4-H Rodeo Teaches Equestrian Skills
 
By Chris Hunnewell
Reprinted courtesy of the Graham Leader

GRAHAM – Ever wonder how someone learns to ride like the Lone Ranger and Tonto?
Well, they could participate in an organization like the Young County 4-H Horse Club and its
“Rodeo, Just Do It” at the Young County Arena in Graham on Saturday, June 7.

“There’s fellowship, education and training,” says David Buckley, adult sponsor of the horse club.
“The rodeo is open to anyone in a specific age group. The club offers the opportunity to learn
equestrian and rodeo skills perfected over months through the club’s play days.”

Or, they might consider the old fashion method used by actor, stuntman and Olympic
athlete Dean Smith.

“When I was riding at Ivan and Eliasville I didn’t have anybody to teach me anything,” Smith says.
“I’d get some crazy horse and it would buck me off. I had to do everything with brute strength
and awkwardness.”

Long before he won a gold medal in the 1952 Olympics in Helsinki, Finland, Smith explains, he had
other aspirations.

“When I was a kid I wanted to be a world championship cowboy, but I didn’t have anyone to teach
me except get on and do it by process of elimination,” Smith says. “These kids have an advantage
that they can get together and be observed by experienced riders who offer suggestions for
improvement without the trial and error method of instruction.”

Smith, who starred in many western movies and action television programs including “The Alamo,”
“McClintock,” “Maverick,” “Gunsmoke” and “Walker, Texas Ranger” admits he didn’t learn the
majority of his riding skills until he was a stuntman in Hollywood.

A member of the Stuntman Hall of Fame and a 1997 All American Cowboy, Smith recalls how he
used to practice barrel racing at the old rodeo grounds east of Graham near the Finis Road.
“It was horrible down there compared to what we have today,” Smith says. “If it rained, the mud
was hock deep on a horse, while in the Young County Arena the weather doesn’t affect it.”

“It’s a great thing the kids in 4-H have an opportunity to show their animals and compete,” Smith
says. “They can do the same thing in that facility they can do in Los Angeles. I know many people
who think the Young County Arena is as good as any arena in Fort Worth or Dallas.”

Senior 4-H horse club rider and roper Jamie Creel of Newcastle agrees.

“It’s great having something as nice as the Young County Arena this close to home,” Creel says.
“There have been situations where I’ve had to travel to horse shows two hours away from home.”

Her teammate, Tita Burnham, has been in 4-H since she was eight and competes in barrel racing,
pole bending, break away roping, and just everything else but goat tying.
 
“I do working cowhorse, too,” Burnham says, regarding an event not listed with the 4-H rodeo.
“But there is a working cowhorse in district and state. It’s a lot fun and a learning experience,
especially the playday.”

Playdays give riders a valuable opportunity to hone horsemanship; a time of accumulating skills
perfected over months and years, returning a dividend of confidence and something more.

“You are out there most of the day, watching your friends and having fun,” Burnham says. “It’s like
going to the movies, a place to hang out. It’s competitive, but it is more relaxed.”

In fact, her entire family spends a great deal of time at the YCA, where her mother rides English
style and her father practices his cowboy craft.

“It’s a nice, large facility...especially since it’s similar to other arenas I’ll be competing in,” Burnham
says. “I’d still be riding horses even if it was by trial and error. If I wasn’t involved in 4-H, I’d find
somewhere else to be involved -- whether we had an arena or not.”

“It’s neat that our kids have this level of facility,” Buckley says. “Many of the beginning riders are
five and six -- who begin by precariously holding on to the saddle horn.

“Once their skills are developed their competition level grows to where they start looking toward
the advanced rodeo level.”

So how does a rider learn to mount like the Lone Ranger and Tonto? Well, even the kemo sabe had
to go somewhere and learn from someone.

Riders 19 and under from across the region are invited to participate in the Young County 4-H
Horse Club Rodeo. For more information or to register, call Buckley at (940) 521-9405.