80th annual Cal Farley’s Boys Ranch Rodeo: Jonah’s last ride

BOYS RANCH, Texas (KAMR/KCIT) — The 80th Annual Boys Ranch Rodeo and Fall Fest will feature Jonah as one of this year’s Faces of the Rodeo.

Jonah is a senior at Boys Ranch, who moved to Boys Ranch in January 2022 because he was struggling at home. After being on campus, he got involved with the rodeo as a way out, but it’s become who he is.

“Ranching out here with the Lowe’s and stuff, that made me who I am right now today,” said Jonah. “I’m glad to be this person now, because when I first got here, I was struggling to find out who I was, and this really helped me.”

This will be Jonah’s third and final year competing in the rodeo and experiencing the community’s support. For Jonah the continued support shows people care, even though they don’t know the students at Boys Ranch or their stories.

“You got people that don’t know who you are, but they know that you’re struggling, so they are going to do everything in their power to help you,” explained Jonah. “Help you be the person that you need to be and that they know you can be. Thats probably why it’s special, because most of the people in that crowd, you don’t know. But you know there are people that you live with every day in that crowd, rooting for you because they’re like family to you, and that’s why it’s special.”

Although the rodeo only comes around once a year, a lot of preparation goes into it.

“We have practices before rodeos, and it really prepares us” said Jonah. “But mentally, I work out here, out here with the horses and the cattle and everything, and that really prepares you, because you’re around those kinds of animals so much, and when it comes time for rodeo, you aren’t like freaking out.”

Jonah continued,” the only way you can freak out is knowing that crowd’s watching you. But usually, whenever you know that crowd’s watching you, your adrenaline starts going, your blood starts pumping. And usually when you get out there and have that kind of feeling, you usually can get stuff done the right way. So, when you get out there, you may or may not be worrying about losing or winning, but it’s not about that. It’s about having fun.”

For Jonah being at Boys Ranch and competing in the rodeo has also helped him build community with the students at Boys Ranch and learn how to work through conflict.

“We’re all brothers and sisters out here at the horse barn, working out there with the horses,” said Jonah. “We’re all family. So, I think it’s awesome because we treat each other with the same respect we want to be treated with.”

This year Jonah plans on winning first place and getting good times in his events. That includes wrestling the steer and roping. Jonah shared it takes a lot of skill to rope and steer wrestle and anything can happen out there.

“It’s special for me because it makes me self-aware that I never gave up, that I kept going to practices,” said Jonah. “This is what it’s leading up to, it’s my last rodeo I’ll probably ever be doing so I got to make it a good one.”

Also motivating Jonah is his family at home, reassuring him of their support and celebrating his growth.

“They supported me all throughout my time here at Boys Ranch, and they gave me a choice, whether I came here or not, and I said yes, because I knew I was struggling,” explained Jonah. “I knew that this was an opportunity for me to learn.”

Jonah continued, “when I did, my family called me all the time and that was the best thing they’ve ever done, because it showed that they did miss me being home, and that they did care about me, when they said that. When they asked me if I wanted to come here so that they wanted me to change. And they know that sometimes they didn’t have the power to do that, you know? I just want to tell them I love them and hope that this rodeo goes well.”

You can purchase tickets to the rodeo and fall fest here and get more information here.

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