4-H members, from left, Britlyn Pikey, Michael Goodwin, Rachael Lesslie, Tatum Lowry and Joe Mobley. Not pictured are Cheyene Long and Tripp Scales. [Click to enlarge]

Rodeos are a lot of work for the participants, especially during the summer heat. That is true for rodeo events such at 4-H rodeos.

A routine day for 4-H rodeo participants would include practicing with their horse or horses for several hours. If the youth is a roper, there are a lot of ground skills involved that need to be perfected such as roping the "dummies." This leads into roping from the horse.

Occasionally the horse will develop undesirable behaviors -- for example, a horse may develop anxiety when entering the box to get into position for the release of a steer.

When this happens, the rider must work with the horse to calm its fears -- usually with the rider working with the animal on "scoring the steer." This involves taking the horse into the box, positioning it and waiting for the steer to leave the chute.

Instead of the horse charging from the box for the rider to rope the steer, the rider simply stays put and lets the horse watch the steer without chasing it.

Rodeo competition is hot and stressful for participants. Regulations require participants to wear western attire -- long legged jeans, boots, long sleeved shirts that are completely buttoned up and tucked into the jeans and a riding helmet--before entering the arena.

It takes a lot of dedication and a very supportive family for youngsters to compete in 4-H rodeo. In addition to all the practice time and caring for their animals, they have to keep a yearly project journal that is turned in to the Semo 4-H Rodeo Committee.

The year ends for 4-H rodeo with a final performance at Fredericktown, Mo., which is followed by an award ceremony. The awards are bought with money collected by the youth from sponsor fees.

The 4-H'ers also raise money through events such as a trail ride in May co-sponsored with the Senath Lion's Club to raise money for St. Jude's Childrens Hospital. A total of $1,450 was raised. Participants received a T-shirt and were treated to a barbecue chicken meal.

The Dunklin County 4-H Club also holds meeting, the latest being July 17 at the home of Will Mobley.

Club members spent several hours riding and practicing for their next rodeo. They also spent some time on a "rope game."

Riders paired up and challenged each other to see which team of riders could hold onto a rope piece as they raced side by side around the arena. A rider who lost hold on the rope was disqualified.

Later, Jill Mobley gave a demonstration about different types of bits. She explained their are two basic types: snaffle bits which are non-leveraged and curved bits which do apply leverage to the animal's mouth. Later the 4-H members worked on their journal project books getting them completed to be turned in.