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Camden's Minor in town for rodeo at Hara
Cowboy keeps getting back on the horse despite broken bones
Friday, February 09, 2007
Take it from real-life cowboy Shawn Minor: It all starts with the luck of the draw.
"You put your name in a hat and they pull it out," he said. "You could get a horse that don't buck so good or one that's hard to ride."
Extras
Minor, who grew up in a tiny Nebraska town but has called Camden home since marrying a native a few years ago, competes tonight at Hara Arena in the third annual Longhorn World Championship Rodeo.
He is the International Pro Rodeo Association world champion of bareback bronc riding and also answers to the title of world champion all-around cowboy, the sport's highest honor.
Although prominent enough to appear on magazine covers, Minor could walk the streets of Dayton — or two-gas station Camden, for that matter — and go unrecognized.
And that's fine with him.
"I'm pretty low-key anyways, don't get too excited, don't get out a whole lot," Minor said. "When we're home, we like to be home, because we're gone so much."
Is there hazard pay?
The IPRA circuit takes Minor, and often his family, from California to Florida to Quebec and seemingly everywhere in between. Competitors pay their way, which makes winning more important. As he puts it, "If you don't win, you're just broke."
And speaking of breaking ...
"I broke both legs, broke my ankle and nine bones in my foot once," Minor said. "That took awhile to get over. Broke my neck once, I think. Kind of a hairline-fracture deal, so that didn't really count.
"I've had elbow surgery, been knocked out. When you get hurt like that, you learn from your mistakes. It either makes you better or you quit. A lot of (people) just like to talk about riding bucking horses and bulls. They ain't got the gumption to do it."
Minor has had the gumption professionally since he was 19. He had played some football in high school and wrestled a bit but there always seemed to be a bucking horse with his name on it.
Gordon, Neb., his hometown, is a long way from anywhere. The next-door neighbor was six miles away.
Ask him to name a nearby town that might be somewhat familiar and Minor, who grew up on a cattle ranch, answers "Valentine," not Lincoln. And Valentine is 100 miles from home.
Camden, in Preble County between Eaton and Oxford, is a metropolis by comparison, and centrally located, which is helpful for travel purposes.
At home at Hara
Recently, Minor competed in Columbus and Cincinnati, but he considers Hara his home arena, and it's been good to him. He holds the arena record in bareback riding.
Tara (Bishop) Minor, Shawn's wife, grew up about a mile from where they now live. She'll be competing this weekend in cowgirl barrel horse racing.
Rodeo brought the couple together. "In Alabama somewhere," Minor recalls.
Their children, daughter Trayli, 12, and son Cole, 2, are being brought up to appreciate what their parents do for a living.
"Every once in a while I'll be on the cover of a magazine and Trayli will take it to school and show everybody," Minor said.
In a few more years Minor sees himself retiring from the sport. Too much wear and tear from the competition and travel.
A certified welder, he won't lack for work.
For now, it's just about winning.
"You just keep going," he said. "A lot of it's mind over matter. It just depends on how bad you want it."
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2408 or smcclelland@DaytonDailyNews.com.
Rodeo explainer
Prize money for IPRA events mainly comes from entry fees paid by the cowboys themselves.
Nothing is more prized than winning a rodeo belt buckle, the most recognized trophy of the rodeo world.
Rodeo is made up of several different events, each with its own style of competition, rules and rewards.
The seven main events are (in the standard order of competition): bareback riding, steer wrestling, team roping, saddle bronc, tie-down roping, barrel racing, bull riding.
Source: About.com
How to go
What: Longhorn World Championship Rodeo
Where: Hara Arena, tonight through Sunday
Starting times: 8 p.m. today and Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday.
Tickets: Tonight, all seats $14. Saturday, $25, $20 and $15, first 500 kids younger than 12 receive a free trick rope. Sunday, $25, $20 and $15 ($6 kids younger than 12).
