Cowkids Only - Spring 2025
Spring 2025
Brought to you by The Bell Mare Book Company
Ask a Pro:
JR Vezain
JR Vezain is a 6-time National Finals Rodeo bareback rider. He also is a high school and college rodeo national champion bareback rider. JR has accomplished titles many cowboys only dream of, but now his biggest goal is to be able to walk again. In 2018 at a PRCA rodeo in Pasadena, Texas, JR’s bareback horse flipped over on him and broke his back leaving his legs paralyzed. JR shares his advice for rodeo kids on digging deep and finding their try and motivation when times are tough.
Ask a Pro:
NFR Bareback Rider JR Vezain
Tell us what happened.
JR’s Answer:
It was the end of the 2018 season and I got on a bareback horse in Pasadena, Texas. The horse flipped over on me and broke my back, which left me paralyzed from the waist down. I spent eight months after that in rehab facilities learning how to function without the use of my legs. After we got home we set up a gym in my family’s garage and I hired Doug Champion with Champion Living Fitness (the people who bring us the cowkid exercise each month!) and together we are working hard every day to help me achieve my goal of walking again.
Question: In what ways has life changed for you since the accident and it what ways has it stayed the same?
JR’s Answer:
I have always loved horses and ranching and even after my accident I knew I wanted that to remain in my life. I still ride horses every day and take care of cattle. I also do leather work and have started sharing my story with others through public speaking.
Before my accident I always had a dream of riding reined cow horses when I was done riding bareback horses. The end of my career didn’t come the way I pictured it, but I stayed true to my dream and started riding and showing reined cow horses. I was interviewed for a podcast in 2020 and they asked me what I would be doing if the wreck hadn’t happened. I told them my plan of getting into reined cow horses. It so happened a reined cow horse trainer named Aaron Brookshire heard that podcast. He got a hold of me and told me, “Most of my non-pro students don’t know how to use their legs on a horse anyway, so I bet the two of us can make this dream happen for you if you are willing to try,” So, God opened a door for me in a totally unexpected way and I have been working with Aaron since. I have qualified to the National Reined Cow Horse Association World Show a couple times and hope to be able to compete in the World’s Greatest Horseman competition someday.
A lot of my goals are still the same. I still want to win at my sport. I still want to be successful with my businesses. I still want to be a good husband, father and Christian. What has changed, is I have given the outcome and the journey to meet these goals to God. I am trying to achieve the passions He has put on my heart without controlling how long it takes or what the journey looks like.
I no longer let my goals define my success in life. I have been trying to walk since the accident happened back in 2018 and I haven’t achieved that goal. But, I no longer feel like not accomplishing a goal by a certain timeline defines success. I will continue to work hard to walk again, but I will trust God’s plan and God’s timing for my goal. Now, I define my success by the person I became in the process of accomplishing my goals. Who we are is more important than what we do.
JR Vezain does not have feeling in his legs due to a bareback riding accident, but that has not stopped him from following his dream of showing reined cow horses.
Question: How can rodeo kids maintain a positive attitude even when times are tough?
JR’s Answer:
Whether you are 6, 66 or 96, we all have issues. We all have struggles. We all have trials. Problems are real for everyone and they affect us differently. We tend to compare problems and that’s not really a great idea. Yes, someone does always have it worse than you, but that doesn’t mean your struggles don’t hurt. The reality is problems are problems and we are all going to have to go through hard times. No one is going to get through life without struggles, but the Bible says we need to find joy in our trials. That can be easier said than done. But, to me, finding joy in the middle of tough times is finding something small to be thankful for. You can’t let your bad day, bad season, bad year become a bad life. Don’t let your failures, disappointments, struggles and problems ruin your life. These hard moments can either build us up or push us down. It’s up to us, which way it goes. For example, I don’t have bad days. I might have bad minutes in a day. I might even have a bad hour in day. But the whole day is not bad. For you, it might look like this: You missed your calf or steer at the rodeo. Yeah, that was a disappointment. It was a bad moment of your day. But it’s up to you whether you let that bad moment ruin the whole day or not. Did you still get to compete in a sport you love with your family and friends? Yes. So your miss was a bad moment of your day, but your day was not a bad day.
Being negative doesn’t get us anywhere, so find something to be positive about and keep working toward your goals.
Question: What is your advice for rodeo kids on staying motivated when things aren’t going their way?
