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This year’s Ranch Rodeo on Saturday, July 26, will give
spectators a true picture of what life is like for cowhands in
South Florida.
The event is planned as a part of the second annual Okeechobee
Cattlemen’s Association celebration of the National Day of the
American Cowboy.
Unlike the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association Rodeo that the
cattlemen brought to the Okeechobee Agri-Civic Center during the
County Fair in March, the Ranch Rodeo will include events that
offer a glimpse into the day-to-day activities of the guys and
gals who
“work cow for a living.”
Up to ten area ranches will sponsor teams to compete in the
Ranch Rodeo. Unlike the PRCA cowboys who compete as
individuals for cash prizes in each separate event, the local
cowhands will work as teams to gain points in each competition
toward overall team prizes, with the top two teams becoming
eligible to represent Okeechobee County Cattlemen’s Association
at the
Ranch Rodeo finals in Kissimmee the first weekend in October.
Another difference from the professional rodeo is that the
professionals specialize in a particular event, such as roping
or bronc riding. However, the real cowboys have to learn to do
them all. The events at this year’s Ranch Rodeo represent
activities that regularly take
place on area ranches.
“We already have six ranches signed up to compete in this year’s
Ranch Rodeo, but we still can use a few more,” says Matt Pearce,
president of the Okeechobee Cattlemen’s Association. “The first
ten ranches who enter will be included in the event.”
Last year’s winning team was entered by Freedom Ranch. The five
members of the team included Elton and Angela Boney,
Weston Prior, Heath Crum and Matt Davis. All of the team members
have had some professional rodeo experience, and they
all are working now as real life cowboys. All, that is, except
Angela Boney, who works as a dental hygienist for Dr. Tenniswood
in Okeechobee. Having been born and raised on a ranch, even
Angela has competed in Barrel Racing in a professional rodeo.
“I’d say it was 50 percent skill and 50 percent luck that we won
last year,” Elton recalls. “There are a lot of good teams here,
and most of us know each other pretty well. We all come from
Okeechobee or nearby parts of South Florida. ”
The events at this year’s Ranch Rodeo will include a variety of
real-life ranch activities including Ranch Doctoring, Bronc
Riding, Wild Cow Milking, Team Branding and a Stampede Race. Of
the five Ranch Rodeo events in 2007, the Freedom Ranch team
took first place in two, second in one, fourth in one and
finished last in another one.
Bronc Riding is probably the most dangerous,” Elton says, “and
roping for the Ranch Doctoring and Team Branding can be the
most difficult.”
Since Angela is expecting a baby soon after this year’s rodeo
and two other team members are soon-to-be fathers, the group
has decided not to defend their title. But they do encourage
people to come out to watch this year’s event. Two of them have
already
qualified to compete in the state event in Kissimmee by their
performance in the ranch rodeo in Arcadia.
“The Okeechobee Ranch Rodeo bound to be exciting and thrilling
to watch,” Elton Boney says. “People will have a chance to see
what a cowboy’s life is really like. Actually, a Ranch Rodeo can
be even riskier than the professional rodeos are, mainly because
none of the
animals we work have ever been in a rodeo before while the PRCA
takes the same animals from one rodeo to the next. Also, we
don’t
have our animals set up to come out of a chute, so it’s more
like working on a real ranch.”
Cowboys at the Ranch Rodeo will have to deal with cattle that
may never have been roped before, so it can be more of a
challenge for the cowboys. Elton says that it will be a closer
replication of real ranch life.
“Team members need to be well-rounded,” Elton says. “That’s
because cowboys have to be able to do a variety of activities,
just like what people will see at the rodeo. Two of our team
members went to the ranch rodeo in Arcadia and have already
qualified to compete at state.”
Elton Boney is a fifth generation Florida cowboy, and he says
his life is fairly typical of cowboys in the area. He is a
regular “day worker” at three different ranches in the
area—Queen Bee Farm, Scarborough Ranch and County Line Farms.
Area ranches hire cowboys to work
when they are needed, often for several weeks at a time.
“One thing that people who attend the Ranch Rodeo should look
for is the bond between the cowboy and his horse,” Elton says.
“We train our horses to help us do our jobs better, and they are
just as important to our performance as we are.”
Elton and Angela Boney live at Freedom Ranch, the working ranch
owned by Church of the Woods. The pastors, John Glen and George
Sweat, hope eventually to use the ranch as an attraction to give
people a chance to experience ranch living first hand.
The Ranch Rodeo will be open to the public
without charge. Expenses are being paid by the Cattlemen’s
Association and by area sponsors
to celebrate the National Day of the Cowboy. The celebration
will begin with a Cattle Drive starting at Flagler Park and
traveling East of
State Road 70 to the Okeechobee Agri-Civic Center.
Following the Cattle Drive, activities sponsored by Okeechobee
Main Street will take place outside the Agri-Civic Center. Main
Street is planning to have traditional Florida cowboy story
telling, whip popping demonstrations, art by the Cowboy Artist
Association of Florida, barbecue and other food and children’s
events.
To register to compete in the Ranch Rodeo, area
ranchers are asked to call Robert Burney, for the Okeechobee
Cattlemen’s Association,
at 863-634-2045. For more information on participating in the
events outside the arena or to arrange for a booth, interested
persons may contact Toni Doyle with the Main Organization at
863-357-MAIN
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