SIX-YEAR-OLD Kelsea Bomke was a Mutton Bustin’ champ at the 2013 Clark County Fair. Photo courtesy of FH Browne.
At her diminutive height of two inches shy of four feet (3-foot, 10-inches) and weighing in at a strapping 46 pounds, Kelsea Bomke doesn’t look like a rodeo champion at first glance. Nonetheless, the charming 6-year-old is just that.
Wearing Tibetan wool chaps, a pink and white fringed suede vest, and a white helmet and face mask, Bomke climbed aboard a buckin’ sheep and bested 29 other competitors to win the 2013 Clark County Fair Mutton Bustin’ title.
After competing for the first time, Bomke was able to proudly carry her trophy around the fairgrounds even though it was almost as tall as she is. Her first comment to the crowd after receiving the tall award was a cute “thanks for coming.’’ When asked what she thought of the competition she smiled and replied, “Oh my gosh, that was thrilling, when can I do it again?”
Kelsea’s sister Macenna, 8, didn’t make it into the competition, but she ran up and hugged her sister after the championship ride. Brother Brody, 2, is a couple of years away from his turn at mutton busting.
The Bomkes are visiting with friends in Felida, but the Bend, OR family has been coming to the fair for more than 50 years.
“It’s a family tradition, we all come here for the fair, every year, it’s sort of our vacation,” said Kelsea’s mom Jennifer. “As a child, my sisters and I used to show horses in the Open and 4-H events, and great-grandma’s berry crisp once won a blue ribbon, so we’re defiantly a fair-loving family. We come to eat corn, turkey legs, and curly fries, and our favorite of course are the peach milk shakes.”
Mutton busting is, more or less, a sheep rodeo for younger children ages 3-7, who must weigh less than 50 pounds. The objective is the same as in regular bull rodeo; the rider must stay on the sheep for as long as possible. An adult handler holds the sheep still while the child is placed on top in riding position.
As soon as the child is in position, the sheep is released and usually starts to run in an attempt to get the child off, while the kid tries to stay on for as long as possible.
Unlike pro rodeo, there are no set rules for mutton busting, no national organization, and most events are organized at the local level like the one held at the Clark County Fair.
The vast majority of children participating in the event fall off in less than eight seconds. There are age, height and weight restrictions on the young riders, and adult riding aids like spurs are not allowed. Children are required to wear helmets and padded vests and every precaution is taken to avoid injury to either child or animal.
Mutton Busting was first introduced at the National Western Stock Show in the 1980s by former rodeo queen Nancy Stockdale Cervi. At that event, children ages 5-7 who weighed less than 55 pounds could apply, and ultimately seven contestants were selected to each ride a sheep for six seconds.
There are no statistics about the popularity of the sport, but anecdotal reports suggest thousands of children participate in such events every year in the U.S. The event is meant to be both entertaining and a way to introduce young children to the adult rodeo “rough stock” riding events of bull riding, saddle bronc and bareback riding.
