HOME
CHAMPIONS
SPOTLIGHTS
SCHEDULE
STANDINGS
LINKS
CONTRACTORS
CONTACT



Jim Coyle
Managing Editor
[email protected]
Maureen Panno
Associate Editor
[email protected]

  ARCHIVES

  PHOTOS

  COWBOY CORRAL


Web Site Hit Counter
Spotlight On...

Bo Casper

Event: Bareback

Place in World Standings: 12th

Place in Circuit Standings: 2nd

By Maureen Panno

Everyone has had to deal with disappointments in their lives. Arguably, there is none more bitter than being a cowboy and missing a berth at the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo by one place. Sixteenth in the world instead of fifteenth. Most of us would be happy to crack the top fifty, but if rodeo was easy, we'd all be doing it and it wouldn't be so special.

Imagine working all year, putting thousands of miles on your car or truck, competing even though you're in pain, chasing that elusive, yet coveted, gold buckle that is awarded to the world champions in the PRCA's seven events.

Bo Casper found himself in that spot last year after giving it his all. "It was a long drive home, and there were a few tears along the way, but it put a new perspective on things. It was a stepping stone. It opened my eyes a lot. I have a wife and a little girl now. I want to be there for them."

Someone once said that cowboys play hard and love deeply. Don't know about that playing part, but there's no mistaking this young man is head over heels in love with his wife and daughter.

"My wife used to travel with me before she got pregnant. We've been married about eighteen months; my daughter was always so little, that Katie would only go to ones near the house. Now that my daughter will be one on July twenty-eighth, she might go to more. I'd love to spend more time with them. I travel with Forest Bramwell and Andy Martinez."

So what keeps a guy on the road, risking life and limb?

"The gold buckle, the money. I mean, a guy can work 9-5 and prosper, but never make the kind of quick cash that can be made doing rodeo. At least not legally, anyway. I thank the good Lord every day for my wife and how she understands me and what I do. There are times when you think you'll never have a down day, never be out of money. Then other times, you're scrounging around, cashing in cans, trying to get enough to scrape by. Just about the time you're about to go under, you win a $10,000 check. It's a roller coaster ride and she's so understanding about it."

Katie may have deep understanding for her rodeo man, but she can also be a taskmaster, drill sergeant, whatever you want to call it. She stands by her man, but has a hand in driving him as well.

"I've had broken collarbone and ribs, usually you take some time off and it's better when it's better. There was one year, I qualified for the circuit finals, wanted to win the all around in the world; had a good shot at it, go to NFR. I went for broke on a bull because I used to ride bulls. I came in 2nd in the rodeo, but when I dismounted, the bull came down on my leg, breaking the small leg bone. I pushed rehab, working with the physical therapist in the morning, then go home and work the leg again. My wife was supportive, helping drive me by saying, 'Did you ice it, today?' Things like that."

Rough stock riders are no strangers to pain. Let's face it, they only work for eight seconds at a time, but they're taking quite a beating in those very long eight seconds.

Cowboys can often be a pain in each other's backsides as well, razzing each other unmercifully, yet not letting it get to the point where a guy gets so down on himself that he can't compete.

Do they always get along? Well, just like in the Hollywood movies, the answer is "no." We all remember the movie 8 Seconds, about the late Lane Frost, and how there was a referral to the roughies (rough stock riders) not getting along with the timies (timed event cowboys).

"For the most part, we're a big family. There are some guys who don't get along with each other just in bareback. Then there are steer wrestlers who'll come behind the chutes and pull our ropes for us. Sometimes, something will happen and it might get blown out of proportion, but the arguments go away after awhile."

Bo, Forest, and Andy usually plan which rodeos they'll compete in three or four weeks in advance. They'll ride, then move on to the next rodeo. "If we don't need to be somewhere the next day, or if it won't take sixteen hours to get there, we'll stay and get together with everybody afterwards and tell stories, that kind of thing, but usually, we cut out when we're done."

"I'm a morning person, really, but rodeo turns you into a night owl as well. Usually, I can pop out of bed, drink a pot of coffee and be ready to go at 5:30AM."

If Bo draws an animal that he hasn't ridden before, he'll sometimes, but not always, call other cowboys that have ridden it and get insight into its quirks, which is a common practice.

"If there's more than one rodeo on a weekend and I'm trying to decide which one to get to, then I'll ask. Otherwise, it doesn't matter, and it's better in some ways, because then I'm not second guessing anything, I'm just reacting."

Bo has qualified for the Great Lakes Circuit Finals each year since 2002, but only competed in three due to being injured. Though he, Katie, and their little tyke live in Fort Scott, Kansas, he has always designated the Great Lakes Circuit as the one he'll compete for.

