State 4-H Rodeo
Written by Corley Berkner (April, 2008)

The announcer called my name. I was very nervous and my horse could feel it.
 

It was August 23, 2007, in Fort Pierre around 5:00 P.M. It was 102 degrees out and dusty. The dirt just stuck to you. I was in hot blue jeans a long-sleeved shirt and a cowboy hat. I was shaking.  It was just about my turn and it was my last run of the day. I was warming up to run poles.  Everything was good and my black horse, Chic, didn’t seem too nervous. But when I was waiting for my turn trying to get her to relax, she got more nervous.

         Then the announcer said my name and Chic started getting a little wild. When it’s our turn she isn’t real good about going in the gate. My mom usually has to lead me in. Mom came up to me and Chic was prancing all over.  Chic was nervous, tired, and didn’t want to go in the gate at all so my mom started pulling on her. Chic started tossing her head and getting mad.  My mom pulled harder, but when Chic tossed her head this time, she hit my mom right above her right eye. Blood started running down my mom’s face. The gate woman started freaking out! Chic knocked off my mom’s cowboy hat and bent her Oakley sunglasses.

        My dad came running over. He was going to videotape it, but that didn’t happen. He grabbed my mom's arm and pulled her off to the side and grabbed Chic.  We were both really mad. I kicked her so hard that she didn’t have a choice but to go in the gate. We had a good start because I was kicking her the hardest I had ever kicked her. We were having a fairly good run except she tipped the third pole to the end.  While I was running my mom had to go to the ambulance and get her eye taped. Later that night after I unsaddled, we had to take my mom to the emergency room. It was gross!   Her eye was all swollen shut and the weird thing was my mom wasn’t even mad at Chic. That was an experience I will never forget.