DANIEL TYLER GOODEN / L’Observateur / November 4, 2000

GARYVILLE – Ever wanted to be a cowboy? In Garyville, RJ Ranch has seen a growing number of riders, both male and female, interested in rodeo competition.

Rusty Johnson, owner of the RJ Ranch, built his corral for his boys, Jeremiah and James. Jeremiah, a student at St. Charles Catholic, wasinterested in riding horses competitively, so his father put him in a few shows.

“By the third show he had won a saddle,” said Johnson. Seeing thatJeremiah was going to stick with the sport, Johnson constructed the corral in Garyville.

The corral isn’t just for his sons, but for all interested in riding.

Johnson’s neighbor Bobby Hotard has been riding in shows for a while. Hecomes out every week to teach those interested in learning to sort or pen calves competitively. Johnson recently bought 20 calves for sortingpractices. Every Monday five or 10 people come on out and practice, butyou learn by going to the shows, said Hotard.

There are a lot of local people interested, said Johnson. The shows at theRJ Ranch commonly bring people from between New Orleans and Baton Rouge and sometimes even farther. The corral has only been up for aboutsix months, but there are not very many places to ride, said Johnson.

The competitions at the corral give $700 in prize money, something not too common in shows. Giving prize money keeps people interested andkeeps people coming back, said Johnson.

There is no admission fee for people to watch the shows. Johnson is alsoputting up grandstands so more people can catch the action as well.

The main event at the shows are the sorting competitions. Last Monday,Hotard ran a group practice of sorting 20 cows. Hotard directed the othertwo riders as they cut out the numbered cows in sequence and led them to the other side of the corral. In the show three teams do the sorting, oneperson from each team riding together. A computer randomly generates achosen number and as many cows that are sorted in 90 seconds is the total score for each team. The riders have to sort the cows and keep them on theright side of the corral to get the points. After three rounds, the teamscore is totaled, from each of the different riders.

Another popular event for riders is penning. In a penning event nine cowsare labeled one through three. To object is to get all the ones, twos andthrees in the pen together without mixing them up, said Johnson.

In February Johnson is looking to added barrel racing as well. It’s a bigtime event for the females, said Johnson.

The shows are not just for the riders, but for the whole family. There arehay rides for the kids. In December Johnson is adding pony rides as well.RJ Ranch is for anyone interested in riding. Though most bring their ownhorses, Johnson will loan a horse for a practice if someone is interested in riding.

“This gives kids something else to do besides go to the malls or the movies,” said Johnson. For the shows wives come and watch theirhusbands ride, and often vise-verse.

The next team event horse show at RJ Ranch is Nov. 11. Sign up starts at 1p.m. With the riding beginning promptly at 2:30 p.m. High Point, four rides,will coast $40. A draw pot is guaranteed, with first place receiving $400and second and third both winning $40. The winning team gets 50 percentof the jackpot at $30 per team. All ties are settled by a coin flip. Plentyof food and drinks will be at the concession stand. For further informationcall 535-3361.

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