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‘Bronc riding is a dance, not a fist fight’
Ex-pat Kiwi Kenny Barringer at Methven’s bronc riding school at the weekend.
PHOTO HEATHER MACKENZIE 171119-HM-0064
Honing rodeo skills By Heather Mackenzie
photographers@theguardian.co.nz
For those wanting to hone their rodeo bronc riding skills, the Methven Rodeo Arena was the place to be at the weekend. While this was held in small-town Methven, there was nothing small about the calibre of the US coaches teaching the 25 cowboys from all over New Zealand. This is the first school of its kind to be held in New Zealand. There have been others held in the past, but not with such an international line-up of coaches.
Ryan Gray, Jesse James Kirby and ex-pat Kiwi Kenny Barringer are three of the biggest names in rodeo. Having them was a coup for the organisers, barrel racer Hayley Johnson and bareback rider Ross Dowling. “I have had this dream for a while, but though it would probably never happen. Once I mentioned it to Ross, he used his American contacts to help make it happen,” Johnson said. Dowling, from Central Otago, now lives in Cheney, in the state of Washington, USA and is something of a rodeo star himself.
Having successfully competed in New Zealand, Canada, America and Australia, he is eyeing up competitions in Brazil and Mexico in the coming 12 months. “It has taken a lot of money to get this off the ground. We are grateful to everybody who has donated money and time to get this happening. We are a not-for-profit organisation, looking to grow the sport in numbers and safety, the last three days have gone a long way to achieving those goals,” Dowling said. Gray was in Methven to pass on his skills
to the bareback riders, while Kirby spent time coaching the saddle bronc riders, increasing their techniques with a view to achieving the all allusive eight-second ride. Barringer’s skills lie in his ability to breed award-winning stock for the rodeo circuit in the US. Like the other two, he also has a room full of trophies and awards backing up his stock-raising talents.
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