19 minute read
REGION X
MATT SILAR 104 CR 867 N • Teague, Texas 75860 903.388.2531 • matt.silar@patriotinsp.com RENEE WEITZ PO Box 40 • London, Texas 76854 512.332.6731 • weitzrr@gmail.com
STUDENT OFFICERS PRESIDENT - SAIGE SEALY VICE PRESIDENT - MAKENZIE DOWELL SECRETARY - CHAINEY WEITZ
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PRESIDENT - JERRY WRIGHT 434 CR 315 • Oglesby, Texas 76561 254.290.4965 • jerrywrighthomes@hughes.net SECRETARY - STEPHANIE SHOEMAKER 6500 CR 1202 • Cleburne, Texas 76031 817.648.2728 • texasregion10@gmail.com
STATE DIRECTORS / REGION OFFICERS LARRY DOWELL 370 CR 220 • Marlin, Texas 76661 254.715.8814 • fivedowell@gmail.com
PERFORMANCE REPORT Saddled Up & Ready to Compete!
By CHAINEY WEITZ – Performance Reporter N ow that spring is about to start everybody is getting into their second semester rodeos. For region X we only have one more region rodeo left. The finals. The finals are the most competitive region rodeo of the year. Anything could change with some people only having a point separating each other. Only taking ten spots to state is so competitive in region X, with everyone having that vengeance to make it to state or win the region.
Wanting to win takes a lot of work, for rodeo kids should know. Taking care of your horses is a lot of a bigger job than people think. Having to keep them in shape and have them tuned up to do the best of their ability takes hours of your day. Something that also gets in the way of this huge responsibility especially for me is school. With school you aren't home most of the day and then have loads of homework when you get home, even on the road you will have homework to do. Not only does homework get in the way but also the multiple sports I do. When I get home at 7pm with my whole body hurting from track and tennis, I still have to turn the lights on and practice. Rodeo takes a lot of want, and having want is what makes you win. One fun event coming up for region X is the rodeo prom! It is a fun rodeo with your friends when the rodeo prom happens; everybody looking nice and having a great time. The spring is one of the busiest times for Jr High and High School rodeos. Before we know it state will be here and everyone will be ready to go. Just be saddled up and ready to compete!
CLAYE ANN SULLIVAN OF REGION IX
The Whataburger Whatakid is selected due to their ability to excel both in and out of the rodeo arena. Whataburger is proud to recognize a THSRA member from each of the ten Regions who truly upholds the title “Whatakid!” One of the nominees will be chosen at the State Final Rodeo in June as the Whatakid of the Year. In recognition of this accomplishment they will receive free Whataburgers for an entire year! by Catelyn Felts C ongratulations to the Region IX Whatakid of the Month, Claye Ann Sullivan. The Anderson-Shiro High School senior resides in Anderson, Texas and has been a Texas High School Rodeo Association member for four years. She competes in the breakaway roping and pole bending.
Throughout her involvement in THSRA, Claye said she “has learned how to be responsible, become a better leader, overcome struggles and to accept defeat when you don’t always win.” She has carried the leadership skills she has learned into office, as she served as the Region IX student president her junior year, and is currently serving as the student president this year. Some of her favorite takeaways from the organization include the competition, the relationships and memories she has made, and the rodeo family she has gained.
“Rodeo family are there for you in or outside of the arena,” Claye said. “If it’s a pep talk to encourage you before your event and give you pointers, or to be there afterwards with a congrats or a kind word if it didn’t go as planned. I’ve learned that there are ups and downs, not only in the arena, but in life as well.”
She explained how rodeo is more than just a sport. “It is
also about the commitment you make, the responsibilities you have to take care of your horses, and the practice hours you put in.”
She spends quite a bit of time with her horses Dolly, Gus, and Peewee. Dolly, although not quite living up to her name as a “Doll” according to Claye, is a pole horse, while Gus and Peewee are both breakaway horses. Gus is 24 years old this year, and though he has had many highs in his career, including eight THSRA state competitions and two National High School Finals competitions, Claye said Gus will officially be retiring this year. “My favorite memory with Gus is when I caught my first calf on him; it was a great feeling knowing we were finally clicking,” she said.
Outside of rodeo, Claye is a varsity volleyball player, student council member, and 4-H member. She is also a National Honor Society member, in the top 10% of her class and has been awarded Academic Allstate, TGCA Academic All-State List for Volleyball.
Throughout all of her endeavors, in and out of the arena, Claye said she likes to stick to two key mottos. ‘Always be humble and kind’ and ‘A life spent helping others is a life filled with purpose’ because “when you follow this, you will always be a winner in everything you do,” Claye said.
