Ad
For many involved in rodeo it’s all about the family and community connection it builds, and that couldn’t ring more true for the Blakely family of Belen.
Brandon and Nicole Blakely have both competed in rodeos since they were young, and are now passing on the tradition to their sons, Branson, 6, and Braxton, 3.
Brandon started out saddle bronc riding when he was a teenager, and developed his skills over the years.
Saddle bronc riding is rodeo’s classic event, and requires strength but also demands style, grace and precise timing. The horse wears a halter attached to its chin, and the rider holds on by a thick rope. Every move the bronc rider makes must be synchronized with the movement of the horse.
“When the horse jumps forward, the cowboy’s two feet must be above the horse’s shoulder,” Nicole explained. “The more in sync he is with the horse, and the more the horse bucks the more points he gets.”
While Brandon didn’t compete in high school rodeos, he did join open rodeos.
While the two met and dated off and on in high school, Brandon moved to California after graduation and worked cutting horses, meaning he trained horses to separate a cow from a heard of cattle and prevent it from rejoining the herd.
Nicole, on the other hand, participated in 4-H rodeo, competing in barrel races, poles, goat tying and a little bit of roping.
After four years away, Brandon returned home and rekindled the romance with Nicole.
Now that her older son, Branson, has gotten a little older (he just celebrated his sixth birthday), the family has returned back into the rodeo circuit, traveling and giving the youngster a chance to hone his own skills on the back of a sheep.
Ad
“It’s a lot of planning,” Nicole said of the family’s rodeo lifestyle. “Branson has been doing the First Impressions Rodeo Series in the South Valley, and he actually won it last year in the sheep riding. He also does leadline.”
Leadline is a horse show class for very young children, generally under the age of 7 years.
“We bring our horse and he sits on the saddle and we lead him through the pole pattern,” Nicole said. “He gets a time on it. We’re trying to give him the tools now so he can grow up and get good at it.”
While Branson has become a pretty good mutton-buster, his little brother, Braxton, is still a little too young and intimidated by the fast and furry animal.
Mutton busting is an event for children between 5 to 7 years old. Once the child is seated atop the sheep, the sheep is released and usually starts to run in an attempt to get the child off. Prizes or ribbons are given out to the children who can stay on the longest — 6 seconds or longer.
Branson, who says he’s excited to ride the sheep in mutton busting, was just in Silver City competing in the Casper Baca Rodeo Series, and another in Socorro.
“I like to win buckles,” Branson said when asked why he likes to rodeo. “I’ve won two. I like to win and I like to ride, but I don’t like to fall off.”
While Branson says he’s not scared to mutton bust, he does admit his “stomach gets a little scared” once in a while.
“It’s fun,” he said. “I like doing it. I just think I have to win.”
While Brandon has slowed down competing in rodeos, it wasn’t uncommon for him to compete in multiple events during a long weekend.
Raising their sons in the rodeo atmosphere, Nicole is grateful to the rodeo community and the friends they’ve made along the way.
“I’m glad my kids have this kind of hobby because other kids just don’t know what to do with themselves,” Nicole said. “This is something he can work towards; make himself a goal, and it toughens him up.
“Yes, it can definitely be dangerous but he’s protected,” she said. “He wears a helmet, a vest in case he gets stepped on, and he wears chaps.”
Getting the boys ready for rodeo helps them to learn how to work with animals as well as rallying their confidence. Branson is also working on his form and learning how to sit up right on the sheep.
“He’s also learning how to focus and not to look to the ground because he’ll then end up on the ground,” his mother says. “Mutton busting also teaches him good sportsmanship. He got two seconds in Socorro, but his buddy won and he was very excited for him.
“There were no hard feelings — he was just happy to be there and doing it. I was really proud of him when he gave his friend a high five.”
Branson, who will be starting first grade in August, practices almost daily, his mother says, on their sheep at home.
“He just rides her around,” she said. “She’s a poor sheep, but she’s good with him.”
When his dad is in the arena, Branson is sure to be there, watching and learning.
“They will go off together, get their minds set and he’ll tell his dad to stay on,” Nicole said. “They love doing it together.”
