomach, his hand reaching across the steer's neck, his cowboy hat still on.
Announcer Marvin Blanton recognizes the winning performance for the audience gathered at Clemson University's T. Ed Garrison Arena to close out the state's 2013–14 rodeo season.
"Cole Williams, come on over!" Blanton booms. "That's what I'm talking about!"
Cole's mom beams. She and her husband are relieved to know that Cole is OK and that his hard work will take him to nationals. "Our adrenaline is running just like his is."
A powerhouse in the South
SCHSRA has been organizing competitions for South Carolina teenagers for more than 40 years, but it's not just high-school kids competing any more. Seven years ago, the association created a junior-high division, featuring events that help prepare kids for harder challenges in high school. For example, chute-dogging in junior high leads to steer wrestling, which requires the cowboy to start the event on horseback and drop onto the steer before the throw.
The junior-high division went over so well that the South Carolina association launched a youth division two years ago with starter events for kindergartners through fifth graders.
"Now, that's something special," says Lori Peyton, who has played a key role in expanding the program for younger ages. Peyton competed in rodeo throughout high school in the early '90s and has been involved as a board member since college. Now her 7-year-old son, Cooper, takes part. The youth division gives children a chance to fall in love with the sport early, she explains.
"We've seen kids who really are ready to compete once they get to the junior high division," she says.
During the 2013–14 season, SCHSRA traveled to almost a dozen communities around the state, typically putting on two rodeos in a weekend, with a total of 150–175 young people in elementary through high school taking part.
"If you live in cowboy country, like Wyoming and Texas, you've got more people who do this," Peyton says. "But we're one of the powerhouses in the South."
Having a blast
Some SCHSRA standouts join rodeo teams at four-year colleges. And then there are sensations like 16-year-old Tim Murphy of Simpsonville, who is already entering professional rodeos and competing for cash prizes.
"He's just a jam-up bareback rider. He's been riding bulls, too," says SCHSRA president Scott Justice. "People who follow rodeo are going to see his name."
Murphy sits on the rails of the rodeo pen with some buddies on the last night of the state finals. His faded jeans are the color of dishwater, with more than a few holes, which is not surprising considering that he specializes in two of rodeo's toughest events. Heading into his junior year at Hillcrest High School, he is close to 5-foot-6, 150 pounds, with a mop of sandy blonde hair sticking out from under his cowboy hat. His grin says he is here to have a good time.
"I love this right here," he says. "It's a blast."
Murphy is a favorite in bareback riding, which requires the cowboy to ride a bucking bronc one-handed with minimal rigging for at least eight seconds, while spurring the horse. If he stays on for the duration, he can score up to 100 points, half based on his riding performance and half on the intensity of the horse's bucking.
Murphy only started bareback two and a half years ago when a friend called him up and asked him to try. Bull riding came after that.
"You gotta conquer the beast," he says. "It gets addicting."
To boost his performance, Murphy works out and eats much healthier than he used to, but his events can be punishing. He points to a broken wrist and a stress fracture to his hand. The mental game is critical, too.
"If your head ain't right, you can't do nothing," he says.
Striving for safety
Murphy scores enough points during his eight-second bareback ride to clinch the season title for that event, but the bull-riding competition proves to be a tougher challenge.
"It's fixin' to be a wild ride!" the announcer tells the crowd as the bull flings out of the gate with Murphy hanging on.
"Bad to the Bone" blares from the speakers as the young man is thrown three feet in the air, landing on his back with his feet over his head. He quickly recovers and rushes to climb up the pen while a clown-faced bullfighter distracts the kicking bull. It takes eight men to round up the animal while EMS workers examine Murphy to make sure he is OK.
There are always two trained bullfighters in the arena to help protect riders, Justice says, and SCHSRA asks livestock contractors to bring bulls that are not as strong or rough as in the pros. Bull riding now requires a helmet, while protective vests and mouth guards are required in all the rough-riding events.
Justice says safety is a "big deal" for the SCHSRA, which abides by a detailed list of rules to protect the health of participants and livestock. A large number of adult volunteers assist at and monitor events, and no rodeo starts without an EMS-staffed ambulance on hand.
"Any time you're dealing with animals, there is inherent risk of injury," he says. "But we try to lessen that as much as we can."
A family atmosphere
Maranda Williams and her husband, Brian, recognize there are risks in rodeo. They pray for their three children to stay safe but encourage their kids to compete.
"There's always a worry in our minds," she says. "We just ask God to watch over them." In addition to their chute-dogging son, Cole, they have a younger daughter, Karley, 12, who loves riding horses. Older daughter Kelsea, 17, competes in barrel-racing events and is wrapping up her term as the South Carolina High School Rodeo Queen.