With young wisdom often comes a wise source of inspiration. Claye said she has a few people she looks up to. One of which is Terry Winfrey who helped Claye start roping. “All of the hours and the days spent in the roping arena with him have really helped me get to where I am today,” Claye said. “He always taught me that if I fail, keeping trying and pick my head up because there’s always next time.”
Additionally, Claye said she looks up to her parents, and is forever appreciative of the support they have shown her and their continuous belief in her and her capabilities. “I know that I can always rely on them to take me to any rodeo and be there,” Claye said. “Even when I didn’t have the best day.”
In the future, Claye said she plans to attend Sam Houston State University and major in ag business so she can become an agricultural sales representative. In the meantime, Claye said she is honored to be selected as the Whatakid of the Month for Region IX.
We wish Claye all the best in her final semester of high school rodeo and beyond!
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2019-20 Rebels Rodeo Team
JUNIOR HIGH
Kinley Shook
TJHRA STATE SECRETARY
Kinley Shook is 13 years old and attends Needville Junior High where she is a cheerleader and plays volleyball. She is involved with my community, several youth rodeo associations, and Region VII. She competes in barrel racing, breakaway roping, pole bending, ribbon running, and goat tying. Her favorite event is goat tying. She competed her first year at the Junior High finals in barrel racing and goat tying. She is a member of Needville FFA, UIL, All A Honor Roll and attends Parkway United Methodist Church. When she is not rodeoing she enjoys practicing and training her young horses and hanging out with her friends. She is very excited about serving as the TJHRA State Secretary.
THSRA / TJHRA Student Officer Trip I n an effort to improve awareness about Texas High School and Junior High Rodeo Associations, the officer teams traveled to the Dallas/Ft. Worth area to meet sponsors, rodeo officials and potential members.
Officials from Ft. Worth Stockshow and our sponsors made this a trip to remember! Some of the officers wrote highlights from each trip on what they learned and accomplished during their tours.
42 CLASSIC ROPES/EQUIBRAND TOUR by Garrett Talamantes – President- Texas Junior High Rodeo Association What’s the secret to making a Powerline, Viper or Spitfire rope? We’ll we headed up to North Texas to find out for ourselves. As we pulled up to our destination, I noticed there were no fancy signs, store front, or even a reception area. In fact, the building sitting behind the locked gate looked like nothing more than a shipping warehouse. Why? You may ask. Well we went inside to find out. We started our tour of the Classic Ropes facility with a welcome and introduction by Equibrand CEO Ken Bray and Chief Operating Officer Craig Bray. It was interesting to learn the simple beginnings of one of the most wellknown and respected manufacturers in the western industry. From their humble start, to their rise in the industry and then the major setback of a devastating fire, the Equibrand Family has persevered and continued to pioneer the art of rope making.
So what makes them so special? I mean, a rope, is a rope, is a rope right? Well, we quickly learned a Classic is more than a roll of pre-waxed rope, wheeled off a truck, cut to length and tied. This process also required a year of curing before the rope could ever be used. Who’s got a year to wait? On the contrary, every rope in the Classic line-up is individually spun to length in-house, using high-tech nylon and polyester fibers, then waxed and tied. The result is better memory, feel and immediate usability.
Classic has spent years developing their unique process, designing proprietary means of spinning materials together and taken considerable measures to protect their intellectual innovations. However, even with all this research and innovation, the big secret to Classic Ropes isn’t their one of kind machines spinning materials hidden behind chain link and closed doors. It’s not the process by which they wax, how they stretch or even how they tie their ropes. We found the real secret is their people. The resiliency to overcome devastating loss, rebuild and forge ahead. It’s the pride that exudes in their words, their craftsmanship, and in their passion to not only to make a better product, but to make the sport better as a whole. Thank you Equibrand for your continued sponsorship and Thank You for teaching us the secret to making a great product. It’s called heart.
RESISTOL by Emma McCarthy, TJHRA Vice President Resistol is such a great place to tour! It was founded in 1927 by E.R Byer so Resistol has been running strong for 93 years and counting. There are so many hands that touch every hat. They do things like putting designs on the hats, putting sweatbands in, making the shape of the hat and so much more. It is interesting how so many people have worked there for over forty years. They are working every day to make sure that everything is perfect to be shipped out. One type of hat that they make is the straw hat that is typically worn during the summer. It was crazy to learn how straw harts are made! They are hand-made in a style called the basketweave then shipped out to the factory. When they arrive at the factory they are pressed to the right size, a wire is sewn into them, sweatbands placed and then finally dipped in lacquer ready to be sold.
