SATURDAY NIGHT AT THE WESTERNER

Been Throw'd

by Larry Gabriel

If you got "throw'd" by anything in 2005, the start of a new year is a perfect time to try again.

The fact that an effort failed last year, doesn't mean it will fail this year. We may have to change our grip, but it never means we are certain to be thrown on the next try.

The best cowboys get thrown. My Dad always said he was thrown only four times in this life and twice by the same horse. That horse never did get gentle, but he was always a great horse.

In this part of the country, it is no big deal to be thrown, but it is a "big deal" to give up. That's why rodeo cowboys get back on after being thrown, sometimes with serious injuries.

Jeff Willert, the 23-year-old saddle bronc world champion, from Belvidere, SD, might not be a household name yet, but he is a prime example of the cowboy spirit that never gives up.

In 2003, Jeff was thrown by a horse that kicked him in the head and left him blind in one eye. That event may have put a damper on 2003, but it did not stop him from becoming bronc riding world champion in 2005.

Many rodeo cowboys continue to ride after serious injuries just to finish the competition. That might seem foolish to some people who don't understand the importance of trying.

Riders may "know" in their heads they can't ride that bad bull or bad horse, but in their hearts they believe a greater importance lies in giving it their best shot.

Rodeo is a unique sport. The competitors don't act like normal competitors. They work and play together, and they help each other during competition.

A rodeo cowboy competes with himself. His challenge is to improve himself. The same animal might have thrown him on previous rides, but he believes he can do it this time and must try.

One thing is certain; people who don't have that kind of belief system will never ride the eliminator bronc. A champion will get that done.

When a champion does well he says, "Ah, I just got lucky." He never brags.

Life gives everyone a throw of one kind or another. The important thing is getting back into the fray. The real contest is within the person, not on the animal.

Jeffery Willert is a real South Dakota hero.

Conquest does not make a hero. A hero is someone we can emulate when we have been throw'd and feel like giving up.

Larry Gabriel is the South Dakota Secretary of Agriculture


Resolving to be inspired

By Julie Carter

It is that time of year again. People are talking about resolutions and a better year ahead.

I haven't ever figured out why the change of a particular month, day or year is supposed to magically motivate you to be a better person and make life run smoother.

If that is the case, then I would pick June 30 or Sept. 1. The weather is much better for parties, barbecues and other celebratory events.

I have learned that my resolve for anything is never based on the calendar but more often grounded in something that inspires me.

Inspiration moves body, mind, spirit and soul but resolve often gets no further than making a promise soon to be forgotten.

So on Jan. 1 when you've risen early, jogged a mile, even if it's in segments between the coffee pot and the easy chair, sworn that as soon as you catch your breath you'll eat something healthy and begin your journey to a better 2006, let me give you something to inspire you. It did me.

This week I met a couple that didn't have any idea they were inspiring anyone. They are just who they are, a cowboy and a lady. What you see is what you get, on all levels.

He shoes horses for a living. Now before you shrug and say, "Okay, so what?" let me say, he will soon be 72 years old.

Life as a "farrier" is hard back-breaking work and I know men who would like to give that job up a good 20 years sooner than this cowboy has.

If you want a "what it is like" simulation exercise for that job, bend over and lift up one end of your biggest sofa and peer underneath it for ten minutes without letting it down.

Then for a little more realism, have a child jump up and down on it while you try to hold it up. Do this at all four corners without a lengthy pause in between and you'll get the picture. Now do that 10-15 times a day and see how you feel at sundown.

This obviously tough cowboy said he has cut back some from his prior years of long days and hundreds of miles. He now tries to only do five horses a day.

Folks, that's inspiration to be able to "cut back" to more physical work than many of us do in a week.

He used to do most of his work at the racetracks. He no longer does that but he does still shoe racehorses for owners at the training farms.

So not only is he still shoeing horses, he is shoeing horses that are hot blooded, eating hot feed and with temperaments that are not always complimentary to the equine species.

This isn't the same as putting iron on the bottom of ole Dobbin's hooves.

In the interest of manners, I didn't ask the age of his wife, but this gal is one of those country ladies that is timelessly classy. I watched with envy as she waltzed around the party in double criss-cross strapped three-inch stilettos like runway modeling was her other profession.

To offset that visual, I marveled at her delight in receiving a new shotgun for Christmas so she could shoot rattlesnakes at the ranch.

I'm inspired. I know if I work a little harder at life I can be like that when I grow up.

Now I'm off to lift the sofa (or maybe just the rug next to it) and clean my shotgun.

Happy New Year!

Copyright Julie Carter 2006