The
Branquinho Village
Luke Branquinho article here...
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A STORY OF HOW A BOY BECAME A CHAMPION By Brandy Branquinho & Tony Branquinho
They say that it takes a village to make a man out of a boy. It has taken a village to get Luke Branquinho to be the champion he is today. The experiences and lessons that he has learned from his Grandparents, parents, brothers, family and friends have helped shape him into the man, father and champion he is today. They have kindly shared their stories and you get a peak into the life of Luke through the eyes of those closest to him. These stories may make you laugh or cry like they do for those who have shared them. The following stories are what helped shape Luke and the success that he has had.
to untie Bojo before climbing on. Grandma Ellinore said that Luke was so mad because he was so close to getting away. She loved all her grandchildren but she had a special spot in her heart for Luke.
Opening Up: Tony Branquinho (Older Brother)
Luke is a kind and compassionate person but does a good job shielding it from everyone. His rookie year in the PRCA saw him miss the WNFR by less than a thousand dollars. This was a disappointment in itself but his true disappointment about not making it would come out a whole year latter. Luke qualified for his first NFR in 2001 and was as ecstatic as one would expect after accomplishing a life-long goal. Tony was sitting with Luke in the Thomas and Mack after the third performance watching the extra steers get run and Tony could tell that something was on his mind. He asked him what was up and Luke said he was upset at himself for not making it to the finals the year before.
Lukes Biggest Fan: Grandma Ellinore
Grandma had to have had the biggest impact on Luke’s life. She was a god send to Luke’s mother. She took care of all three of her boys while she was out working cattle or riding horses. One of the favorite stories of Luke and Grandma happened when he was very young and shows what an independent person he was at a young age. Luke was about 4 or 5 years old and he had helped his family gather cattle that morning at the El Roblar Ranch. They all tied their horses up and went in for lunch after the mornings gather. Typically after lunch Luke would stay with Grandma Ellinore because a full day working cattle was just too much for a little cowboy. After lunch they all headed out to work again leaving Luke with Grandma as his family rode up the canyon. What they did not know, until we got back, was that Luke had decided that he wanted to go out and gather with them. Luke had run-away from Grandma and by the time she had caught up to him he had already climbed up the old cement water trough and shimmed down the neck of his old horse Bojo’s into the saddle. Grandma said that he would have been gone up the canyon after us except that he forgot
Tony told him he should forget about that and be proud of what he accomplished this year. Luke said he was proud but that he wished he could have been able to bring Grandma Ellinore to Las Vegas with him. She had gotten very frail in the year since he missed the finals as a rookie and was unable to make the trip. When they got home from Las Vegas Grandma had taken a turn for the worse and passed away just two days before the Christmas of 2001. Luke was
Branquinho continued on page 8
Luke Branquinho
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A Boy and His Dog: Brandy Branquinho (Mom)
One cold wet winter Luke’s family had a litter of pups out of Johnnie’s two good dogs. The mother was named Sadie, a Queensland Border Collie cross, and the father was named Tuffy, a Border Collie Mcnab Cross. This particular winter was so cold that the mother and pups were kept in the basement to keep them warm and safe from the freezing temperatures. Before the puppy’s even opened their eyes Luke had picked his out and would carry him around all afternoon after school and then put him back with his mother in the evening. He named his puppy Bear; he was black and tan and a strong personality from the day one. From the time Bear was old enough he and Luke did everything continued from page 7 together. He hunted with Luke and helped him find many one of the Pallbearers at the funeral and he placed one of down game. Bear would wait in the old brown jeep all day his first autograph pictures in the Casket with Grandma El- every day until Luke would come home from school so they linore. He said that she will always be his biggest fan and could go on another adventure. His mom would all laugh because you could not get that that she will have the picture with her forever. dog out of the jeep for anything. That was a blessing in its self because Bear would not listen to anyone except Luke. The Stump that Turned into a Bear: As independent as Luke was at such a young age it was John Branquinho (Dad) It was just a few days after Luke’s 9th Birthday that he comforting knowing that he had his dog with him and his and his dad