JR’s Answer:
When I was 4 years old, I knew I wanted to be a cowboy. I didn’t expect my life to look like this. I didn’t expect to be a cowboy that has to be seat belted in my saddle because I can’t use my legs. But being a cowboy is what I have always wanted to be. So it’s easy for me to stay motivated. I’m passionate about this way of life. It’s what I think about every day. Motivation and passion go hand-in-hand. So find what you are passionate about and it will be easy to stay motivated.
I like to use an example from nature. Gazelle wake up each morning and their goal is to survive. They spend their whole day watching for predators and they run when they are forced to. Lions wake up each morning and the first thing they think about is eating. They are hungry. And they spend their day trying to feed that hunger. We have to be aggressive like those lions. We can’t just float through life trying to survive and only get motivated when something is chasing us. To truly stay motivated we have to find what we are passionate about and then pursue it with the hunger of a lion.
I’ve been trying to get out of a wheelchair for seven years now. Have I had moments where I wanted to give up? You bet. Would it be easier for me to just be content with staying in the wheelchair for the rest of my life? For sure. I have learned it is OK to not be OK. But when I have days where I want to throw in the towel, I ask myself “What do you want?” And the answer is always, “To walk on my own again.” For you, it might look something like this, your horse gets hurt and it seems like it would be easier to just give up than start over. Ask yourself “What do you want?” If the answer is to make the NFR, or the High School Rodeo Finals, or win at your junior rodeo, then the answer is not to give up. The answer is to dig deep and give it your all even if it isn’t the easiest option.
Question: How has your faith changed throughout your life?
JR’s Answer:
My mom and grandma always got me to church and made sure I was introduced to God at a very young age. I learned about God’s grace and mercy young. When I was 19, the world got a hold of me. I won a lot of money riding bareback horses and I wasn’t prepared to handle success yet. I fell into the wrong crowd and did some bad things and Jesus left the 99 to come save me (if this story is unfamiliar to you, read Luke chapter 15 in your Bible). When I hit rock bottom, Jesus met me there and saved me from the shame and guilt I had from the life I was living. I told God if he would help me turn my life around, I would do my best to do right by Him. And, I did. I’m not saying I have lived a perfect life. I have still messed up and sinned. But, I quit running from God. I turned to God and let Him into my life.
When I got in my wreck in 2018, thankfully, I was in a good spot in my walk with Christ. I knew His plans were for my good, no matter how they looked. I knew somehow, good would come from this situation. I trusted God enough to know I would be OK.
Since the wreck, there have been times of sadness, frustration and many times I have asked God, “Why? Why can’t I walk yet?” But, I never could have gotten through any of this without a solid relationship with the Lord. Living in His will is how I am able to overcome the negative thoughts and emotions. God wants you to come to Him when you are broken-hearted and He will carry you through life’s trials. If I wouldn’t have hit rock bottom before my wreck, I never could have gotten through this life. Even, without my wreck and being paralyzed, life is too hard to get through it without an all-in relationship with God.
JR Vezain says he could not have gotten through life, even if he had not been injured, without his “all-in” relationship with God.
Question: What goals are on the horizon for you?
JR’s Answer:
I am a very goal-oriented person. I have little goals, big goals, goals for today and goals for 20 years from now. My ultimate goal is to be where the Lord wants me to be and do what He wants me to do. I want to be a good father to my son and husband to my wife. With my cow horse, I want to compete at the World Greatest Horseman competition and be a million-dollar rider. And that is a huge goal, but it’s my goal. I also want to do more public speaking. I feel like God can and has used my story to help others going through hard times. I’m also going to start a program that will help people with major setbacks. A few years ago Diamond G Rodeo organized efforts to give me a track chair (a wheelchair that is on tracks so it can get through arena dirt, grass and rocks better) and that changed my life. I want my non-profit program to be able to help change other people’s lives the way that chair changed mine. And, then ultimately, my goal is to be able to walk on my own again and leave my chair behind me.
JR Vezain has known he wanted to be a cowboy since he was 4 years old. When he became paralyzed from the waist down in a bareback riding accident in 2018, his dream of being a cowboy never ended. It simply changed.
Question: If you could get in a time machine and tell your younger self something, what would you say?
JR’s Answer:
I would tell myself to enjoy every moment and to find joy in the day-to-day grind. Looking back on my bareback riding career, it wasn’t the championships I won that bring me joy. It was the moments I got to spend with my friends, family and competitors. The fun things we did between rodeos are what make me smile when I look back. They are the memories I cherish. And, when I needed people to lift me up, it wasn’t a belt buckle that saved me. It was the friends and family I made who helped me. The real victory is the climb to your goal. What it made you. Who it made you. The people it brought into your life. The lessons it taught you. So, enjoy the climb on the way to your goal.
