UNTAMED: RODEO FEATURE, WILD HORSE RACING, PROVES THROWBACK TO THE OLD DAYS

For the first time in its 40-year history, the Jaycee Bootheel Rodeo in Sikeston includes one of the oldest cowboy events in rodeo history.

Wild horse racing, popular in early American rodeos in the 19th century, has been popular on the West Coast since the mid-1970s.

But the event, which is comprised of the age-old cowboy tradition of "breaking" a wild, range horse to a saddle, has only recently spread to the Midwest.

If the reaction from the near-capacity crowd of about 9,000 in Sikeston Wednesday is any indication, wild horse racing will prove to be one of the most exciting events at the four-day rodeo.

Kerry Housman and Christy Brown of Sikeston said they've never seen anything like it.

"It was great. It was different," said Housman.

"It was exciting," Brown added. "I think they spent more time chasing the horse than riding it."

The "Wildhorse Racer" was one of rodeo's three original events during the late 1800s, when ranch hands would put a team together to compete against other ranch teams. As rodeo events pro~gressed, the team aspect faded away because it was too difficult to transport three men and still make it profitable for rodeo.

The races remained a popular local event until the mid-1970s, when a group of cowboys formed the Wildhorse Racers of America Professional Association.

Barry Presson of Fort Smith, Ark., the association's current president, said Wednesday the event has grown steadily in popularity since. Wild horse racers now have their own national champions, complete with attractive prize money, he said.

"The crowds love it because it's very chaotic," Presson said. "The response we've had this year has been better than from bullfights."

A wild horse race team consists of three people: the "lead shank" or anchor, the "mugger" and the rider.

Horses are loaded into chutes, from which the contestants draw their animal. At the signal, the horses are released from the shoot simultaneously and the race is on.

At Sikeston Wednesday, four teams competed, with Presson's the only team able to cross the finish line in the three-minute time limit. On Friday and Saturday, two more teams will be included to add to the chaos.

The object is for the shank to hold the horse while the mugger grabs the halter and the rider saddles and attempts to ride the horse across a determined "finish" line.

"When the horse gets out of the gate, the team tries to get the horse turned around, get the saddle on him and get him around the finish line with the rider," Presson said.

"Some horses will run and some won't do anything but pitch and dive and buck. You just never know."

Presson said the horses at the Bootheel Rodeo have never worn a halter. "And it doesn't matter if you draw the same horse two nights in a row, because they never react the same," he added.

Not only does the team have to carefully watch their own 900- to 1000-pound, often wildly bucking horse, but they also have to keep a wary eye on the other contestants' horses, said Presson.

"You've got to be careful of your horse, and you've got to be careful of everybody else's horse," he said. "But if there wasn't any risk, it wouldn't be rodeo, and it wouldn't be any fun."

Dale Knapp of Sebring, Fla., is a part-time rancher and wild horse racer and full-time Florida Highway Patrolman. He said the event is "very western" and a throwback to cowboy chores of days past.

Knapp said modern, working cowboys rarely have to worry about "breaking" a wild horse to a saddle.

"Sometimes, the ones we buy are a little salty and you have to ride them out to make them good stock horses," he said.

Although the event seems frenzied to spectators, one thing that's closely monitored is the horses' safety, Presson said.

If an animal is injured, the team is disqualified. Halters are made of heavy leather with sheep skin lining and the saddle is padded to protect the horse.

"You can't bite their ear," said Presson a tactic that will cause the horse to "freeze." "You can't gouge eyes. You can't really be abusive to the horses in any way or you'll be disqualified."

Knapp said wild horse racing is very popular in his home state of Florida, where there are four professional shows annually. Next year, there are eight scheduled professional wild horse races. He predicted the event also will flourish in Southeast Missouri.

Presson agreed.

"The first year, everything is iffy, but there's one thing I can guarantee and that's a good show the crowd will love," he said.

Presson said the event isn't only for cowboys. Cowgirls also love to compete.

"They're very good," he said. "The ones I've had to go up against have beaten me."

The Jaycee Bootheel Rodeo annually draws more than 35,000 spectators from the surrounding five-state area. As one of the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association's top 10 rodeos in the nation, the top competitors in the world compete in Sikeston each year.

The Jaycees, who organize and conduct the rodeo, also bring top country and western recording artists to entertain the crowd.

Tanya Tucker performed Wednesday and the band Sawyer Brown will perform tonight. Friday's entertainment is Mark Chesnutt, and Mark Collie will perform Saturday night.