Welcome
to the Extreme Cowboy Association
We are
excited about 2009 and the many fun filled
and exciting Extreme Cowboy Racing events
that are on the schedule. The formation of
EXCA has been an thrilling and challenging
adventure! Many people have worked
tirelessly to create an association that you
will be proud to tell your friends about.
This is the
latest
issue of your monthly
newsletter,
The Brave Horse.
You will
receive it each month electronically around
the middle of the month.
The Brave Horse
will be full of interesting
stories, EXCA event results, point
standings, human interest stories about EXCA
members and Tips and Tales from our founder,
Craig Cameron. We encourage you to
communicate your suggestions for stories and
ideas that will make The Brave Horse
fun, better and more informative.
The Brave
Horse
the best
newsletter in the equine world. Please forward your ideas
and suggestions to Bill Hull at
bhextremecowboy@gmail.com.
ASSOCIATION
BEGINNINGS
I am excited that people are
so enthusiastic about the Extreme Cowboy
Association and getting involved either
as a spectator, rider, or club. Everywhere
I go, horse owners are buzzing!
The Extreme Cowboy
Association is in its beginning stages
and going through growing pains. Please bear
in mind, as this rapidly growing sport gets
organized, the rules and guidelines may
continue to be tweaked. The goal is to make
this organization all it is meant to be.
The Extreme Cowboy
Association encourages constructive
comments for improvement. For every negative
aspect volunteered there is a positive
approach and it is those positives that
Extreme Cowboy Association seeks to
achieve. The dream is to grow this equine
sport and association into the best doggone
horsemanship event in the world!!!
My hat is off to all the
people who have started something before me.
It is tough—but I have always been drawn to
tough. Rodeo[ing] was tough but it educated
me on how to prepare, compete, travel, and
be tough physically, mentally, and
emotionally. Discovering how much work it
takes to organize an association is an
eye-opener but I have the qualifications.
When you climb down on a
bull, it takes a lot just to get there. Not
just physically, but you need to be ready to
compete emotionally—and emotionally capable
of winning! As a producer, I’m using the
same skills to organize an association from
a strong foundation base that culminates
into successful events. That requires many
people working long and hard with
encouraging participant’s observations along
the way.
Extreme Cowboy Association
is open to all riders and equine
enthusiasts. You can compete on any and all
horses, mules, and ponies. Any breed, any
gender, any age and that is why Extreme
Cowboy Association is going to be
phenomenal.
As I look back at my rodeo
days, I am proud to have a relatively low
card number in the Professional Rodeo
Cowboy Association. It means I got there
early and committed myself to be around
awhile. It is a kind of status symbol. So,
tell your friends to join now, get involved,
commit yourself and help Extreme Cowboy
Association grow. Get that low card
number and be a founding member of an
association and event that is on the move.
In February, I hosted the
Extreme Cowboy Event at Equifest,
Wichita, Kansas. What a great event with
great folks in the Heartland and believe me
the horse and horse people are alive in that
area. I set up a tough course and the
competitors took it on with incredible
passion and fine horsemanship. There was a
packed house that cheered riders to
outstanding performances.
When the first go-round was
over, the field narrowed to 11 tough
finalists. The course was changed, and
definitely made more competitive. The riders
were put to the test having to
exhibit speed with control while maintaining
horsemanship skills.
Great runs were made by all and when the
dust settled, checks were awarded to Top
Hands Lee Hart, Loren Basham, Runt Rageth,
with the champion being Clint Donley who
sizzled the course with an incredible
performance.
Extreme Cowboy Racing is such
an exciting event; no two races are ever
exactly alike. Remember, the key is in the
preparation for you and your horse.
A champion is a person who never quits; not
a person who has never lost.
—Craig Cameron
Cowboy Up With the Nick
Wright Family
Meet Nick Wright, EXCA National
Advisory Board member from the Lone
Star Region. As this article was
being written, Nick was seriously
injured in a tractor accident on his
ranch in Chandler, Texas. Nick
spent over three weeks in the
hospital and is currently in a
wheelchair, working very hard in
physical therapy in an effort to get
back on his feet and on his horse.
The Wright family is hosting the
"Expect No Mercy" EXCA event on
April 25th at their ranch. Our hats
are tipped to Nick, Diane and Skye
for moving forward with the event
under very difficult circumstances.
Nick Wright grew up in
West Texas. At 15 yrs
old, he left Texas and
went on to Colorado,
where he and his brother
Mark went to school and
rode bulls and had lots
of fun! Soon after
graduating high school
he went to college for a
short stint but soon
went back to work riding
and breaking race
horses. After a while he
left the race horses for
work at the feedlots
where he doctored cattle
and rode pens living the
life of a cowboy. He was
a feedlot cowboy until
1983 where he again
looked south and moved
to Canton, TX and was
soon back in the saddle
again, breaking colts
and riding cutting
horses for Jonnie Heidle.