Question: What is your favorite thing to read?
JR’s Answer:
I read the Bible every single day. That is the very top of my list of books to live by. I’m actually a big reader, so I also listen to audiobooks when I can’t slow down and read. I love the Will James books and read them to my son. I also love motivational and positive thinking books, like “Mind Gym” and “With Winning in Mind.”
Cowkid Devotional
By High Call Ministries Pastor Kelly Cronkhite
Kelly is not your typical pastor. He’s a Jesus-loving cowboy, rancher and roper.
Cowboys and cowgirls don’t cry. We have probably all heard that. We don’t like to feel sadness, or anger, or fear because we have been told they are negative emotions. But, when we are feeling those emotions is when we need God the most. Those are the times we realize we can’t do life without Him. In the Bible you will read that God’s people would “cry out” to Him in their times of need. God designed us to have emotions. He also asked us to have self-control, but He never said, to hide all of our negative feelings. Even Jesus experienced feelings of sadness, loneliness and anger. In the book of John, we read that Jesus was both angry and sad at the death of his friend Lazarus. When Jesus felt those feelings, he drew even closer to God through prayer. I encourage you to do the same. Take your emotions and feelings to God and ask Him to replace them with unexplainable peace and the fruits of the spirit. And, when you are feeling positive emotions like happy, blessed, relaxed, focused, etc., take those emotions to God too and thank Him for them. Our feelings — good or bad —are God-given and not something we need to be ashamed of. Even cowboys and cowgirls were designed to have feelings. Just recognize them and take them to God rather than taking them out on the people or animals around you. Until next time, God bless you!
“And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
—Philippians 4:7
“But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” —Galatians 5:22-23
Horse Care Tip of the Month
By Equine Veterinarian Zach Bruggen
Too Much of a Good Thing
Rain and sunshine make beautiful green grass that our horses LOVE to eat. But, can too much of a good thing be a bad thing? Dr. Bruggen shares some advice for making sure horses stay safe as pastures start to green up and grow.
I think every rodeo person looks forward to seeing shoots of green grass start to poke through in the spring. Green grass, mild temperatures and sunshine are what our horses live for. Even the pickiest of horses love green grass. It’s what they were made to eat.
Unfortunately, new spring grass can contain very high levels of carbohydrates, which can cause problems for our horses if they eat too much. If large amounts of green grass are eaten, we can see digestive upset problems like diarrhea, gas and even colic. Spring grass can also make problems worse for horses with metabolic issues (very common in ponies and overweight horses). An overload of spring grass can even cause laminitis in your horse, which causes them to be lame due to inflammation in the laminae of their hooves.
All of these mentioned problems can be life-threatening if they progress too far. That said, some horses can graze on spring pasture without any problems at all. And, horses who have been in pastures throughout the winter are not as likely to have problems as those who are only turned out when the grass is green.
My advice would be to talk to your veterinarian about whether your horse is at risk. If so, consider a gradual transition into full-time pasture living. Start by letting the horse out for short periods (less than an hour) and gradually increase their turnout time every couple days if you do not see any problems.
Continuing to provide hay after the grass becomes green can also help balance the horse’s diet. I also like to encourage owners to feed their horse prior to letting them out on green grass so the horse isn’t as hungry when they get turned out.
The carbohydrate content of the grass is highest in the afternoon. Avoiding turnout in the late afternoon can help reduce the amount of carbohydrates your horse eats.
Green grass is much like fresh fruit for you. The fruit is sweet, delicious and good for you, but too much of a good thing is a bad thing. One or two oranges a day is good for you, but 15 oranges a day is going to give you a belly ache.
Keep all this in mind as your pastures start to green up this spring.
Exercise of the Month:
Skull Crusher Tricep Exercise for Rodeo Athletes
By Logan Corbett with Champion Living Fitness. Exercise performed by JR Vezain.
Dumbbell skull crushers might sound a little wild, but don’t worry—they’re safe and super useful! This exercise works your triceps, which are the big muscles on the back of your upper arms. Strong triceps help you push, hold and control things with power. That’s a big deal for rodeo athletes! Whether you're hanging on during a ride or pushing hard out of the box, strong triceps give you more control and strength in your upper body. They help you stay steady and powerful when it counts most. It’s important to choose an appropriate dumbbell weight. You want the weight to be heavy enough to be a challenge, but not so heavy you can’t keep your back flat throughout the whole exercise.
