Anybody here ever rode them ole broomtails ?
Horses, I mean. Back in 1994 a Production Co. Named Roughstock World Productions made a 2 hour video called Understanding Bull Ridin, an it featured little ole Me as the Instr. You know what they say "Those that can't anymore, Teach" well thats about the size of it.
I had put on about 5 bull ridin schools that year and had taken two private students that I thought showed a lot of potential.
One quit after the first week, but the second one , his name is Mark. Now, Marks a really nice guy, but maybe just a little slow. He will do anything you ask of him, but he was havin a lot of trouble with balance when try'n to ride. Soooo, its off to my neighbors place, The neighbor had about 130 horses counting colts & all. So I made arrangments with Lowell {the neighbor} to break colts for him that summer.
Riding colts is the best thing in the world to correct any problems you might have with balance. Ole mark tagged along as I tried to explain that this would really benifit him. Not to mention I was getting $175.oo per colt for 30 days ridin. I might not have mentioned that part to Mark.
Well the first day out we had rode or started about 5 different colts, when I brought in this 3 year old blue roan stud colt, he was really built, but had never had a halter on him.
We started him rather slow & worked him easy over the next several days. We had him where you could do about anything you wanted with him including saddle'n him up.
So I saddled old LB {he was a great big rope horse I had & we used him to pony these colts with} & we had the ole blue saddled when I told Mark to climb on, He did.
I got on Lb and around the round pen we went, everthing seemed ok, so I give ole blue a little more lead line.
Now across the road from Lowells round pen was a big 2 story house that an elderly couple lived in, really nice people but a little nosey.
The lady had set on her porch & watched us everyday doing our little task at hand.
Anyway back to the round pen & ole blue with mark onboard.
Round & round they went getting a little faster each time, finally ole blue just stopped dead in his tracks, Sooo I told my willing student to kick him a little. Mark has really big feet for a man his size, but he did as told, kick - kick Nothing, ole blue just stood there. So I instructed him to get after him, Mark did, & thats when I noticed ole blue cocked one ear forward & one ear backward & then reversed them ears, now mark really wasn't holding on too tight about this time.
The round pen we were working in was a set of Priefer panels & they are about 5- 5 1/2 ft tall with the rails about a foot apart, the bottom rail is about a ft off the ground.
Well ole blue had put up with all he could take & started to really blowin up, I was in the middle of the pen on LB & had let ole blue have all the lead line so there was really not much I could do.
Round the pen they went, ole blue bucking & snort'n & ole Mark screaming alot. The more he screamed & floped around the harder ole blue cranked, It was all I could do to stay out of their way.
All I really remember is mark gettin skiped across the pen & under the panels & landing out side about 10 ft away. Could probably have seen more but had tears in my eyes from laughing.
Mark meanwhile got up, brushed his self off & ole blue walked right up to the fence & stared straight at him, kinda like Daring him to try again.
It took some talking but I got mark to climb back on, We did this about 3 more times that afternnon, untill that little ole lady from cross the road came running over & started baby'n old mark. She kept asking if he was ok, I tried to explain that he would live.
We never did get ole blue broke that summer, I did however send him to the James Sears rodeo Co. where he went on to the finals that year,
He was bucked about 50 times as a saddle bronc & only rode twice.
Mark, still goes to the practice pen every now & then, but you can't run fast enought to get him on a horse. He still claims to this day that I tried to kill him that year.
Dan
I had put on about 5 bull ridin schools that year and had taken two private students that I thought showed a lot of potential.
One quit after the first week, but the second one , his name is Mark. Now, Marks a really nice guy, but maybe just a little slow. He will do anything you ask of him, but he was havin a lot of trouble with balance when try'n to ride. Soooo, its off to my neighbors place, The neighbor had about 130 horses counting colts & all. So I made arrangments with Lowell {the neighbor} to break colts for him that summer.
Riding colts is the best thing in the world to correct any problems you might have with balance. Ole mark tagged along as I tried to explain that this would really benifit him. Not to mention I was getting $175.oo per colt for 30 days ridin. I might not have mentioned that part to Mark.
