4-H horse team teaches character from the saddle
By DAVID LOWE Staff Writer

PHOTO BY GABE WOLF Garrett Lucas adjusts the stirrups for Amber Leigh before entering the arena at a Lampasas 4-H Rough Riders practice. The team conducts clinics about twice a month, covering horse care, judging skills, showmanship, trail riding and rodeo events.

Shannon O'Keefe has learned barrel racing and horse showmanship through her participation in the Lampasas 4-H Rough Riders club. The intangible skills she has developed, though, have been just as important.

"It's taught me respect, honor and how to take care of things," Miss O'Keefe said.

Rough Riders usually gather twice a month for team practices, but members commit much of their time away from the arena to caring for their horses on their own.

Club vice president Shannon Lucas wakes up each morning at 4:30 to feed her horse, then she finishes several hours of additional chores after school and her Flames drill team practices end.

The program allows aspiring riders to learn the skills and time commitments needed for the various disciplines of horse training, said club manager Rebecca Lucas.

Team clinics include sessions on showmanship, Western pleasure or trail riding, goat tying and barrel racing. Rough Riders also can learn horse judging, which teaches them "confirmations" -- such as bloodlines, head size and body conditions -- for selecting a well-bred horse.

The club's versatility allows members to determine their favorite disciplines of horsemanship, Mrs. Lucas said.

"We try to include a little bit of everything," she said. "Dealing with the different aspects of a horse in the different venues you go into, you see what you want to deal with and what you don't want to deal with."

The Rough Riders' 16 members, who range in age from 10 to 18, vote on how to spend the group's funds, what team social activities to organize and what les- sons to include in training clinics.

"They have to go to the effort to set things up for themselves," Mrs. Lucas said of students in the club.

The club manager pairs young participants with more experienced riders, which allows beginners to learn and more seasoned hands to hone their skills through teaching. Students give much of the instruction during clinics, with Mrs. Lucas, a barrel racer, offering guidance as needed.

"They can kind of take (new members) under their wing," Mrs. Lucas said of the older mentors. "Everybody's specialized in something, so why not pass that knowledge on?"

Riders come from a variety of ability levels and can practice on any horse they choose to bring. The Lucases keep four horses on their property west of Lampasas on Farm-to-Market Road 580, and beginners who don't own a horse can select a gentle mount.

Apryl Crusan, reporter for the Rough Riders, joined the club before she owned a horse. She quickly developed a love for riding, and took a job to pay for a horse and its upkeep. Now she breaks other owners' animals, as well.

Mrs. Lucas said Miss Crusan has demonstrated the perseverance typical of club members -- especially when the riding really has been rough.

"She's been kicked, stomped on, everything," the club manager said.

Members know if they ride enough they will get bucked -- and maybe even thrown, Mrs. Lucas said. Injuries are rare, but they remain a possibility.

As a result, instructional clinics always emphasize safety. Rough Riders learn to judge the temperament of a horse, as well as how to ensure equipment is secured and to check for sickness, limping or other injuries in an animal.

Mrs. Lucas talks a bit of horse sense to members, too.

"The main reason people get hurt by horses is they don't know how they react," she said. "I try to teach them what the horse thinks and why they do what they do."

Understanding horse psychology provides a good foundation, Miss Crusan said, but only if riders reinforce it with disciplined training of their animal.

Miss Crusan said she has learned to trust her horse and avoid riding too hard, but experienced peers also taught her not to "baby" it.

"You've got to be the boss," Miss O'Keefe added.

Along with confidence, participants in the riding program develop strong community bonds. Club members develop camaraderie through social activities and trips to district and state competitions from Sweetwater to Fort Worth to College Station.

Service projects, such as nursing home visits, connect Rough Riders to the community and help club members acquire skills in leadership and voluntarism to prepare them for college, Miss Lucas said.

Student recruitment efforts and Lampasas County Extension office assistance have helped the Rough Riders add several new members recently -- some who travel here from as far as Killeen for clinics. To accommodate newcomers, the club may look for a larger arena for practices.

"We're getting bigger, and the arena is getting smaller," Miss Lucas said.

Riders also are chasing big personal goals. Miss Lucas, the 2007 Riata Roundup Queen, will focus on show, horsemanship and trail events, while Miss Crusan hopes for more experience in speed events.

The club's lessons extend beyond competition, said Miss O'Keefe. Her work with the Rough Riders has given her the confidence to apply to Texas Tech and Texas A&M, she said.

"Before, I never even thought about college," she said. "4-H takes the fear out of me."