She
loaded the imaginary cattle into the pen behind the couch, pulled down
the barrier and let them out at the same time her son flicked the light
switch; his imaginary electric timer. That was the moment. The exact
moment that Debbie Hughes knew her three year old son Levi had an
obsession with rodeo.
But it didn’t stop with
imaginary cattle pens. He soon started roping things. Anything. Goats,
a stuffed panda bear, his dog Lola, his mom and even his grandmother.
Fast
forward a few years and Levi is now the Canadian High School Rodeo
Champion, excelling in tie-down roping, formerly known as cattle
roping. Apparently the imaginary cattle and lassoing his grandma wasn’t
so silly after all.
As he leans against the kitchen counter in his country home in Ryder Lake he simply looks like a champion.
He’s
dressed in a crisp blue long sleeve button up with the words ‘Levi
Hughes’ stitched in red over his left breast pocket, and a pair of
faded blue jeans. He left his black cowboy boots at the door. But he’s
wearing the proof of his abilities around his waist, a shiny belt
buckle which reads ‘Canadian High School Rodeo Champion 2008’,in silver
and gold letters.
“My goal is to be pro, and travel through the United States and Canada,” said Hughes, his mom smiling.
And
he is well on his way. With the guidance and support of his mom,
Debbie, who used to compete in rodeo, he is just entering the amateur
level.
But not for the first time, he’s already dabbled in it while still in the high school level.
He’s been working his way up since he was four, when he first competed in the Little Britches rodeo.
“I’ve been riding since I was how old ... ?” said Hughes.
“ ... 15 months” said his mom without missing a beat.
“I
started watching it on TV,” continued Hughes. “I decided that was what
I wanted to do. Since then my mom’s helped me with it all.”
“Well,
I’ve done team roping, tie-down roping, and a bunch of other stuff,”
said his mom, not giving herself enough credit for her impressive
background. “We’re just a rodeo family.”
Rodeo definitely runs in the family, and has paid off for Hughes.
“He’s
won $3,800 in scholarships in the past year,” said his mom. “And that’s
what it’s all about. He’s won saddles and scholarships.”
Hughes,
who graduated from Sardis secondary school, has had to submit his
grades to the B.C. Rodeo Association each term, and maintain a C+
average to compete.
“Sometimes I would maybe miss a
Friday, and I would have to get the teachers to sign a form,” said
Hughes, who graduated early from SSS to start the welding program at
UFV. “But the teachers are so there for your rodeo, they help with
everything they can.”
With the rodeo season spanning
from April to June, Hughes and his mom are on the road almost every
weekend, horses in tow. They drive to each competition, be it in B.C.
or even New Mexico.
With all that time spent
sitting in a car one would expect an 18 year old to get a little rowdy
when they finally re-connect with their friends on the circuit. Not
this cowboy.
“They wear the same number throughout
high school rodeo on the grounds at all times,” said his mom. “If they
are drinking, swearing, horsing around, anything like that, than they
can be reported by their number and be kicked out.”
Nevertheless, re-connecting with friends is something that Hughes looks forward to at each competition.
“I have friends that live all over the province, so it’s always neat to see everyone when I go to rodeos,” he said.
“...They
are the tightest group,” his mom said, picking up where her son left
off. “They are so pro each-other. There’s so much sportsmanship, they
all seem to help each other a lot. Even if it means lending a horse to
someone that can beat them, they still do it. There’s so much
camaraderie.”
Camaraderie seems to be a word that not many associate with rodeos, said his mom, and it should be given more weight.
“A
lot of people have the wrong idea about the rodeo,” she said. “It’s so
structured, it’s about the scholarships, the camaraderie ... not just
the competition. People just don’t understand that that’s what it’s all
about.”
When it comes to a misconstrued idea of what
rodeo is about, tie-down roping often receives the most slack from
animal rights groups.
Being the cowboy that he is, Hughes uses as little force as necessary when tie-down roping, and still does a bang up job.
“You
wanna be quick, but not too rough ... they will flag you out if you
are,” explained Hughes. “The calf has to be able to go side to side.
And if you throw them too hard, or flip them backwards, or use any
unnecessary roughness then you are disqualified. You do what you can,
and you obviously don’t want to hurt them, but there’s only so much
worrying you can do about it.
“Also you don’t want
to rough ‘em around because it doesn’t look good for the audience ...
or you. You’ll be the guy that hurt the calf and...”
“...Yah you don’t want that,” said his mom finishing his sentence.
“I
really hope to be on TV someday,” continued Hughes. “I really want the
rodeo to go a long ways, ‘cause if there’s no rodeo, then there’s no
fun.”
Fun. This 18-year-old’s definition of fun
involves jumping off a horse, tying up a calf, and hoping it doesn’t
move for six seconds.
“I try not to get too hyped
up before, I stay calm and relaxed,” said Hughes, describing the five
seconds leading up to the gates being opened. “You have to get a game
plan, think of a positive run. It doesn’t always work out, sometimes
the calf kicks out, or you miss, but things like that happen all the
time. Also, you have to see how quick the guys are ahead of you, listen
to their time. If they’re quick, then you gotta be quick. That means
taking a few more risks.”
Unfortunately Hughes’ season of fun has come to an end this year.
So
what’s next for the young cowboy? Well, he just found out he has the
opportunity to travel around the U.S. with his hero: champion tie-down
roper Marty Becker.
After that, the young John Wayne is going to keep practising with his horse, Tulsa, and hopefully turn professional.
“I’m
just going to keep competing, see how I do in amateur and try to get
better,” he said. “I just want to keep getting quicker, and faster.”
This
18-year-old has goals, and you can bet your bottom dollar he’s going to
take those goals, rope ‘em, flip ‘em on their side, tie ‘em up and make
them his. Well, something like that.
View Larger Image
