Ropin' and ridin'

Youths lasso victories

By Johnna Pinholster

HAHIRA — The heat is stifling, the dust is irritating but the six teens riding in the arena wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.

The girls and boy who are members of the KB Horse Camp rodeo team have had a stellar year so far, winning buckles and saddles in a variety of events.

Feats that can only be achieved through practice. Even if practice involves, jeans, Western shirts and temperatures in the high 90s.

For some, this is their first year competing, for others this is the second year competing at a national level.

Kim McGhee serves as teacher, trainer, cheerleader and hauler for the rodeo competitors. She has been training junior rodeo contestants since 2002.

She currently has five team members who compete in the Southern Junior Rodeo Association and one that competes in the Georgia Florida Youth Rodeo Association.

Recently at the finals in Ocala, Fla., Whitney Bender, Hannah Jones, Guy Farmer, Anna Lee and Vicky Merriman competed in a variety of events.

All five, and new member Christen Lanier, got into the sport at various times but all seem to love it for the same reason: The challenge of competing.

At the finals, Jones, 12, walked away with the first-place finish in goat tying, edging out teammate Bender for the win.

Goat tying requires competitors to ride up to the goat, jump off the horse and tie three of the goat’s legs, much like calf roping.

Competitors in college rodeo usually tie in seven seconds. Jones, at a junior level, is tying in nine, McGhee said.

Jones also competes in breakaway roping.

“I always wanted to rodeo,” Jones said.

When her parents found KB Horse Camp, Jones said she officially started rodeoing and this is her fifth year riding.

“It’s just fun and it takes a lot of practice to be really good,” she said.

Jones said she and the six other members of her team practice almost every day to prepare for events.

Though Jones edged Bender for the goat-tying saddle, Bender, 12, placed first in all-around, coming in second in goat tying, second in barrel racing, fourth in breakaway roping and eleventh in pole bending. She also competes in shoot dogging, a predominately male event.

During the finals in Ocala, in addition to the saddle, Bender won nine belt buckles. Instead of trophies, rodeo competitors receive belt buckles and saddles for winning and placing in events.

Bender said she has been riding and coming to KB since she was 6 years old.

“It’s a challenge, a lot of fun and it’s a lot of hard work and practice,” Bender said.

Her ultimate goal is to get a scholarship through rodeo competition and go to college to be a veterinarian. But rodeoing is not something Bender wants to give up, saying she would eventually like to turn pro.

Lee, 12, is in her first year of competition but placed sixth for the year in goat tying.

In addition to goat tying, she competes in pole bending and barrel racing.

“Goat tying is my favorite, it’s fun,” Lee said. “It’s fun to compete in events and see what you can do.”

Farmer, 13, is the sole male on the team and has only been riding and competing for about a year.

Farmer came out to help around the farm while McGhee was pregnant with her son, Bronc. After Bronc was born, Farmer was hooked and he hasn’t left.

He competes in calf roping, chute dogging and breakaway. At the finals, Farmer placed third in chute dogging for the year and sixth in calf roping.

In chute dogging competition, the competitor and the cow are placed in a chute together, with the competitor holding onto the animal’s head, Jones said. When the gate opens, the flagger gives the signal to try and flip the cow on its side as fast as a person can.

Farmer said he loves the speed of the event.

Sixteen-year-old Merriman competes in the Georgia Florida Youth Rodeo Association. At finals, she walked away with an all-around saddle, third in goat tying, fifth in pole bending, sixth in breakaway roping and a spot at the International Finals Youth Rodeo in July.

Merriman is currently training for the event, which is held in Shawnee, Okla.

This is the second time Merriman will make the trip.

“I’ve been going since I was eligible,” she said.

At the International, Merriman will compete in breakaway roping, pole bending and goat tying. Last year, Merriman only competed in goat tying, she said.

The International Finals Youth Rodeo is a far larger event than the ones she competes in locally.

“It’s nerve-wracking, exciting, hectic and confusing,” she said.

The team Merriman competed with at the event last year, the Gator Dog Rodeo Team, won big at the rodeo, she said. “I’ve been riding for nine years, rodeoing for eight.”

Merriman said she loves the thrill and the unpredictability of rodeo competition. She also hopes to earn a scholarship through rodeo and eventually turn pro.

Her favorite event is breakaway roping.

In breakaway roping, the calf is released from a chute with a horse and rider following closely behind. The goal of the event is to rope the cow around the neck in the fastest time possible.

“It’s difficult and I like a challenge, plus there is no telling what will happen,” Merriman said.

Merriman, McGhee said, is the only rider in her association to qualify for the finals in Oklahoma.

For more information about KB Horse Camp visit the Web site www.kbhorsecamp.com.

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