The other type of hat that is commonly worn during the winter are felt hats. The way they are made is very similar to straw hats but there are a few differences. Unlike straw used
in straw hats they take the fur and make it into a tall and kind of round shape. Then they are pressed down into the appropriate size. After that, they shape the crown and then sew the hat band in. Finally, it will be inspected multiple times then put into its own individual box to be ship all across the world. Overall Resistol was a lot of fun to visit and I learned so much about the hats that so many people wear! The people there are fantastic and so nice. The hats are amazing from how they are made to the quality that you see in the stores. If you ever get the chance to go to a Resistol factory I really encourage it. If you don’t have time to visit the factory, then put it on your bucket list to at least find one of the closest stores carrying their hats and try some on, you might even find yourself taking one home!
THSRA/TJHRA STUDENT OFFICERS VISIT FT. WORTH STOCKSHOW AND RODEO by Vie Vie Blanchard, Miss TJHRA Arena dirt was flying with exciting rodeo performances at the Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo! At 102 years old, their slogan, ‘This thing is legendary’ still rings true and the rodeo didn’t disappoint, even with the move to the new Dickies Arena!
Texas Junior High and High School Rodeo Association student officers including Miss TJHRA, Vie Vie Blanchard and Miss THSRA, Taylor Mobbs got a behind the scenes tour of the new Dickies arena, even stepping foot on the soft sand and snapping a few pictures in front of the bucking shoots! While on the special tour, we learned old history still continues as they kept the look the same for the bucking chutes as well as the arena fencing. They even hauled in arena dirt from the grounds at the previous venue the Will Rodgers Coliseum.
There are other big transformations, including updated 21st century technology, with the nation’s second largest center--one map-- big screen and twelve camera angles that bring the vividness of all the action and replays to whatever seat you’ve chosen. And that’s not the only big change you will see—they’ve added one of the big
gest growing women’s events—women’s breakaway roping to the rodeo lineup!
As we strolled the corridors in the basement of the arena, we bumped into the Justin Sports Medicine team and THSRA Sponsor, Dr. Tandy Freeman. He was kind enough to answer all of our questions about how he treats and diagnoses rodeo athletes—without the use of any x-ray or diagnostic technology available—except for his own two hands!
From there the student officers were whisked away into the Cactus room for a dinner sponsored by the FWSSR. We all got the chance to talk about how incredible the new arena was and how excited we were to be able to be some of the first people to walk and set foot on the arena floor. It was an experience we will never forget, including being able to sit in those brand-new seats and experience the amazing Fort Worth Rodeo first hand, lights, camera, cowboys, cowgirls and all!
2019-2020 JUNIOR HIGH STATE DIRECTORS
EXECUTIVE BOARD NATIONAL DIRECTOR CHRIS WOLFE 214-403-4638 cwwolfe630@gmail.com
PRESIDENT SCOTT SHOOK 281-437-8214 scottcshook@yahoo.com 1st VICE PRESIDENT JOE RICHARDS 806-676-5970 joe@diamondcattlefeeders.com 2nd VICE PRESIDENT SHANE HANCOCK 254-379-3516 shanehancock74@yahoo.com
DELEGATE 2 YEAR TERM DAVID FREEMAN 832-221-1253 chlfreeman@yahoo.com
DELEGATE 2 YEAR TERM LANCE GAILLARD 806-898-3748 lsgaillard@yahoo.com
DELEGATE 2 YEAR TERM ERIC HUSTON 817-368-0159 duaneoverton6113@gmail.com DELEGATE 1 YEAR TERM BRAD DYER 832-928-1647 braddyer@live.com
DELEGATE 1 YEAR TERM JILL MURRAY 903-348-4356 murrayarena@hotmail.com
SECRETARY ANNE DOLLERY 979-412-2551 texasjuniorhighrodeo@gmail.com
STATE DIRECTORS Region I MONROE TIMBERLAKE 806-344-6846 monroetimberlake@gmail.com KEVIN MCCREARY 806-674-5601 kevin@mccrearysales.com JUSTIN LANE 806-733-5149 shannon.lane@region16.net
Region II BRANDI RICHARDS 806-676-2386 brandirichards@yahoo.com KELLY WOOD 432-940-1136 woodrodeogirls@yahoo.com CHAD CURRINGTON 806-786-9016 ccurrington@sundowwnsb.com Region III JEFF JORDAN 940-642-4372 jjordan4372@gmail.com SHANE CRISWELL 325-347-2656 kodyhorses@yahoo.com DARRYL SHELTON 940-255-0738 dshelton@rdoequipment.com Region IV JOHNNY YOUNG, JR 903-249-1647 jpyoung75486@gmail.com PAIGE ALMON 903-681-6592 epaigealmon@yahoo.com BRIAN LOGAN
Region V RICHARD BALDWIN 936-332-5466 r.baldwin147@icloud.com JUSTIN KLEIN 936-590-0229 sendtojustin@yahoo.com BRADY SCARBER 936-590-0585 brady@spartain-LLC.com
