Muddling Along

You never saw so much mud. Steer wrestlers skied on it, wallowed in it, and after their runs they were slathered from head to toe. They looked like they were preparing for jungle commando duty. (Your camouflage has a distinct odor of cow poop, soldier.) The rough-stock riders came back to the ready area bubbled in brown. Their chaps are singular badges of honor so forgive the occasional dainty lift after a ride to try to keep them semi-clean.


Scott Montague returned after his championship bareback ride to pick up his custom-made hat (the work of his brother), dump the watery mud from within, and bench the caked sombrero. “I think she’s a goner,” said Scott. “I’ll give it back to my brother. Maybe he can do something with it. Or we’ll put it on e-bay.”

Cheyenne Frontier Days arena is big and long. It has a history like no other. Pro cowboys and cowgirls live to make the final Sunday. The last three days of this years “Daddy” were damp. Make that wet. No, swamped. No one minds the rain, mind you. This is ranch country and the land’s been parched for many years. Give us rain. And for shooters – still and video – mud flying makes for some unbelievable pictures. Sure a tripod might get blotched and a few shirts destined for the dry cleaner in the sky. But what pictures! Here’s a taste for you from photographer Rick Carpenter and our own video-meister Mike McCrimmon:

Click here to see all CFD Mud Flying Images and Video

Honoring Thy Father

I sat quietly next to Beau LeDoux. You can see his father’s eyes sparkle forth in this son of rodeo and cowboy music legend, Chris. His boy and I shared a couple of thoughts on the subject of height. “Dad was taller when he was younger. I think he shrunk,” said Beau. “Me too. I’m definitely down an inch or two,” I said. “Except in the stomach.”

Beau smiled. Then you can really see his dad. It’s a tall shadow within which Beau rides his bareback horse in the massive Cheyenne Frontier Days arena. He dismounts, pulls a bag from his shirt pocket, and empties the contents to the arena dirt. A family decision led to ashes of Chris Ledoux finding their way to the middle of rodeo’s heart this week.

This arena is not used often – maybe a month a year. Such has been the case from the beginning. In the 1960s a teenage boy who’d won his first rodeo buckle in Texas moved to Cheyenne. Young Chris did not live far from the arena. During those character-forming days he would ride his horse in this arena in front of no one but his imagination. He doffed his hat to the empty grandstands while crowning himself a Cheyenne champion. Later Chris would watch bareback riding’s elite readying for their rides at Old Cheyenne and the boy with a dream began to believe in himself. “It was like I was born right here in Cheyenne,” said LeDoux.

Chris obtained his Rodeo Cowboy’s Association permit in due order and stretched his talent by listening to advice of fellow riders and working hard at his chosen craft. He never won Cheyenne but came close. Twenty years after the ride that nearly got him the Frontier Days buckle he would remember every moment clearly. He could talk about the horse, and the ride, and Joe Alexander coming out of the chute later to best LeDoux’s mark setting a record that still stands. Chris spoke as if he’d just dismounted from that horse right there in the middle of the Cheyenne arena – the arena where yesterday his son Beau brought Dad home.

Photo Caption: Beau LeDoux rides at Cheyenne Frontier Days. Upon dismount he left ashes of his father Chris in the arena dirt.

Credit: Rick Carpenter

Jhett Fueled For Finish

Most animals brought to Cheyenne for the timed events out of Chute 9 are fresh – meaning this is their first rodeo. Not so in team roping. This bunch of horned critters has been out at Colorado rodeos a lot recently, including the Greeley Stampede and the recent tour stop in Colorado Springs. Close to 150 teams roped today as the first go-round in team roping was staged throughout the afternoon. Casper team roper Jhett Johnson sprang into the top 15 for the first time this season, this week.