This is where he learned
the way of the
cowboy could also be fun
and profitable. He moved
around from trainer to
trainer as an
apprentice but has no
regrets because of all
the knowledge he gained
from each and every one
of those guys. Nick
trained showed and sold
some very nice horses
during that time. 1987
was the year Nick
decided he would be in
the horse business for
many years to come so he
went to Sperry, OK to
learn how to shoe horses
at Bud Beastons
Oklahoma Farriers
College where he
graduated top 5 in
his class . Then back to
east Texas to ride
cutters , shoe horses
and cowboy, life was
good!
In 1990 Nick was
offered an opportunity
of a lifetime that would
change everything, to
travel the world with
Dept of Defense during
Desert Shield /Desert
Storm working for Air
Mobility Command ,which
he took. It consumed so
much of his time that he
quit training for the
public but continued
buying top bred horses
starting and selling
them at big sales. It
turned out to be a great
business in itself and
kept him in touch with
lots of trainers and
buyers. That same year
Nick married his
longtime girlfriend
Diane Bessire life was
great! In January of
'93, while in Naples
Italy, Nick got the call
he had been waiting for,
Skye was on the way and
he had to fly back to
Tyler TX ASAP, hoping to
make it before Skye was
born. After long hours
of traveling, he made it
home just in time to see
his little girl see this
world for the first time
with her eyes wide open.
Since then Nick, Diane
and Skye, a true rodeo
family, will continue to
be in the horse business
and show horses,
which is there true
passion.
The Expect No Mercy
EXCA The Wrights are
having in April was
almost canceled due to
an accident that
occurred February 17th.
Nick Wright
was injured in a tractor
accident, but Diane and
Skye decided to go
forth with it because
the whole family had
worked so hard,
it seemed that
they should have it
anyway.
~We are blessed to have
so many friends and hope
Nick will recover soon~
we hope we will fill the
30 competitor spots
before 4-1-09 and are
sure that no matter what
happens Expect No Mercy
will be a great time for
everyone, competitors
and spectators alike.
Skye Wright, born 1-12-93
she started riding horses at
age 2. By the time she was 5
she won her first saddle in
the NBHA 1D youth division
and placed 2nd behind her
mom in the Open 1D. She was
on her way!! The very next
year she won the open 1D
saddle too.
She qualified for NBHA youth
and open world every year
after that and won countless
finalist buckles. Skye
trained her 1st horse Sonic
Kiss nicknamed "Winner" by
the time she turned 12 and
now competes on him in
barrels and poles. In 2007
at age 14, she rode her
horses to the Wrangler Jr.
High Rodeo Finals in barrel
racing, poles, and goat
tying.
She was Reserve Champion at
Craig Cameron’s Extreme
Cowboy Race in Kansas City,
MO in 2008, riding "Winner".
Skye was also invited to
Craig Cameron’s All Girl
Extreme Cowboy Race where
she, at 15, was the youngest
competitor, placed 3rd
respectively. She was riding
her dads horse Peptos
Bullseye nicknamed "Bullseye" .
Skye is home schooled so she
has time to rodeo. She has
to keep a high GPA as she
cannot compete in NHSRA
National High School Rodeo
Assn. without keeping her
grades up.
Skye is an only child and
people say we are very
fortunate to have her, we
agree. She will continue to
be successful and hopefully
she will never forget where
she came from .
Skye is now 16 and plans to
go to college to pursue a
Forensic Science Degree or
maybe something in the
medical field.
EXCA Feedback Bin
The 2009 Extreme Cowboy
Association season is in full swing. The
weekend of March 21 has three EXCA events in
three Regions: North Pacific, South Pacific
and Southwestern. New Event Applications
are arriving at the EXCA office every week.
Keep an eye on the Event Schedule page of
our website;
www.extremecowboyassociation.com
for an event in your EXCA Region.
As the season has begun, the
questions are coming in from our members on
an assortment of topics. We will respond to
your questions each month in the Brave
Horse.
FAQ’s
Q. Can an EXCA Cardholder compete on more
than one horse in a single event ?
A. Yes. Any EXCA
Cardholder may enter a maximum of two (2)
horses in the same Division. If a rider
enters more than one Division, the rider may
ride two horses in a single Division and is
allowed to ride a third and/or fourth horse
in the second Division. Example: John Doe is
55 years old and plans to compete in the
Ride Smart Division and the Non-Pro Division
at an event. John Doe would be allowed to
enter horses A & B in the Non-Pro Division
and horses A, B, C or D in the Ride Smart
Division.
Q.
How are points tracked when an EXCA
Cardholder enters multiple horses?
A. The points are
tracked solely on the horse / rider team.
The points for multiple horse/rider teams
are tracked separately; they are not added
together.
Q. What happens to the points earned if an
EXCA Cardholder sells a horse to another
EXCA Cardholder?
A. The points stay
with the horse/rider team that earned the
points. The points do not transfer to the
new horse/rider team.
Q. Can an EXCA Cardholder qualify for the
World Championship in more than one Region?
A. Yes. If an EXCA
Cardholder competes in more than one Region,
it is possible to qualify in each Region.
All World Qualifying Points remain in the
Region that hosted the event.
Q. What is the maximum number of judges for
a single EXCA event?
A. Three (3). The
three (3) judges scores will be added
together and divided by three( 3) to obtain
an average score for World Qualifying
Points.
