Kirby Kaul's affinity for steer wrestling might be genetic.
"I didn't really have a choice," said the second son of Bussy Kaul, one of the sport's best for three decades starting in the 50s. "He didn't force me into it, but I enjoyed being around horses, and I enjoyed (steer wrestling). My older brother plays guitar."
It's not the only rodeo event he competes in, but it's his best event right now. He had the fastest time Friday night with 3.5, after having a no time his first run earlier this week. He chased the first steer all the way across the arena but couldn't get him down.
The most important part of steer wrestling, he said, is to avoid overanalyzing.
"Just don't make it any harder than it is," Kaul said. "You're just throwing down a large farm animal. Keep it simple."
It works this way. The steer wrestler positions his horse kitty-corner from the steer chute. A hazer, usually someone the cowboy knows and works with on a regular basis, stands on the other side. It's his job to keep the steer running straight so the wrestler can jump off his horse and land with his hands on the steer's head.
Then he plants his feet, falls onto his back and, hopefully, throws the steer on his back. Once the steer is completely off his feet, a judge raises a flag and the timer stops.
The indoor arena confuses some of the cattle, and they don't want to run like they normally do outside.
"It's usually a little quicker start (outside)," he said. "The cattle might start and then stop, or they don't run quite as well because they don't see daylight."
Steer wrestling is his chosen event now, but he's planning for the future with another skill and a college degree in agriculture business.
"I do a little team roping," he said. "I'll figure it's something I'll be able to fall back on when I get a little older."
That's because steer wrestling might not be as exciting as bull riding, but there is still plenty of opportunity to get hurt. He has two screws in his right knee and three screws in his lower left leg. The last injury occurred last year in August.
"I hit some mud and broke my lower left leg in four places," he said. Bussy Kaul doesn't travel the circuit much anymore, but he watches when the rodeos are closer to home in Hereford, Texas.
"He's done his traveling," he said of the man who helped him fine-tune his sport by videotaping him in high school and college and then talking him through each run.
His goal every night is like his strategy — simple.
"I just try to run 'em down no matter what," he said. Even if it's a slow time, it's a time. "Then you got a story when you call home. There ain't much of a story if you don't get a time."
Fans who attended Friday night's rodeo got to see two reigning world champions. Lan Lajeunesse of Morgan competed in bareback bronc riding and scored a 77. Fred L. Whitfield, Hockley, Texas, won the calf roping event with a 7.8.
Whitfield is on track to win another world championship this fall and said he feels as good as he did when he started.
"I'm the best at what I do, not to take anything away from anyone else (on the circuit)," he said. "I'm going to go to 100 rodeos this year, and I've got another chance to win a world championship."
Other winners in Friday's competition were: Linda Munns, Garland, girls barrel racing, 12.87; Billy Etbauer, Ree Heights, South Dakota, saddle bronc, 79; Matt Tyler, Weatherford, Texas and Clay O'Brien Cooper, Glen Rose, Texas, team roping, 4.9; Scoobe Halterman, Las Vegas, bull riding, 82; Kelly R. Wardell, Bellevue, Idaho, bareback bronc riding, 80.
E-mail: adonaldson@desnews.com