September 1, 2021 Issue, Page 13 of 26

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AT THE RODEO, Wednesday, September 1, 2021 PG3 Mustang It’s an act he loves to perform. People love the mustangs and the dogs, and he loves to show the public the adaptability and intel- Continued from page 2. ligence of the mustangs. He loves what the horses have taught him. “They've changed my horsemanship and what the animal is able to do: make lead changes, spin and jump over whole outlook on training horses,” he said. the car while the running boards are on fire “I seem to get along with them, buddy up to and Kerr shoots guns. them and get a lot out of them.” At his whistle command, a dog jumps up Kerr has written cowboy poetry that he onto the horse with Kerr, and he and a second sometimes recites during the act; the poetry dog do a cutting event: working with his mus- helps educate the crowd about the American tang to demonstrate the horse's athleticism Mustang and its trainability. and ability to handle cattle. The dog works as He’s entertained at rodeos and equine the “cow” with the mustang separating the events across the nation: from the Ft. Worth, dog from the other dog. Then a third horse comes into the arena, working at “liberty” - Texas Rodeo, to the 2018 Wrangler National with voice commands only from Kerr. As Kerr Finals Rodeo and from the Reno (Nev.) Rodeo, leaves the arena, he signals one of his mus- to the Road to the Horse event in Lexington, tangs to jump into his vehicle with him, and Kentucky. He and his horse Poncho have even they drive out. been on Good Morning America. CATTLE DRIVE IN ELK CITY Texas longhorns return to the Elk City rodeo and parade By Ruth Nicolaus years. They weigh about 1,200 Ibs. at maturity with a horn span from five to eight feet across. Just like they did as they followed the cattle “Driving” cattle means moving them from trails to railheads in Kansas, Texas longhorn one place to another, usually with cowboys cattle are about to take over the streets of Elk on horseback. A young steer learns how to be City. driven, and Sander tries out the young ones ‘The Sander Ranch Longhorns will be part of each year when he drives the herd from his the Elk City Rodeo’s opening each night, Sept. ranch to Woodward, Okla. The ones that don’t 3-5, at 8 p.m. nightly, and in the parade on follow along or get out of line have no place in Sept. 4 at 10 a.m. his herd, so he sells them. ‘The majestic beasts will go down the parade ‘The steers have a good life, he said. “All they toc. route, and mill around the arena prior to each have to do is behave themselves, look pretty night of rodeo. and don’t act dumb.” Zen & ‘They are owned by Wes Sander of Woodward, Okla., who has had longhorns since 1998. A ‘They aren’t as ignorant as people might think, he says. They remember the routes at UGKING Woodward, Okla. rodeo committee member, different rodeos, from where their pens are he wanted a way to promote the rodeo. He to the rodeo arena. He's taken the steers to bought 50 head of longhorn steers, broke to drive. He used them in a cattle drive with great countless rodeos and western events, from Greeley, Colo. to Dallas, Texas; from a Dodge OILFIELD SERVICES success, garnering publicity from across the automotive show in Detroit to Omaha, Neb. HINTON,OK. ELK CITY,OK. state. "They were a huge hit,” he said. ‘There's always a lead steer, Sander said, one 980-243-0466 Sander will bring about 30 steers to Elk City. He's in his fifth generation of steers, with the average animal living between 12 and 15 See Cattle page 3.