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Championship 4-State Youth Rodeo
Rodeo teaches local kids the ropes
Children as young as 1 came out to the Clark County Fairgrounds to learn the basics and hone their skills.
Sunday, December 16, 2007
SPRINGFIELD — Wrapping her thin arms around the steer's head, Marissa Osborne dug her booted heels into the dirt and waited for the red flag.
Osborne, 7, of Springboro, was trying chute-dogging for the first time Saturday evening at the Championship 4-State Youth Rodeo at the Champions Center at the Clark County Fairgrounds. An adult helped hold the steer by the tail while Osborne used her weight to try and wrestle it down by the head.
Extras
The rodeo, which is held once a month at the fairgrounds, teaches kids as young as a year old the rodeo basics while allowing older competitors the chance to hone their skills during the winter. The youngest child Saturday was 1 year old, while the oldest competitor was 20.
After a long fight, Osborne's steer was able to jerk loose, but she got a standing ovation for her efforts from a small crowd of friends and family members who had stuck around for one of the last events of the night.
The rodeo started about five years ago when Judy Brooks, of Springfield, set it up with the help of some friends and family members. In all, about 140 competitors from Ohio and neighboring states had signed on for Saturday's show, but bad weather kept many away, and the event ended a few hours earlier than scheduled.
At the Champions Center, competitors get to work on their times for barrel racing, wrestle a steer and team up to rope a calf, among other events.
For Cody Lensman, 14, of St. Paris, rodeo is a big part of his life, and even though the sport can be dangerous, he said he has no plans to quit anytime soon. He began when he was 4 years old after seeing an event on television, he said.
"It's just what I love," he said. "I'll probably never quit doing it."
Contact this reporter at (937) 328-0355 or msanctis@coxohio.com.
