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Welcome to the
Extreme Cowboy Association
We are excited about 2010 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.
2010
EXCA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS
By Craig
Cameron
The 2010 EXCA World
Championship is just a month away! Many of you will be
traveling to Topeka, KS. to compete for the title of EXCA
World Champion and others will be in Topeka to cheer for you
as you and your horse give it your very best effort over 3
days of exciting, high energy competition! Contestants will
be converging on Topeka from all across the United States,
and this year, for the first time we will welcome riders
from the State of Hawaii and our neighboring country to the
north, Canada.
2010 has been a year of
growth for EXCA. We have a total of 46 EXCA Clubs this year
compared to 21 EXCA Clubs in 2009. There is a 42% increase
in the number of events in comparison to last year and with
several events yet to be run, we estimate an increase of 48%
in total entries for 2010. As you know, 2010 was our first
year to have the Judge’s Certification program. We now have
60 certified EXCA Judges and continue to receive requests
for taking the Judge’s Test. The second Judging
Certification Clinic for 2010 will be held December 5-7 at
the Double Horn Ranch in Bluff Dale, TX.
This positive growth is
because of you – the EXCA membership. We tip our hat to
each of you as we thank you for your ongoing support and
participation.
As we look ahead to 2011,
we will be conducting our annual review of the EXCA Rulebook
and will be adding and/or making modifications to the EXCA
Rulebook in an effort to continually improve our sport.
We look forward to seeing
you in Topeka!
See you on the trail,
Craig Cameron
The Come Back
by Susan Morris
 This
is my story of how tragedy and triumph along with God helped
me to survive a time of my life that changed me forever. My
name is Susan Morris. I am 40 years old and have lived in
the small country town of Pride in Louisiana all of my life.
Horses; and their way of life have always been a big part of
me since I was a young girl. God has blessed me with a great
family. He gave me a loving, supportive, hard-working
husband and two children; a daughter named Ashley and a son
named Rhett. Both of them grew up to be very responsible,
well mannered country kids.
The day of November 3, 2007 changed my life forever. My
fifteen year old son Rhett was killed in an accident at our
home in Pride. This was a day that will never been forgotten
and a day I thought I would never survive. If not for God
taking over my life and blessing me with the signs that
showed me that my little boy was okay and in Heaven with
him, I don’t think I would have survived. God’s grace kept
me on my feet and helped me overcome my many trials and
tribulations. He also showed me that he would give me the
strength to survive and the time I needed to mourn. God will
never put anyone through more than what they can handle.
 Two
months prior to my sons passing, Rhett said to me “Mom, why
don’t you show? I’ve seen you ride a lot, but I’ve never
seen you show.” Of course I said “I don’t have time to show,
and I’m more worried about taking care of you and your
sister.” Rhett said, “Well, we go to the rodeos all the
time, so ride barrels or something.” I laughed and told
Rhett I was too old to compete. He persistently pushed me
into trying to run barrels. I started with a mare and within
two months was doing quite well, so well that that I entered
barrels competition at the Angola Prison Rodeo in Angola,
Louisiana. Six days prior to his death, he watched me place
fourth in the barrel race. People tell me that he stood in
the stands hollering, “That’s my Mama”. After the tragic
turn of events I felt I would never show again. Fifteen
months passed by and God said to me “It’s time to get
going”. I remember sensing God with a strong of “push” to go
to this black stallion named Cajun.”Go to this horse” I was
told. “Go to this horse!” “Go to this horse!”
Having faith because God had already brought me this far, I
set out to do his will. Now understand, this horse had a
major impairment, a stifle joint injury which left him
crippled for nearly two years. I thought to myself, “What
does God want me to do with a crippled horse?”Being who I am
and knowing that all things are possible through God, I
began taking Cajun out for walks and exercising him lightly.
Slowly but surely I got him into normal activity. He was
showing no signs of lameness. I knew this was God’s
intervention. I continued working slowly with Cajun for
several more months.