Their dad coaches the children at the family farm outside of Greer, where they keep nine horses and about 20 cows, and they invite friends over to practice. The family drives to rodeos together in a live-in trailer that can sleep up to eight. The Williamses stay on site, as do many other families, and the parents are happy for their trailer to be a hangout.
"There aren't very many parents of teenagers who are with their kids every weekend," Maranda Williams says.
Kelsea Williams enjoys that closeness as well. "It's really a way that all of my family can be together," she says.
As the association's queen for 2013–14, she led the grand entry at the start of each rodeo, along with a supporting group of "sparkle girls" and a junior-high princess. It is a position she has dreamed of holding since elementary school.
At this night's rodeo, she handed over her official responsibilities to a new queen, so she is free to leave the action in the arena and head outside to the stables to introduce Dude, the horse that helped her represent the state.
A 9-year-old girl in a pink sequined top comes over to the stables, and Williams introduces her as well.
"This is Ella Kate, the best little barrel rider in South Carolina," she says, smiling at the young girl from Piedmont.
Ella Kate, a junior-high princess in training, has been getting advice from Williams and clearly wants to follow in the teenager's footsteps.
"Everyone's pretty much a family in this association," Kelsea Williams says, and others will tell you the same.
Maybe that's because rodeo is not an easy thing to do, not for the young people who participate, and not for the parents and other volunteers who make these events happen. Yet it's something that they love and want to carry on for future generations. Working together, they have created a community in which everyone cheers for each other, no matter who is in the arena.
A greenhorn's guide to rodeo
Don't know a lasso from a latte? Use our beginner's guide to popular rodeo events.
BARREL RACING. Horse and rider run a cloverleaf pattern around three barrels. Fastest time wins. Five-second penalty for knocking one barrel down.
POLE BENDING. Horse and rider weave around a line of six poles for the best time.
STEER WRESTLING. Competitor on horseback drops onto a steer's back and wrestles it to the ground while holding its horns. Also known as bulldogging.
CHUTE DOGGING. Similar to steer wrestling, except competitor starts in a chute with the steer.
BAREBACK BRONC RIDING. Cowboy takes a furious, eight-second ride on a bucking horse with minimal rigging. Riders are judged on upper-body control and the ability to move in time with horse's bucking action.
SADDLE BRONC RIDING. Similar setup to bareback riding, but with special saddle and more ways to be disqualified. Riders are expected to gain some control of saddle broncs, which are usually heavier and slower than bareback broncs.
BULL RIDING. Rider holds onto a bucking bull one-handed and tries to stay on for eight seconds.
CALF ROPING/TIE-DOWN ROPING. Rider ropes calf, dismounts and ties three of its legs together. Fastest time wins.
BREAKAWAY ROPING. Similar to tie-down roping, but rider stays on horse after roping calf and pulls rope tight.
TEAM ROPING. Two contestants, a header and a heeler, team up to capture and correctly rope a steer. Each rider has a horse.
RIBBON ROPING. A junior-high event with a boy-girl team. One ropes a calf while riding a horse; the other removes a ribbon from the calf's tail and runs to finish line.
GOAT TYING. Young competitors ride to a goat, dismount and tie three legs together. Fastest time wins.
CUTTING. Horse and rider must separate a single cow away from the herd. SCHSRA schedules weekend cutting competitions separately from its rodeos.
REINING. A new fast-paced event for SCHSRA in 2014–15, offered with the Southern Stockhorse Association. Rider and horse show off their skills with stops, slides and turns.
S.C. riders stand tall at nationals
As a result of their performances in the 2013–14 S.C. finals, these teens competed with notable results at the National High School Rodeo Association (NHSRA) competition in Wyoming.
TIM MURPHY, 16, placed fifth in bareback bronc riding and had the highest score in the second round of competition.
KAYLA LOMBARDO, 17, scored the fastest goat-tying time of the entire national competition.
LEAH HUNTER, 17, finished in the top 20 in the Queens Contest.
The S.C. Junior team sent 19 competitors to its national competition in Des Moines, Iowa.
JINI JUSTICE, 13, won the first go-round in pole bending and finished 16th overall. She is a member of Aiken Electric Cooperative.
MIKAYLA JOH ALMOND, 13, finished as reserve champion in breakaway roping, third in pole bending and fourth in overall events. Her horse, Buddy, was American Quarter Horse Association (AQHA) Horse of the Year.
The South Carolina High School Rodeo Association (SCHSRA) partners with organizations around the state to put on competitions throughout the school year. Groups interested in hosting a rodeo as a fundraising event should contact Scott Justice or Lori Peyton. The SCHSRA will run its 40th annual state finals May 21–23, 2015, at the T. Ed Garrison Arena at Clemson University. For the current rodeo schedule, visit here.
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