Well the first day out we had rode or started about 5 different colts, when I brought in this 3 year old blue roan stud colt, he was really built, but had never had a halter on him.
We started him rather slow & worked him easy over the next several days. We had him where you could do about anything you wanted with him including saddle'n him up.
So I saddled old LB {he was a great big rope horse I had & we used him to pony these colts with} & we had the ole blue saddled when I told Mark to climb on, He did.
I got on Lb and around the round pen we went, everthing seemed ok, so I give ole blue a little more lead line.
Now across the road from Lowells round pen was a big 2 story house that an elderly couple lived in, really nice people but a little nosey.
The lady had set on her porch & watched us everyday doing our little task at hand.
Anyway back to the round pen & ole blue with mark onboard.
Round & round they went getting a little faster each time, finally ole blue just stopped dead in his tracks, Sooo I told my willing student to kick him a little. Mark has really big feet for a man his size, but he did as told, kick - kick Nothing, ole blue just stood there. So I instructed him to get after him, Mark did, & thats when I noticed ole blue cocked one ear forward & one ear backward & then reversed them ears, now mark really wasn't holding on too tight about this time.
The round pen we were working in was a set of Priefer panels & they are about 5- 5 1/2 ft tall with the rails about a foot apart, the bottom rail is about a ft off the ground.
Well ole blue had put up with all he could take & started to really blowin up, I was in the middle of the pen on LB & had let ole blue have all the lead line so there was really not much I could do.
Round the pen they went, ole blue bucking & snort'n & ole Mark screaming alot. The more he screamed & floped around the harder ole blue cranked, It was all I could do to stay out of their way.
All I really remember is mark gettin skiped across the pen & under the panels & landing out side about 10 ft away. Could probably have seen more but had tears in my eyes from laughing.
Mark meanwhile got up, brushed his self off & ole blue walked right up to the fence & stared straight at him, kinda like Daring him to try again.
It took some talking but I got mark to climb back on, We did this about 3 more times that afternnon, untill that little ole lady from cross the road came running over & started baby'n old mark. She kept asking if he was ok, I tried to explain that he would live.
We never did get ole blue broke that summer, I did however send him to the James Sears rodeo Co. where he went on to the finals that year,
He was bucked about 50 times as a saddle bronc & only rode twice.
Mark, still goes to the practice pen every now & then, but you can't run fast enought to get him on a horse. He still claims to this day that I tried to kill him that year.
Dan
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Iv know a few horse's like old blue [V][V][:(!] 0 -
Great story! Too bad ole Mark didn't make it to Vegas. I presume thats the finals you mean anyway.
Thanks for sharing.0 -
Great yarn. I can sympathize with Mark. Every horse I was given to ride thought he was in the Kentucky Derby. And they didn't give a damn what I was doing.
Their names weren't something like "ole Blue" though.
More Like "Killer", "Satan" , "Thunder" and "Kong".
That Kong was a real mean one. Rode me across the Parker Ranch lava fields like I was Kit Carson. You don't want to fall off on lava.
I've retired from riding horses, motorcycles are much much safer.
Stan0 -
Mark Christian? 0 -
bang250 Posted - 01/19/2007 : 3:21:18 PM
Great story! Too bad ole Mark didn't make it to Vegas. I presume thats the finals you mean anyway.
Thanks for sharing.
No, James Sears lived at the time in Corydon , Ia He was a stock contractor in the URA United Rodeo Assoc.
Mark did however go on to make the finals in the MRCA Mo. Rodeo Cowboys Assoc.
James now runs a rodeo string for Joe Simons PRCA & IPRA as well as some college rodeos.
I probably better ask mark before I post his last name on the web, he still ain't over some of the fun times we had.0 -
I was recently given the ok to get 2 new hay burners.... I cant wait!!!!!! 0 -
quote:Originally posted by danlittle
Horses, I mean. Back in 1994 a Production Co. Named Roughstock World Productions made a 2 hour video called Understanding Bull Ridin, an it featured little ole Me as the Instr. You know what they say "Those that can't anymore, Teach" well thats about the size of it.
