On the 4th, a U.S. tradition Diné style

KAYENTA, July 10, 2008

It only lasted about three seconds.

Robby Holyman, 28, of Shiprock, was lifting his rein and spurring his horse in the saddle bronc competition. That's good.

But he froze up. That's not good.

The horse bucked Holyman off its back and into the arena's thick dirt.

"I had a good horse, but I just froze up halfway through the ride," he said, covered in dirt while sitting on the fence underneath the announcer's tower. "There's a lot of power in the horse - but that's only if you pull the bucking rein. If you're lifting that rein and spurring there's no power in the horse" - but you can't freeze up either, he added.

Welcome to the Kayenta 4th of July Rodeo, which began July 3 and lasted through July 5.

Hundreds of people, many of them using sun umbrellas, packed the stands throughout the hot afternoon at the Kayenta community rodeo grounds to watch a piece of Navajo Americana.

There are many unique activities and places that can only be American by definition. Buying a hotdog at Nathan's and watching the ocean from the boardwalk in Coney Island, N.Y., or taking Mississippi riverboat ride out of Memphis ... or going to a Navajo rodeo.

Rough Rock, Ariz., resident Tyrone Begay, who was in the stands, said he shared the same sentiments as other Americans about celebrating the nation's 232nd birthday.

"I have my whole family around here. For me it means an event, I guess, to celebrate our nation's birthday, its independence. Time to shoot some fireworks for the kids," Begay said, adding, "We have our traditional side being one of the first Americans. I actually blend the two together. I feel pretty comfortable with both sides."

Back in the arena, Kyle Dennison of Tohatchi, N.M., and his horse sprinted out of the pen after a steer. Within moments he had glided effortlessly off of his galloping horse and had his arms locked around the steer's head and horns.

But his technique was off and it took a couple of extra seconds to flip the beast onto the ground.

"I messed up on this steer," Dennison said. "I should have been a lot quicker. My time - it was seven. It should have been five. I lost my footing. A lot of it is timing and momentum. If your timing is off by a split second (it's over). It's more technique than strength."

Another steer wrestler, Willis Begay III of Chinle, attributed his good run to a little reconnaissance work.

"Last night (during the rodeo) I came out to watch the steers," Begay said. "The guy who had him last night couldn't take him, so I took him hard. (The trick) is to attack him early. The way I wanted to go came out just right. My time was four-something."

In the arena with the competitors were rodeo clowns dressed in American flag shirts, denim shorts and with white horns painted on their faces.

Their job is to be in the right place at the right time to save a fallen rider. Rodeo clowns have to react in a split second and pull a rider from under sharp hooves or distract an animal that decides to charge instead of trotting out of the arena.

"The most challenging thing is getting face-to-face with a bull," said rodeo clown Frederick Butler of Steamboat, Ariz. "It's a lot of fun. You get a good adrenalin rush off of it, saving lives."

Butler said the rider's only advantage over a bull is "speed and knowledge," adding that, "some of them are fast.

"They'll catch you if they want," he said. "It's a pretty risky job. ... I've been hooked a couple of times. It happened in Piñon. I was a little bit slow. I meant to come around a lot quicker, but the bull knew where I was going and he caught me and gave me a good horn and tossed me up. ... He flung me up in the air."

Butler, who was sore for a couple of days but otherwise fine, had been rescued by another rodeo clown.

What's the one place in the arena a rodeo clown does not want to be when a bull has thrown a rider?

"Against the fence," said rodeo clown Fernando Billsie of Gallup, who has sustained broken ribs and other serious injuries in past rodeos. "It's more scary to take a hit by a fence than out in the middle of the arena."

Rocket Ryan of Bozeman, Mont., was on hand to entertain the crowd during slow periods of the rodeo.

Dressed like a rodeo clown and carrying a large industrial-strength pogo stick, he said, "I love coming to the Navajo Nation. Everybody is friendly. They take good care of us. We get great food. And it's not too hot - it's under 100."

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