Nine more months had passed by and I was reading a
classified ad in Bits & Pieces Magazine. It told of a
competition called Extreme Cowboy Association also known as
EXCA, founded by Craig Cameron, a Hall of Fame Cowboy. It
looked and sounded very interesting to me. It is a timed
event that entails challenging obstacles with overall
horsemanship. The classified ad said a competition was to be
held in Amite, Louisiana, which is about an hour from where
I live. These shows are also held all over the U.S. at
various times but something told me “This is it, I have to
try this”.
Cajun, was a well trained cutting horse, with good manners
before his injury but he and I were going to do something
completely different for both of us, this competition was
going to prove to be a challenge for both horse and rider.
We would learn together. We entered the competition and
started our new journey together. Friends and family, told
me it would be a great opportunity to get out, meet new
people, socialize, and maybe help someone else find strength
to carry on.
Our first show was one I will never forget. Cajun and I let
it all hang out. We were crossing our water obstacle with
speed and we flipped into the water head first. Both of us
were basically submerged, and I ended up under him in the
water. We recovered, he stood, and I stood up. His nose was
bloody and he looked at me as if to say, you gonna swim or
ride. I got back on him a little disoriented, but finished
the course and ended up in third place. It was a great show,
but after the adrenaline wore off I realized I had injured
my foot and could hardly move my foot. After dropping off
Cajun at the barn, I had to be driven to the Emergency Room.
It turned out nothing was broken, just a bad sprain and a
walking cast. As for Cajun, a little chiropractic work was
all that was needed for his jammed neck.
This experience did not stop us, we were hooked! We
continued to make the upcoming shows and loved every minute
of it! Cajun and I were filled with great expectations. By
the end of the 2009 season, we had finished first in the
state of Louisiana, first in the Lone Star Region, and had
qualified to show our skills at the EXCA World Championship
Finals in Topeka, Kansas. It was all so “Wow” to me and a
lot to take in. I felt like I wasn’t qualified for a
competition like the one in Kansas, I didn’t think I had a
chance, but that was the human side of me talking. After all
I had just started, but my mother and many others encouraged
me, saying, “This is your chance”. After more thought and
prayers, I remembered that all things were possible through
God, and I put my trust in thee. Just being a participant in
the World Show would be a great experience and after all, I
would have an angel with me.
My horse and I were both novices when it came to many of the
obstacles that would be included on the course; I knew it
would be a challenge. Cajun had never jumped so high, nor
had I ever shot a gun while on his back. I felt confident
that the bond of love and trust that existed between us as
horse and rider would make a difference; we could do it
together and make the best of it.
Our World Competition entailed of three days of competitive
riding which was both scary and very exciting. We made it
into the finals. When it was all over I heard my name
called out as both the Novice World Champion and I had
placed fifth in Non-Pro. This was a dream come true for me.
When I had time to think about what all had transpired
during those three days of intense competition it began to
“sink in” …this was an opportunity provided by God for two
broken individuals to heal one another.
This November I will again compete in the EXCA World
Championship Finals in Topeka, Kansas as a Non-Pro.
To close this story, but by no means end it, I would like to
thank my family and close friends whose continued support,
keep Cajun and I going every day. I also want to offer
these final words of advice, “when you’re down, look up,
God’s there.”
Susan Morris
EXCA Membership
Renewals
Effective for the 2011
EXCA competition season, which begins following the EXCA
Annual meeting on November 14th, your EXCA
Membership will run for 12 months from the time you renew
your membership or join for the first time. It will no
longer be for the calendar year.
Renewals that are received
by December 31, 2010 will receive the following discounts:
-
Individual Membership: $55.00 (discounted from $65.00)
-
Family Membership: $95.00 (discounted from $105.00)
-
Youth or Young Gun Membership $40.00 (discounted from
$45.00)
-
Associate (Non-competition Membership will remain
$25.00.
-
Life Memberships will remain $650.00 which includes a
beautiful EXCA Life Member belt buckle.
Don’t delay, submit your
renewal by December 31st and receive your EXCA
Membership discount! |
