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.
Maverick Griffin stands out at a rodeo for far more than his leopard print chaps. A young man with great talent in both the bareback and bull riding events, rodeo is Maverick’s happy place.
His story has been riddled with rodeo from the start, attending his first rodeo at just 3 days old. His dad was competing, and the rodeo was not far from the hospital, so Maverick was introduced into the family tradition as the third generation.
While Monty Dyer’s passion for rodeo is apparent, he modestly states he’s just done it so long he doesn’t know how to quit. Truly a lifelong cowboy, his dad put him on his first horse as a child growing up in Ottawa, Kansas. His dad rodeoed and focused on rough stock events such as bareback and bull riding until Monty was born and he switched over to calf roping exclusively. Monty followed in his footsteps, taking on calf roping as a young man and continuing to hone his craft today through competition in the United Rodeo Association’s (URA) over 40 division.
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.
When J. Storme was an infant, her grandpa was put in charge of watching her for a few hours. Unsure of how to handle the situation, he took her to see what he knew best: his cows. As they rode around in the pickup truck, he held her up to the window for her to take a look. This moment seems to have embedded itself in her heart, as she has been watching cows and working alongside her grandpa ever since.
When it comes to handy women, Lana Stromberger and her friends have few rivals. Together, these women (Dusty Henry, Lana Stromberger, Lora Andersen, Megan Vosburg, and Rebbeca Corfield) make up the No Bull Breeding Services Team. As versatile as the sport demands, these cowgirls compete in both the Women’s Ranch Rodeo Association (WRRA) and the Western States Ranch Rodeo Association (WSRRA) competitions. Although each woman has their own special aspect of the competition in which they excel, their talents blend, and their heightened skills allow them to cover each other across tasks whether it’s roping, mugging, or dragging calves.
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.
When I first met Tim Carothers, I was riding in his cattle working clinic and was quickly impressed with his storytelling and quiet confidence. He listened like a pastor waiting to give counsel to each question a participant posed and encouraged everyone that they’d “done the very best.” He watched the people as well as the horses and gave feedback to both on how to improve. Tim told all of us from the start that he’d be the first one in the arena and the last one out and would stay until we felt like we’d gotten our money’s worth. To no surprise, he was true to his word and acted like nothing was going on in the world but focusing on us; these horses and cows.
