A local team of working cowboys will be heading to the national championship rodeo sponsored by the Working Ranch Cowboys Association, Nov. 12-15 in Amarillo, Texas.

From the Howard area is Bruce Beeman who lives at rural Howard and works for the Still Ranch located between Longton and Howard.

From the Latham area are team members Zack Blair, Gene Calvin and Keven Schouten, representing the Lazy B Ranch near Atlanta.

Another cowboy, Cliff Hall, resides near Bronson, Kan.

Together, they comprise the Broken H Ranch and Lazy B Bar C Ranch team.
The Broken H Ranch is located near Bronson and the Lazy B is located near Latham and Atlanta.

“We will be entering all events,” said Beeson. “We hit lots of ranch rodeos each year, probably 20 or 25 of them — and we all work as cowboys every day on area ranches.”

Three teams from Kansas qualified for the WRCA national event. Other teams will come from Strong City and the Hamilton-Emporia areas.

Another team from this region will represent the Sweetwater Cattle Company and Tom Drummond Ranch. They are Doug Hall, Shane Stierwalt, Drew Lockwood, Chris Potter and Amy Potter. This team comes from Pawhuska, Okla.

Members of another team from Kansas have roots in this area, all of them growing up in Greenwood County. They are Wes Bailey, Glad Collins and Josh Lillie.

Individually, Beeman is a bronc rider. Two years ago he won the Top Hand competition, and the team has ranked in the top five at least four times.

They win money and prizes including high-dollar items such as saddles and horse trailers.

“It’s a big honor to go to the WRCA so we’re excited about it,” said Beeman. He and his wife, Stefanie and their five-year-old daughter Katy, also attend all the ranch rodeo competitions. Katy already has her own horse and rides every day.

“There will be teams from all over the country,” Beeman said. “So the competition will be tough.”

This will be the seventh time Beemn has qualified for the WRCA.

Beeman grew up near Hamilton in Greenwood County. “This is all I’ve ever done, and I suppose it’s all I’ll ever do,” he said.

The WRCA is dedicated to preserving the lifestyle of the working cowboy.