New Mexican children will be able to participate in the first Youth Ranch Rodeo, which will be held in Santa Fe on July 19.
The East Mountain Rodeo Association of Edgewood (EMRA) was founded in 2020 and has hosted five adult rodeo competitions since then. Now, it is giving the kids a shot.
It will also serve as a WRCA Youth World Championship qualifying event, allowing the young participants to make it to the big leagues.
The Estancia Valley Youth Ranch Rodeo is a new program endorsed by the Working Ranch Cowboys Association (WRC) that aims to involve local youth and preserve traditions that are becoming lost in modern times.
“Even though we’re in modern times, you know, we’re in the age of everything at your fingertips…it’s important for us to educate and reiterate how important the ranching heritage is,” said Chris Morgan, chairman, organizer, event director and one of the founders of EMRA.
Morgan gave The Independent the scoop on all the details for interested participants in this one-of-a-kind event by his non-profit organization.
Morgan explained that this event intends to highlight local talent and their ranching skills, offering them a platform to advance to Amarillo, Texas to compete with the best of the best.
There are some teens that they’ll throw, like a seven or eight-year-old, or even, I’ve seen a five-year-old and, like some of these five-year-olds can now hustle an adult. It’s no question,” Morgan said.
Teams will consist of five members, the total age of whom will not exceed 65. This allows for a mix of ages on each team.
The registration fee ranges from $20 to $30 per person, paid to the WRC. The exact entry amount will be announced on EMRA’s website soon.
As for the contests planned for the Youth Ranch Rodeo, they will mirror those found at the World Championships, which include:
- Sorting: Teams sorting cattle according to a specific number.
- Cow Branding: teams will mark cattle using chalk.
- Steer Riding: one member rides a steer across a designated line.
- Trailer Loading: Consisting of loading two heads of cattle and two horses into a trailer by each team. All team members must enter the truck’s cab.
- Stray Gathering: gathering stray cattle.
Morgan encourages the community to participate in this special family event that offers the opportunity to learn about New Mexico’s western heritage and the importance of its preservation for future generations to have a place to call home.
“This allows for teams that are local and definitely like local youth to get involved, which is what you know our organization, what the WRC, is all about, is just preserving and protecting that western heritage that is out there, you know, Western ranching heritage that made New Mexico what it is,” said Morgan.
While this might be their first youth ranch competition, it isn’t EMRA’s first rodeo.
The adult rodeo has been drawing teams from across the Southwest for five consecutive years. The sporting event brings people together from places like Arizona, Texas, Colorado and Eastern Oklahoma.
The dynamic for adults is quite different, as they must be working ranch cowboys whose primary income comes from ranching or cattle operations.
Morgan founded the event with friend and board member James Whelchel.
“His family is from the Moriarty area. So yet again, it’s another tie-in to the Valley, of just how important this area is to us,” Morgan said.
The main intention behind EMRA’s events is to support other causes near and dear to their hearts such as the Veterans of Foreign Wars organization.
This year their support will go toward the VFW Post 3370, which is a veterans organization in McIntosh, New Mexico.
“Two of us are veterans. Three of the other board members either have family members that served, or extended family or married family that serve, so veteran causes are very important to us,” he said.
“We chose to help them out this year because they go above and beyond to help out the men and women in our community. So let’s help them out this year.”
Another fun fact is that EMRA has the only ranch queen in the United States.
“Our queen and princess are one of the most well-known in the United States,” Morgan said. “They represent not only the ranching communities here in the state but have also had the opportunity to go and represent ranch throughout the southwest.”
The queen and princess become official representatives of the East Mountain Rodeo Association.
“The only thing that’s really changed is the last names and the quality of the equipment. Otherwise, they still go out and rope cattle, they still go out and brand, they still go out and gather, and they still ride their horses,” Morgan said.
To stay up to date with everything EMRA, they post on various social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram and their website, which contains all the details for this and other featured events.