School Is Helping Youngsters Rope Rodeo Dreams

Rodeo’s another word for life in Crystal, where kids have been known to start riding bulls at age 12.

The trading post is long gone, and the “Crystal Red” Navajo rugs made from hand-carded wool dyed with pigment from the nearby red mesas may be harder to find.

But rodeo is growing. A new rodeo arena and rodeo school, finished about a year ago, are the center of activity in this Navajo reservation community, population 347, some 60 miles north of Gallup.

“It’s just like in the city -- they’re nuts about Little League, where out here rodeo is the No. 1 sport,” said Eugene Crawford, general manager of the arena and co-founder of the James Hunt Jr. Rodeo School.

The buzz here is that college is suddenly the way to go now that the University of New Mexico has a rodeo program that carried competitors into regional and national collegiate finals in its second year.

Steer wrestler Brandon Bates represented the university in the nationals, and Lobo mentor Flavian Tabaha, a Crystal native, was named coach of the year for the National Intercollegiate Rodeo Assn.’s Grand Canyon region.

“Flavian was fortunate to take his kids to the nationals,” Crawford said. “A lot of kids in this area, from what I hear, want to move to the University of New Mexico college team. They’ve got more of a chance to make it to the top.

“It’s kind of a dream for some of these kids,” he added.

Tabaha started riding bulls when he was 12 and now, in his 40s, helps young men and women learn the art.

“I always put out that I’m a dreamer. Always things will happen if you have a dream,” he said.

Preferably, a dream they can get their rope around. Tabaha helps the students define and refine it.

“Education is the priority, and rodeo comes second because if they do it the other way around, they can’t do either one,” he said.

He also keeps parents involved to make sure that team members stay on track, said Dave Stromei, father of university barrel racer Tasa Stromei, 21, a junior majoring in psychology, who has entered 10 pro-circuit rodeos.

“Flavian is a very good coach,” said Stromei, who rode collegiate rodeo himself at New Mexico State.

“He’s been great,” agreed junior team roper Leon Pioche. “He’s given us the opportunity to rodeo with all the other cowboys. He guides us.”

Pioche knows that it’s a longshot but also would like to try the pros “if I get that good.”

“So far, the rewards are being a part of the team, for the school,” said Pioche, team president.

Asked about the academic push, Pioche said he has a 2.4 grade point average, majoring in economics.

The university program brought senior Tolo Martinez of Capulin back to rodeo. He said he had quit five years ago. Now he has regained his enthusiasm for the sport and sees a future for it in Albuquerque.

“I’m excited for it, just because this is a good place for rodeo,” he said. “I love this city because it is so diverse, and I think it will help UNM with its diversity. We have everything else. We might as well add rodeo.”

Usually 12-year-olds stick to junior bulls, Crawford said, but acknowledges that he rode broncs when he was 12.

“That’s the lifestyle of these kids,” he said.

They start at 5, competing in junior rodeos riding sheep instead of cattle. By the time the rodeo school at Crystal gets hold of them, they’re in high school, often with years of rodeo experience.

“I’ve been rodeoing since I was 10,” said Lindsey Ezell of Belen, another Lobo team member. She said she has been riding horses since she was 4 or 5 and hopes to become a veterinarian.

“It’s part of our lives,” the 20-year-old added.

Tabaha came home to Crystal for a recent fund-raising rodeo and barbecue at the home of his sister, a tribal judge, to help kick off the Lobos’ third season. The team gets no university money, and there are no rodeo facilities at the university; sponsors and fund-raising events pay for travel, equipment and other necessities.

The seven-member university team includes three women and four men, Anglo, Latino and different Native American tribes -- all anxious to improve on last year and looking for big prize money down the road.

Top professional rodeo contestants can earn $10,000 a weekend, but reality can take an 80% bite, or more, out of that kind of dream, Tabaha warns. Costs can be a shock when winnings don’t materialize.

“You pretty much have to have a big-time sponsor,” he said.

After catching the dream, Tabaha helps the team work toward it. This year, that means victories in the national finals.

“We set our goals and just focus on it and eventually things will happen,” he said.