Monthly Archives: June 2009

Spencer Turner, Winning Ride at IFR 2009

Date, Rodeo Name and Location
On Saturday May 23 I attended the Abdallah Shrine PRCA rodeo in Tonganoxie, Kansas.

Which horse did you draw?
 I drew a horse 950 Royal Flush
 
 
Stock Contractor?
The stock contractor at Tonganoxie was Beutler and Son rodeo Company from Elk City, Oklahoma
 
 
How was your horse in the chute?
He was a pain. The chutes are short there and he kept putting his head over the chute, then he would bounce around in the chute from the front to the back, then he would lean. He was just a real pain to  try and saddle.
 
 Did you learn about the horse before hand?
 I made some calls and talked to a bunch of guys and they told me he was a real piece of junk. They said he would hop and skip, maybe kick out, then he would duck and dive and not kick, then he would lunge and change leads. He had been ridden by a couple handy bronc riders and they scored a 50 and a 52 on him. They said he was hard to spur and even if you did spur him you couldn’t be very many points because he didn’t buck he just kinda ducked and dived and sucked back. All the guys I talked to had the same idea, they thought I shouldn’t get on him. In the PRCA I know what horse I am gonna ride a few days prior to the rodeo and if I don’t want to get on him I can turn him out. This costs me my fees and a fine, but it saves me from driving and gas money  from going to get on a horse I can’t win any money on. I might have turned this horse out and paid a fine and not got on him if this wouldn’t have been like a hometown rodeo for me. I grew up a few miles from Tonganoxie and I had lots of family and friends coming to see me ride. So I decided to go ahead and go to the rodeo and get on the horse. I tried to stay positive and thought “who knows maybe this horse will have a good day and buck good and let me have a chance to win some money on him” I try and always stay positive no matter what the circumstance.

When it came my turn to get on I was ready, the contractor, Benny Beutler,had told me that this horse takes a lot of rein, so I had made sure and given the horse a lot of rein. When I nodded he came out hard and I spurred him out good. He then proceeded to do what all the guys told me he would do. He was a real hunk of junk. He was hopping skipping, ducking diving, lunging, and every once in a while he would kick up. I was trying to just cowboy up and ride him and spur him. I had given him lots of rein because the contractor said he needed it, well he didn’t! I had WAY to much rein (in the bronc riding the rider uses the rein to lift up and it keeps him down in the saddle when the horse is bucking). His head stayed real high in the air and I couldn’t lift on my rein and pull myself down in the saddle. I was still scratching and spurring him them best I could and was making a ride. He continued to have all kinds of moves and throw his head around in the air. He was very difficult to ride and spur. He finally threw me off and I hit the ground just as the 8 second buzzer went off. I got a O score. I think even if I would have made the qualified ride I would not have been very many points and would not have placed. All the other guys were correct on sayin I should have turned him out and not got on him. The bad thing about me getting bucked off, is that when I hit the ground the horse kicked high in air and then he landed on the side on my foot, crushing my foot and breaking it, also messing up the muscles, tendons, and ligaments in my foot.  So for the time being I am on crutches and have a walking boot/cast on my foot. The doctor thinks I will be out of rodeo for a long while. I am sure I will be out for a little bit but I plan on returning way before the doctor thinks I will. I am disappointed and frustrated because I had big hopes and goals for this year in rodeo. I know that I will be back rodeoing before too long and this is only a minor setback. I truly believe that everything happens for a reason, and The Lord has a plan for all of us.  I have Faith that the Lord has bigger and better things planned for me while I am healing and when I return to rodeo. I am still Blessed to be living the rodeo life and I give Glory to God for giving me the talents and opportunities to rodeo, and surrounding me with very supportive family and friends.  

Keep checking back at ontherodeoroad.com for updates from my injury. And I may not be able to give updates from rodeos I am competing in for awhile but I still plan on doing lots of fun and interesting stuff for ontherodeoroad.com so  be sure and check back often.

On The Rodeo Road would like to say, how sorry we are that Spencer Turner got injured, but we know if anyone can come back stronger it will be him! Spencer you have an amazing attitude toward life, and we are blessed that you take the time to share it with us!