Horse Mavericks

photo by kretyen

It was Mother’s day and the Mother Lode Round-up in Sonora, California was halfway finished.  At 8:30am the bleachers were empty except for Lanny West and his entourage.  Friends occupied a bench that extended to his left and right.  He held his one-year-old grandson in his lap and his wife watched the other two grandchildren play on the grass that bordered the arena.  A corgi lounged at her feet, panting. 

We were there to watch his daughter, Tammy West White, and her husband, Ryan, compete as team ropers in the slack, an event for participants who were not randomly selected to be in the public rodeo show, but who were competitors anyway. 

“This is the first time Tammy has roped in four years,” Lanny said to me.  Just then a steer broke loose from the chute in the arena and two horses and their riders chased after it.  The header delivered his loop and missed.  The scoreboard read NT, no time.

While the next team backed into the boxes I continued the discussion. “How come?” I said. 

Lanny adjusted his grandson on his lap.  “First she had Trey, then she got pregnant again and then it was one thing after another.” 

I understood the one-thing-after-another phenomenon.  I had two children of my own.  Having kids slows a woman down for a few years.  “What got her back into it?” I said.

“Ryan asked her if she was ready to rope again now that the kids were older.  She’s a good partner,” said Lanny.  

There was another pause in the conversation as the second steer charged out.  This time the header managed to catch the horns, but the heeler missed.  NT flashed on the scoreboard. 

While Tammy and Ryan backed their horses into the boxes, I said,  “Why is everybody missing the steers?” 

“There are good ropers here, but the steers are running hard,” Lanny said.

The gate of the chute clanked opened and another steer charged.  Tammy swung the lariat over her head and caught the horns.  Ryan delivered his rope, the steer stepped into the loop and Ryan dallied. They were in the lead for the time being.

This would have been the moment most fathers would have bragged about how much money and how many saddles his daughter had won through the years.  This would have been the moment when most fathers would have mentioned how his daughter was the first girl to win several prestigious ropings, but not Lanny. 

Instead he said, “I’ve seen her miss a steer for $45,000 and afterwards you would have never known it.  She’s amazing.”   

As he watched his daughter walk her horse out of the arena, Lanny’s face radiated in pride.  He admired her for her ability to remain even-tempered regardless of what might happen in the competition.  All that stuff, the winning and the loosing . . . well . . . it just came and went.  Tammy would remain who she was, Lanny’s little girl, Ryan’s wife, and the mother of two little boys and that’s that.

Photo by kretyen