The Alvin Sun (Alvin, Tex.), Vol. 111, No. 53, Ed. 1 Monday, July 8, 2002 Page: 14 of 24
twenty four pages : ill. ; page 21 x 13 in. Digitized from 35 mm. microfilm.View a full description of this newspaper.
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Sules
Amanda
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7
has
Champa Jerad and Joel Schlegel
Jerad Schlega at homa on Na horse, Rio
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Cover Story
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“It was the most
fun I can
imagine for
a kid who was
real interested in
rodeo and being
a cowboy
—Ty Murray
test
is ha
join
high s
Rodec
Rodeo
by KAREN KARVONEN
Photos by Grttel Daugbtrty
4
es s
mil
J
tying
eveni
tail a
ular I
ropir
J
ropin
for s
"Little Britches is the largest and I
oldest of the youth rodeo associations I
that cover this age range. We sane- l
tion 175 to 200 rodeos a year in 12 1
to 14 states in the West, Midwest, I
and South. Many of them take place I
in small towns," Gaillard says.
Little Britches has been part of I
Schlegel’s family from way back. His i
mother, Sherri, competed in Little 7
Botches rodeos through her school I
years and continued barrel racing
a sp
bucl
until her boys—Jerad and Joel, 13—were old enough to join.
"Jerad was riding by himself when he was 2 and swingfog a
rope not long after;" she recalls.
Schlegel qualified for the World Final when he was 11, but
after his horse reared and fell backward, breakfog the young
cowboys leg, he went as a spectator—cheering on Joel from the
grandstands. In 1999, he hurt his arm in bareback riding at the
finals and had to drop out of contention for the all-around title.
Schlegel stayed injury-free in 2000, but during his first
round at the finals, things started going wrong. The goat he
roped got up, and he missed his calf. "I was pretty worried, but
my dad told me not to look back and just try to go all out and
win my next events," says Schlegel of Bums, Colo.
Jerad Schlegel knows the rewards
of persistence and effort. The road to becoming a National Lit-
tle Britches Association rodeo champion was rougher than any
bucking horse he ever straddled, after a string of injuries side-
lined the youngster. But family support and sheer grit turned
this hard-luck youth into a world champion when he captured
the Little Britches Junior All-Around World Finals in 2000.
“I try to learn from my mistakes and improve,” says
Schlegel, 16, who hopes to make a career out of rodeo.
Whether aspiring youngsters turn pro is not important, says
day Gaillard, Little Britches marketing director. "We are not
trying to stamp out professional rodeo athletes,” he says. "Our
goal is to make good people out of them.”
Turning youngsters into upstanding citizens starts with the
camaraderie and family atmosphere that surrounds all Little
Britches rodeos.
s.
g
88
:1./
That pep talk helped Schlegel rally. Twice he set a new goat-tying
record and eventually won world championships in flag racing and
the junior all-around.
King of Cowboys
Schlegel won the very title that Ty Murray, the "King of
Cowboys,” won in the senior division nearly 14 years earlier.
Page 6 •American Profile
■ 8 "
sl
J.W. Goode displays the classic bull-riding style.
Murray, 32, a seven-time All-Round World Champion and
Pro Rodeo Hall of Famer who retired in May, began his
renowned career in youth rodeo.
Murray began riding horses and calves at 2 and was just 5
when he was breaking from the chute in calf riding, dinging
like a burr to the back of a fishtailing heifer; He also competed
in barrel racing, flag racing (snatching a flag from one barrel
and placing it on another), ring grab, and team roping, among
other events, on the Arizona Junior Rodeo Association circuit.
Rodeo was a Murray family tradition His mother, Joy, was
the Senior All-Around World Champion for the National Little
Britches Rodeo Association. Young Ty took his first lessons from
his farher, Butch, who once rode bulls and buckfog horses.
, "My dad would hold onto my belt loop and run alongside the calf, so I
Eowboz«nsTMum wouldn’t hit the ground," recalls Murray. "I started going to Little Britches
Ei roxdev when 1 was 1 ’ and was riding all three roxughstoxk events (bareback nd
E ing, saddle bronc riding, and bull riding) a year later.”
E Sa Dubbad The Mk hael Jordan of Rodeo.” Murray later would specialize in
Ek ' d E I thwi Toughstox k events tor his AIl-Around Protessional Rodeo Cowboy Ass-
EEei ‘ iarion (PRC A) titles. Murray also won PRCA World Bull Riding Champi-
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Schwind, Jim & Holton, Kathleen. The Alvin Sun (Alvin, Tex.), Vol. 111, No. 53, Ed. 1 Monday, July 8, 2002, newspaper, July 8, 2002; Alvin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1602844/m1/14/: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Alvin Community College.