A while back I was up in northeast Oklahoma looking at a roping horse. The horse belonged to a man about my age. He has a son that ropes really good. They’ve lived on that piece of ground for several generations. I’ve always enjoyed listening to stories about life on their farm from long ago.
When I arrived he was in the front yard sharpening a sickle to cut hay. He had just finished cutting the hay across the road from his house and it looked like a golf course, pure Bermuda grass. I’ve always had a disc mower to cut hay with, and after seeing how good his meadow looked I was having thoughts about finding a good sickle mower. As we headed to the roping arena the smell of fresh cut hay was in the air.
The roping arena was made of remnants from the oil field and other stuff that had been gathered up from three or four generations of cowboys that lived and roped on the place. There was a story behind each piece of the arena. The arena ground had long since been picked clean of rocks. As I loped the horse around I noticed how perfectly the arena dirt had been worked.
He told me they rode this horse about ten miles a day checking wheat pasture calves. He said he was really good to rope on out in the wheat pastures when a calf got sick.
I asked how much the horse had been hauled, how many ropings and rodeos he’d been too. He said he’d only taken him a couple of times to the local roping. He said his son was gone all of the time to the big rodeos so he stays home, works at the local factory and runs the farm.
I asked how come he didn’t enter more of the local ropings and rodeos. I told him, “You always roped good, why you go to some of these around the house?” He simply said, “I had my shot, it’s his time, he’s worked hard and he’s ready.”
I didn’t buy the horse that day. All the way home I thought about what he said, it’s his time. I wonder if his son realizes how much his dad is giving up so he can go off and chase his dream of winning big at the rodeos.
This Father’s Day I wanted to send out a special thanks to all the dads that have kids that rodeo. From buying ponies, step up horses and countless hours of discing the arena, feeding horses and calves or steers, dads of kids that rodeo are always there, behind the scenes. My dad turned out countless calves for me when I was a kid, here’s to all those dads just like him. Happy Father’s Day to all the World Champion Chute Help dads.
James Lockhart lives near the Kiamichi mountains in southeast Oklahoma. He writes cowboy stories and fools with cows and horses.
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