But it’s not just about rodeo. For someone in a wheelchair like our friend JR Vezain, strong triceps are like having a secret superpower. Those muscles help them push their wheels, transfer in and out of seats and do everyday tasks with more ease and freedom. So no matter who you are or what your goals are, strong triceps can help you move better, ride stronger and live life with more confidence! Watch the video below to see JR do a skull crusher exercise.
Rodeo Word of the Month:
Mark Out
Mark Out or Mark Out Rule
In bareback and saddle bronc riding there is something called the “mark out” rule. To correctly “mark out” a horse, the cowboy must have both of his spurs above the point of the horse’s shoulder for the first buck or stride out of the chute. They can’t begin spurring the horse until the first move has been made. If their feet are not above the point of the horse’s shoulder on the first jump, the judge will throw a flag on the ground in the arena indicating the cowboy missed the mark out and his ride is disqualified. In this photo, you can see that JR’s spurs are above the point of the horse’s shoulder.
Rodeo Math Problem of the Month:
Entry Fees
What are Max and Elsie’s entry fees?
Max and Elsie are entering a junior rodeo this weekend.
Max is in the 7-9 age division and is entering: Breakaway roping, goat tying, steer breakaway and boys sled slide.
Elsie is in the 10-13 age division and is entering: Breakaway roping, ribbon roping, goat tying, poles and barrels.
They are entering the rodeo on both Saturday and Sunday. How much will their family’s entry fees be (don’t forget to add gate and office fees!) for the weekend?
Reading Comprehension:
Excerpt from Will James’ “Smoky the Cowhorse”
This passage is from a book by one of JR Vezain’s (and our’s too) favorite western authors. The title of this book is “Smoky the Cowhorse” and it was written in 1925. The language is a little different because it was written so long ago, but the story is still worth the read if you are looking for a good book!
“The snowing had let up some during the day, but as night drawed near the wind got stronger, the snow was drifting, and there'd be another night of travel when no trail would be left to show.
The man woke up, looked around and grinned, then got up and shook himself. The fire was started again, another bait was cooked and consumed, and after all was gathered, he mounted his horse and went to looking for the ponies he'd left to graze down by the creek bottom. He run onto 'em a couple of miles further than where he'd fig-gered they'd be, and as dark settled over the snow covered range, he fell in behind 'em and started 'em on the way.
An hour or so of traveling, and then Smoky, who was in the lead, found himself between the wings of a corral, a corral that was made of willows and well hid. The man had built it for his purpose, and signs showed that it'd been used many a time before. Long willow poles made the gate, and after he run the ponies in, and put up the poles, he went after his rope on his saddle.
Many a brand had been changed in that corral, and on both horse and cow, other times he'd used it just to change horses, and that's what he wanted just now, a fresh horse. He wasn't changing for the sake of the tired horse he'd been riding, it was just that he didn't want to take chances of having a tired horse under him in case somebody jumped him.
His loop was made, and thru the dark he was trying to see just what horse to put his rope on, the white background helped him considerable in making out the shapes of the ponies, and there was one shape he was looking out for before he let his loop sail, the shape of a mouse colored blazed faced horse which he'd noticed and watched all along. Pretty soon, and furthest away from him, he got a glimpse of Smoky's head he recognized the white streak on his forehead, and his rope sailed.
Smoky snorted and ducked, the rope just grazed his ears and went on to settle over another horse's head.
In the dark, the man couldn't follow his rope, and he didn't know what he'd caught till he pulled on the rope and brought the horse to him. He cussed considerable as he seen he'd caught another horse than the one he wanted, but as he noticed that this horse was good size and strong looking, he let it go at that, and didn't take time to make another try for Smoky.
"I'll get you next time, you," he says as he looked Smoky's way and saddled the horse he'd caught.
Letting the poles down the man mounted the fresh horse, let the ponies out, and turned 'em out of the creek bottom onto a long bench. The strong winds had blowed most all the snow off there, and excepting for a few low places where it had piled deep, traveling was made easy. He kept the ponies on a trot most of the night, and sometimes where the snow wasn’t too deep, he’d crowd ‘em into a lope.”
Test Your Comprehension:
Is the man in this story a good guy or a bad guy?
What horse was he hoping to catch in the corral?
Why do you think he is moving Smoky and the herd through the snow?
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