Region VI CHARLES HENRY 979-221-4450 crossfireexpress@att.net DENNY PATTERSON 832-330-3054 pattersondenny@gmail.com CLAY OHRT 361-571-1040 ohrt6@hotmail.com
Region VII AMBER BASS 979-255-2458 amberbass@greatertexasfoundation.org LANDON EHLINGER 281-389-2784 landon@6Econstruction.com DAN SIMPTON 936-870-5779 dansimpton@yahoo.com
Region VIII BEN ELLIS 361-701-1886 ben_ellis78@yahoo.com MATT SCIBA 361-571-7888 scibaadjuster@gmail.com CASS RINGLESTEIN 210-885-0902 cass.oasis@yahoo.com
Region IX DAVID COLEMAN 936-661-3411 david@colemanandpatterson.com RUSTY MCCARTHY 936-206-4051 rust@RDMContracting.com BRAD DYER 832-928-1647 braddyer@live.com
Region X SHELLEY TOWNSEND 830-798-7755 sarrington36@yahoo.com MATT SILAR 254-472-0133 matt.silar@patriotinsp.com BRANDON VACULIN 979-814-0351 bvaculin@gmail.com
STUDENT OFFICERS PRESIDENT GARRETT TALAMANTES
V.PRES EMMA MCCARTHY
SECRETARY KINLEY SHOOK PRINCESS VIE VIE BLANCHARD
Farm & Ranch Family
The folks at McCoy’s Building Supply understand that it takes a lot of hard work and the whole family pitching in to get things done on a farm or ranch. That’s why we’d like to take some time out to salute Texas High School Rodeo Association families who are farmers and ranchers. In our monthly Farm & Ranch Family Spotlight, we’ll feature one family, sharing their story of how they work together as a family to make their farm or ranch successful. The spotlight will run for 10 months; each month will feature a different Region. Each Regional McCoy’s Farm and Ranch Family will receive a $100 McCoy’s Gift Card. The McCoy’s Farm and Ranch Family of the Year will receive a $500 McCoy’s Gift Card and will be announced at the 2020 THSRA State Finals.
The Young Family of Region VI
by Ava Anderson C ongratulations to the Young Family, Region VI’s McCoy’s Farm and Ranch Family! This family is horse back almost every day running their cattle operation out of Rosanky, TX. On a combination of family land and leased pastures they run cattle and usually keep about 15 head of horses (most of which are handy not only as rodeo performance horses, but can be used to work cattle on a daily basis). The Young Family are also called on by several clients in the county to come and work and haul their cattle as well. “We all have a day job, but this is what we love to do,” Amanda Young said.
Tab and Amanda have two children who both rodeo in our organization and attend Smithville schools.
Nick, age 16, is the “2019 Rookie of the Year!” Young competes in calf roping and team roping, and for the record, competed in his first rodeo when he was only three years old. The 16-year-old sophomore attends Smithville High School, and lives in Rosanky, Texas.
For the past several years, Nick has been on a winning streak racking up such other notable awards as the “2018 G o a t - t y i n g Champion”, and the “2018 LSYRA All Around Champion”. Most, recently he won in the (13-15 age group) in boys breakaway roping at the 2020 San Antonio Rodeo, and placed 3rd in the (13-15 age group) in the tie down roping.
“Rodeo has taught me to handle pressure and never give up,” as Nick further stated, “I make sure that I pick up a rope every day. I’ve learned that you have good days and bad days and I always try to learn from my mistakes and to do better on my next run.”
Nick also looks up to his Grandpa, Carlos Wilhelm. “I enjoy spending a lot of time with my grandpa working cattle and roping. He has a great sense of humor, and we always have a good time roping at his house. Grandpa was a calf roper and team roper that roped for years in the PRCA, and I’ve gleaned a lot from him.”
Rodeo is a family affair for the Young family. Nick has a little sister named Devin Young (13 years old, 7th grade), and she hails as the “2019 Texas Junior High State Champion Barrel Racer!” She also competes in poles and goat tying. At school she is in the 7th grade and is a cheerleader and is in the national honor society.
“Devin is in the middle of it all when we are working cattle, in fact she is the one making sure we do everything right,” Amanda recalls. From vaccinating cattle to going out and catching them, this 7th grader is handy! In fact, when we did this interview, the family was in Ft. Worth at the Junior American getting ready to watch Devin compete.
As a family, they spend a lot of time together in the arena and on the rodeo trail. Nick considers himself lucky that he has family and friends that he can practice with and according to him, “it makes practicing fun!”
Nick feels honored that his family has been chosen as this month’s McCoy’s Farm and Ranch Family, as he humbly states “There are so many families in Region 6 to choose from, and for us to be selected is a great honor!”