Johnson knew it could be a rough go today because the Frontier Days arena is long and narrow. Many of the steers would be runners since they know what is up now and they get a head start of over thirty feet in Cheyenne – twice as long as other rodeos. Still several teams got the job done in under nine seconds. Jhett and partner Keven Daniel were out of the money at fourteen seconds for their run. They will hope for better luck in round two. The pair did well in both Greeley and Colorado Springs earlier this month. Jhett is on the heels, Keven the head. Johnson says they picked up $9,000 over the Fourth of July turning around the season completely. “The last two weeks saved our chances to make the finals,” said Jhett.

Johnson is set for horses. “It’s been a long time since I’ve had two world-class heel horses. They have to be tough to get hauled in a trailer for eight or nine hours and then get out to perform at their best. Just like any pro athlete they’re on the edge and give 100 percent every time,” Jhett remarks.

My pal Rick Carpenter was shooting still photos of Jhett today and we heard him talking to a couple of old friends about heart. The conversation bears repeating. There is a life lesson here. A transcription follows:

Young guys will come in and win right off the bat and they think ‘Man, I’m going to do this forever. It’s fun. I love it.’ But once their luck changes - and this is for everybody whether it’s me or Speed Williams (current header standings leader) – there will be a dry spell and that’s the time you say ‘Do I want to do this?’ It’s money out of your own pocket (the entry fee at Cheyenne for example is $400). It’s wear and tear on everything. And you’re tired. You haven’t won and it doesn’t look like you are ever gonna win again. You have to ask yourself ‘Is this what I want to do?’ Some will fold and some will keep going. That’s when you find out what you’ve got. The easy way is to head to the house and regroup. And just never come back. You see that a lot.

Jhett Johnson could have given up this season. He started it with an appendectomy. His partner quit on him the week Johnson healed. “I lost my partner and I lost my appendix. It looked pretty gloomy,” he said. The bad luck didn’t stop there. The next partner’s horse went lame. “I thought that was about par,” said Jhett. But then Keven Daniel asked if Jhett would join him. “I always look for another light,” Johnson says.
The road to the national finals won’t be easy but if attitude counts for anything, Jhett is going to make it. His tank is always half full.

Christmas Money Comes Early

Fourth of July rodeos are the craziest travel time for contestants on the pro rodeo circuit. If you live in the West you saw horse trailers rolling the highways somewhere in the last few days. Two of them carrying Wyoming athletes pulled into Greeley, CO yesterday for the finals at the Stampede – the largest of the “Cowboy Christmas” purses. Both left with pockets full of cash.

Brandie Halls and her trusty steed Slim won the barrel racing average in Greeley with a total time of 52.33 seconds in three runs. The Carpenter, WY resident, and Torrington area native, ran at speeds good enough for money in each round and total winnings of over $8,400. Just to give you a thumbnail of how the travel miles accumulate during the first week of July, Brandie headed to Steamboat Springs, CO for a rodeo last night. She took her inexperienced horse, Lizzy, out for that run that really was difficult because of the fireworks and crowd noise. On top of those impediments, the wind kicked up and blew the timing eye down during the run. Back to the travel: Brandie’s been to Red Lodge, Montana and Cody, Wyoming in addition to Greeley over the last few days. She’s headed to Utah today and will return to Steamboat this weekend.

Casper team roper Jhett Johnson heeled his way to the Greeley pay window to pick up nearly $5,800 along with heading pard Keven Daniel. They took the average title with a total time of 17.4 on three head. Jhett has now moved up to 26th in the world standings and hopes to close in on the coveted top 15 within a few weeks. He has the honor of hauling a horse trailer widely, and colorfully, adorned with Wyoming scenery and a big picture of the Johnson family. They live west of Casper on a ranch that dates to the late 1800s.

Another member of the Wyoming rodeo athlete sponsorship program supported by the state tourism office is Jason Miller – a steer wrestler from Lance Creek. His year is getting better quickly after Greeley. He left the Stampede with a cool $6,000 and a startling vault in the standings, now in the 26th spot.