I had put on about 5 bull ridin schools that year and had taken two private students that I thought showed a lot of potential.
One quit after the first week, but the second one , his name is Mark. Now, Marks a really nice guy, but maybe just a little slow. He will do anything you ask of him, but he was havin a lot of trouble with balance when try'n to ride. Soooo, its off to my neighbors place, The neighbor had about 130 horses counting colts & all. So I made arrangments with Lowell {the neighbor} to break colts for him that summer.
Riding colts is the best thing in the world to correct any problems you might have with balance. Ole mark tagged along as I tried to explain that this would really benifit him. Not to mention I was getting $175.oo per colt for 30 days ridin. I might not have mentioned that part to Mark.
Well the first day out we had rode or started about 5 different colts, when I brought in this 3 year old blue roan stud colt, he was really built, but had never had a halter on him.
We started him rather slow & worked him easy over the next several days. We had him where you could do about anything you wanted with him including saddle'n him up.
So I saddled old LB {he was a great big rope horse I had & we used him to pony these colts with} & we had the ole blue saddled when I told Mark to climb on, He did.
I got on Lb and around the round pen we went, everthing seemed ok, so I give ole blue a little more lead line.
Now across the road from Lowells round pen was a big 2 story house that an elderly couple lived in, really nice people but a little nosey.
The lady had set on her porch & watched us everyday doing our little task at hand.
Anyway back to the round pen & ole blue with mark onboard.
Round & round they went getting a little faster each time, finally ole blue just stopped dead in his tracks, Sooo I told my willing student to kick him a little. Mark has really big feet for a man his size, but he did as told, kick - kick Nothing, ole blue just stood there. So I instructed him to get after him, Mark did, & thats when I noticed ole blue cocked one ear forward & one ear backward & then reversed them ears, now mark really wasn't holding on too tight about this time.
The round pen we were working in was a set of Priefer panels & they are about 5- 5 1/2 ft tall with the rails about a foot apart, the bottom rail is about a ft off the ground.
Well ole blue had put up with all he could take & started to really blowin up, I was in the middle of the pen on LB & had let ole blue have all the lead line so there was really not much I could do.
Round the pen they went, ole blue bucking & snort'n & ole Mark screaming alot. The more he screamed & floped around the harder ole blue cranked, It was all I could do to stay out of their way.
All I really remember is mark gettin skiped across the pen & under the panels & landing out side about 10 ft away. Could probably have seen more but had tears in my eyes from laughing.
Mark meanwhile got up, brushed his self off & ole blue walked right up to the fence & stared straight at him, kinda like Daring him to try again.
It took some talking but I got mark to climb back on, We did this about 3 more times that afternnon, untill that little ole lady from cross the road came running over & started baby'n old mark. She kept asking if he was ok, I tried to explain that he would live.
We never did get ole blue broke that summer, I did however send him to the James Sears rodeo Co. where he went on to the finals that year,
He was bucked about 50 times as a saddle bronc & only rode twice.
Mark, still goes to the practice pen every now & then, but you can't run fast enought to get him on a horse. He still claims to this day that I tried to kill him that year.
Dan
Dan, is that the James Sears from South Lineville, MO and Mercer County MO? If it is I know him pretty good, but haven't seen him for several years.0 -
Those are his brothers that live in Linville, I think he grew up around there.
James & Trudy divorced several years ago, She now lives in excelsior springs , mo as well as Amber, their daughter.
James is probably one of the BEST stock contractors to ever enter an arena, anywhere.
He is also a close personal friend. When I started rodeoing He took me & let me work for him all summer.
I was 11 years old.
