Rick Patrick: Greene Publishing, Inc.
Young Will Stewart quickly dismounts during the goat ribbon pull event during one of last season's rodeos.
Will Stewart is not unlike many nine-year-old youngsters. He enjoys swimming, fishing, video games and all the other activities one would expect a nine-year-old boy to enjoy. However, for young Stewart, there is another activity that causes his young face to light up when he speaks on the subject. Stewart is an avid rodeo competitor.
After his first full season of rodeo competition, Stewart has already won ribbons in several rodeo events. Stewart has competed in barrel racing, pole bending, the goat ribbon pull and dummy roping. Next rodeo season, which runs August through April, Stewart plans to add chute dogging to his rodeo resume. Chute dogging is an event in which the young competitor grabs a young steer while still in the chute and then attempts to put the steer on the ground by twisting the steer's head. It is a precursor to the traditional rodeo event of bull-dogging. Stewart's eventual goal is to win an "All-around Cowboy" saddle. To accomplish that, Stewart must become proficient in as many different events as possible.
This past season, Stewart participated in the Georgia Florida Youth Rodeo (GFYR) competitions. The GFYR is a family owned rodeo program based in Quitman, Ga. The goal of the GFYR is to introduce the sport of rodeo to young competitors and give them a chance to learn and develop their skills. For more information on the GFYR, go to www.gfyrodeo.com.
Stewart competes with a 20-year-old horse named "Cricket." Stewart and Cricket developed a good relationship during the season. Stewart says his favorite event is barrel racing. Cricket's least favorite event is the goat ribbon pull, in which the young competitor rides his horse close to a tethered goat, dismounts and then runs to pull a ribbon off the goat's tail. Often, the goat will have his own objections to this action, which adds to the challenge of the event. According to Stewart, Cricket does not like goats, so she tends to stop as far from the goat as she can, causing Stewart to run a greater distance on foot in order to approach the goat. Because of this, Stewart uses a different horse for any events involving goats. Last season, Stewart placed fourth overall in the goat ribbon pull event, despite Cricket's objections. Stewart placed sixth overall across all the events. This was a good start for Stewart's first year of rodeo competition.
Will Stewart and his horse, Cricket, speed through the barrel race during rodeo competition.
Stewart will be going into the third grade at Madison Creative Arts Academy. Last school year, Stewart made all A's and B's in school. "I was as proud of that as anything [Will] could have done in the rodeo arena," said Stewart's father, Jim. Will is the son of Jim Stewart and Kitty White.