were headed out in the old brown jeep to go Mom knew that Bear would protect him and be there for deer hunting up in the mountain area of the Laguna ranch him. That dog meant the world to that little boy and the boy we called the union. As they were driving past the hay fields meant the world to that special dog. Luke said, “Dad look at that bear in the field.” His dad said, “that is just the old burnt stump that you are seeing.” Luke responded, “if it is the burnt stump then it is running.” John Brothers : Brandy Branquinho (Mom) So many stories can be told about the three Branquinho looked up to see a big black bear running across the field. brothers. They would bicker at one another from time to Turning off the main road leading into the ranch and headtime like most brothers do but if you ver cross one of them ed out into the hay field at a very high rate of speed they be ready for a whole lot of Branquinho that you will have to chased after the black bear. They got to the bear just as he was headed out of the field deal with. Luke is five years younger than Tony and three crossing the creek and headed up the steep brushy bank. years younger than Casey. When they were growing up the Just as the bear was reaching the top of the bank and about two older boy’s thought Luke was too little to go with them. to disappear from sight Luke shot and he made a clean hit. It was an incredible shot for an adult to make much less a nine year old. The bear rolled back down the hill to a spot that was accessible with the jeep, this made loading the 385 pound black bear much easier. This was the biggest black bear that John had ever seen in their area and he said that it was a great thrill to be able to share that moment with his son. This is just one of the many hunting trips that Luke and his father have had over the years together. They have hunted all over from California, Montana, Idaho, New Mexico, and Oregon meeting many great people along the way and making lifelong friends. With Luke’s busy rodeo schedule they try to hunt as much as they can. They take Luke’s boys Cade and Jameson out with them to teach the next generation of Branquinhos about hunting. 8 www.rodeoathletes.com
That did not slow Luke down one bit. He just went out on his own and did his own thing mostly hunting, fishing, driving the tractor and jeep, and of course, taking apart equipment and putting it back together. One rainy winter their drive way had a big ditch down the middle of it from all the water. Now if you paid attention and straddled the ditch you could make it up just fine. The drive way was lined on both sides with olive trees that my father, Luke’s grandfather Bill Luton had planted fifty years earlier. Tony and Casey were in high school and Luke was in grammar school at the time. The two older boys were returning home from school and started up the driveway; Casey was driving their old two tone 1979 ford bronco and got it stuck in the ditch. As luck would have it, both their parents where not home at the time. When Tony and Casey walked up to the house and told Luke what had happened they all decided to try and pull the bronco out themselves. Luke went and started up the D2 caterpillar and drove it to the spot where the bronco was stuck and Tony and Casey hooked up the chains. Luke then proceeded to pull it out of the ditch and up the rest of the driveway. Their Mom and Dad learned that you do not always need them around when you have raised three handy boys who can work together.
former major league third baseman and current Chicago White Sox manager Robin Ventura. John is one of the nicest men in the world and came up to Luke’s mother one day after practice chuckling. He told his mother that Luke had some requests and he came up to the coach after practice and said “I think you need to move some players around to make the team better. We need to move Cody from centerfield to pitcher and your nephew Tim from pitcher to centerfield.” John said he thanked Luke for his input but that they would keep the team the way it is for now. Luke smiled and said ok and went on his way. John told Luke’s mother, “Brandy no matter what Luke does in life later on be it rodeo, baseball or whatever he will succeed.” John saw the potential and greatness in Luke at six years old. John still keeps in contact with him to this day and has kept track of his career and is very proud of him.
Luke’s Village
As you can see these are a few examples of the people and stories that helped shape Luke into the young man that he is today. There is so much more to him than just a world champion steer wrestler, he is a son, brother, father and friend. He will also be the first to tell you that the buckles may go on his belt, but that he would not be where he is today without the village that helped raise him into the champion you see today.
Speaking his mind and setting the foundation for success: John Ventura (Coach)
When Luke played T-ball his coach was John Ventura, father of Rodeo Athletes Magazine | Summer 2014 9