Dan0 -
Yes and still ridin...ain't nothing like it...Bull [8D] 
0 -
Yea, I beleive that is the same Guy. Have you ever been to Humeston, IA? That is where I would run into James alot, at the bars there, back in my drinking days. 0 -
sarge_3ad Posted - 01/19/2007 : 4:07:06 PM
Yea, I beleive that is the same Guy. Have you ever been to Humeston, IA? That is where I would run into James alot, at the bars there, back in my drinking days.
Yes several times, remind me one of these days to tell you about a
guy that clowned for james and had a brahma steer that was broke to ride & a bar in Ia.
Same guy also had a chimp name junkie
Boy does that bring back some thoughts
Dan0 -
There you go, some more topics for your next story telling threads.
By the way, My wife use to bartend at Wojo's and The Hop in Humeston quite a few years back. I use to fill in every now and then at those places as well.0 -
Yup, used to ride a few myself. Been on both sides of the story that you told. I grew up breaking colts and riding (my dad raised some horses). It has been a few years ago (when I was in college), I broke and rode a few for extra money ($50-60 for 30 saddles as I recall). That was not too bad compared to the ranches around at that time ($6-$8 a day and all you could eat --- days started before it was light and ended after you could not see).
A "friend" (had a couple of high school age children that rode) traded for a palomino mare about 10-12 years old that was supposed to be well broke. She was a little snorty and he wanted me to ride her for 30 days before he let his kids on her. She was real snorty and boogery and had a bad look about her. I rode her for 30 days. Every day when you went to catch her she would start blowing her nose and rolling her eyes. She would draw up like a knot when you caught her. Every muscle in her body would be tense as she was saddled. She always had a big hump in her back and she would just tip-toe off when you got on. She bucked with me every day, but not when you expected it. For 30 days I expected her to pitch when I got on her and she never did. But sometime before you got back, she would try you. However, when she was not snorting or bucking, she was very well broke. She had a good handle on her.
She was a spinner and was hard for me to ride. Every jump she would come under my right stirrup. But I managed to ride her until one day when I was coming back by the college airport with her lathered-up good and just saddling along toward the barn. She caught me napping and got ahead of me on the first jump. After that every jump would raise me up just a little more and she just kept coming back under my right foot. When I finally accepted that I was doomed, I quit her and she bucked across the airfield and ran into a hanger with the planes.
An airplane mechanic (who had probably never ridden a horse came leading her back out to me with a smile on his face). That hurt worse that getting bucked off.
After I rode her for 30 days, I took her home and advised my friend not to let the kids on her. We roped at his place a lot and one day another friend (a bareback rider) happened over to watch us rope. The mare was standing in a pen, fat and fresh. I happened to mention to my friend how well she reined and how quick she was (might have forgotten to mention that she would pitch).
To make a long story shorter, he rode her for 10-15 minutes and she got over acting like she was going to buck. He was loping her up the arena fence and turning her back into the fence. She turned like she should two or three times. Then as he reined her left, she came right under his right foot. Caught him totally off-guard and threw him as high as the light poles. Thankfully, he was not hurt (other than his feelings) as I would have been of little help to him with both of my sides splitting from laughter.
I guess that misery loves company. She ended up in a rodeo string as a bareback horse.0 -
"Oh that strawberry roan"....
You know the rest.
Got Guns?0 -
I've saddle broke a few, and tasted dirt more than once. Thankfully I never had to deal with one that was rank.
I've been living with a ruptured disk for 20 years, and it's the result of a "over the head somersault, flat on the back landing" while working a greenbroke mare.0 -
Spent a summer helping a friend break horses a few years ago. Most of the horses we broke ranged from 4 to 6 years old and have never seen people before. Most of them broke fairly easy(at least that was my opinion), But there was this one horse. He stood about 16 1/2 hands, was all muscle, And was as stubbern as a old mule. Took me all summer and i never did get him fully broke. I moved the next year and never did find out what happened to that horse. 0 -
Still have a couple. Don 0 -
Got 8, 4 that you can drag to the fire with and pack and four that are still learnin, but under stand only three are horses the others are mules.
You ever run into a kid picking up down in those parts named Jerry Becker 10/15 years ago?0
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