Keeping Stories Alive
If you’ve ever wondered what 14-year-old cowboys do in their free time, it may be shooting armadillos to keep the horse pastures hole free or chasing after the ranch goat “Baaatman” on foot while swinging a rope.
At least, if you’re Dugan Caldwell this might be true. This fun-loving young man is a team roper and budding horse trainer in Wynnewood, Oklahoma.
A good queen is well-versed in many areas and shares her passions as a leader in the field. Whether it is dogs or horses, Emm Evaristo is proud to wear the crown.
Not yet 20 years old, Emm has traveled the country as an equestrian competitor, rodeo queen, mustang trainer, and dog handler/breeder.
Growing up, Emm loved watching the Westminster dog show. Her enthusiasm for the show led to her begging her mother to let her get a dog they could take through the ranks. Her mother bought into the dream with the condition that it would have to be a hunting dog for her dad’s sake. So, their search began, and they found themselves enamored with a UKC registered black and tan coonhound named Lulu.
The Hereford Heaven Round-Up Club of Sulphur, Oklahoma recently hosted a special weekend event in their arena: Rodeo University. Led by breakaway roping competitor and teacher Chelsea Novosad, the weekend drew ladies ranging from 12 to 34 years old from several states and stages of roping experience.
Some folks are born with rodeo in their blood. Maybe it is genetic, or maybe it is a God-given surprise. Perhaps it is both. From the first glimpse of the arena lights, a stirring happens deep inside. When this is paired with a love of horses, passion is born.
Occasionally people have the opportunity to act on this innate passion from childhood, but many grow up in neighborhoods removed from the rodeo world. These individuals have to work extra hard and burn up the highway to make their goals and dreams come true.
So often in life when we find something we are passionate about, we dwell inside its existing realms, rather than envisioning new ways to pursue it. Yet on occasion, our experiences allow us to dream of something new and expand the industry.
The things we learn in childhood have a way of providing a platform for future dreams to take shape. This has certainly been the case in the life of Kelsey Owens and her husband Matt as they have taken their collected wisdom and paired it with their own ideas to shape a life connected to the land for their three children.
We all find hope in different places throughout life. I once heard a preacher say that we find moments of beauty and joy scattered throughout the world like Easter eggs God has planted. At a time when the world is in desperate need of hope, it is extra special to meet people who remind you there are still a lot of things worth believing in.
Ryder Carothers is a young man who does just that. His character makes me hopeful that there will still be good neighbors, good men, good Christians, and good cowboys in the years to come. The son of clinician and master horseman Tim Carothers (see the feature entitled “A Kentucky Cowboy”), Ryder comes from a long line of horsemen, stretching back at least ten generations.