"I've always chosen the Great Lakes Circuit because everybody knows everybody and it's like a big family. I suppose each circuit is really like that, but the GLC has good added money to a few of their rodeos."

His sponsor is Phoenix Vests, who make the protective gear he wears. They provide him with three vests each year and a little money to jump start his gold buckle pursuit.

He would like to one day own his own ranch and raise bucking horses. "I'd want to be the inside man, concentrating on breeding and raising them, rather than the contractor who has to haul them and such."

As for giving credit to the people who've had an influence on his career, he says, "There have been a lot who had influence on me. First, my father. He never rodeoed, but he's always been supportive of me. He's learned rodeo and is always positive. Jack Krause, my coach at Fort Scott Community College. When I first got there, I couldn't ride a stick horse, didn't know where to keep my feet, nothing. He taught me the fundamentals."

He actually started riding bulls at a much younger age, switched over to bareback riding in 1998. He explains it this way, "I was riding bulls at the amateur level, I was 14, been riding for two years. I got hung up, the bull was going away from my hand. I was like Superman flying next to that bull, nothing was touching the ground. When I finally broke free, I was laying on the ground and the bull came down on my head. Broke both hinge joints in my jaw, drove those bones into my ear canals, knocked some teeth out. I was in the hospital for a couple weeks. When I recovered, I thought I was rough and tough, ready to ride. I had to talk my parents into letting me rodeo again, but they wouldn't sign anything for bull riding, so I switched to bareback."

He's not so eager to try any other event in rodeo. The only thing that he might consider would be saddle bronc riding, but there's a hitch.

"I'm kinda afraid to get a heel caught in the stirrup. With bareback, if you get hung up, it's your hand, and your feet are on the ground. Saddle bronc? It's your foot and your head is down there by the horse's feet. That scares me."

Some cowboys are confident to the point of arrogance. Not so with Bo. That's the way he was raised.

"My father always said, 'Never do the bragging on yourself, let somebody else do the bragging about you.' I just try to stay positive. Some people think they're better than others. I try to talk to everybody and remember what it was like when I was coming up, trying to make a name for myself and fit in."

None of his family members are involved in rodeo. His mother team penned for a while, competing in jackpots just for fun.

He lists Reno, Nevada as his favorite rodeo to compete at, closely followed by Licking, Missouri. "It's not as big as Reno, but I've won it 3 times, so it's like a good luck thing."

When asked if he has a rodeo idol, he's quick to answer, "I have several. Jeff Collins is one of them. I know him on a personal basis. He has a great winning attitude. I have real long legs, but I'm only 5'8", so I'm a string bean. Things that work for taller riders won't work for me, so I took things from him, some things from other riders, put it all together and came up with my own style."

He stays in shape. "I do calisthenics and push ups. I stretch a lot on the road. If there's a treadmill or weights, I'll spend some time on those."

He considers himself a simple man. "A cell phone is about as good as it gets. I'm a late bloomer. I didn't own one for the longest time. I'd borrow everybody else's. When they grumbled about it too much I went and bought my own. I don't know how to even turn on a computer. I'd call my wife and she'd go online and make the reservations for our flights. Forest has all the gadgets, so he's the one making the reservations for us now. I do own a Sirius radio, though."

Whenever he gets a bit of time off, he'll go hunting, mostly for turkey and deer, just recently taking up bow hunting. "Forest's family has an outfitting business out in Colorado. He's talking about setting up an elk hunt. But usually I go for turkey or deer."

He also scuba dives. "I got certified when I was 12 years old. My dad builds boat docks and houses. The boat docks have to be tied to anchors to keep them from floating around, and he'd dive by himself. So I would dive with him and help him tie the anchors. It was mostly just for the job. We don't have much of an off season. Now whenever I go visit him, we'll go diving, spear some fish."

Recently, Bo, who breaks horses and colts when not competing, helped out with a bareback riding school, teaching youngsters how to ride and liked it so much, he is looking into doing that more often.

One of the cardinal rules of rodeo is "It's not a matter of if you get hurt, it's when and how bad."

I'd like to re-phrase that. It's not a matter of if Bo will win a gold buckle, it's when and how many. Go get 'em, Bo. See you at the Circuit Finals in November, WNFR in December.




2006 Highlights

  • Won the Brawley (Calif.) Cattle Call Rodeo.
  • Co-champion at the Last Chance Bonanza (Brookings, S.D.).
  • Won the Arkansas State Fair & Rodeo (Little Rock).
  • Won the Industry (Calif.) Hills Charity Pro Rodeo.
    • Background