Three generations of racers rolled past the barrels last Wednesday night at the John L. Kuykendall Event Arena in Llano, and I’ll just bet my lucky horseshoe that’s some sort of record in itself.
It all started back in Corpus Christi in the mid 1940s when a little girl named Mary Donna Elsea got a horse for her 10th birthday. By age 12 she was ropin’ calves and winning competitions. In fact, she was so good that as a Junior, she won the 1960 Texas State High School Break Away Roping Competition. She enjoyed competition so much so that, after graduating high school, she decided to go for some barrel racing titles as well. She got pretty good at that too, so she entered Open Rodeo competitions (barrel racing and roping) and made it a way of life. She continues to compete. Yes, continues.
Four years ago, Mary Donna did well enough in the American Barrel Races’ qualifying rodeos to compete in the Semi-Finals at Cowtown in Ft. Worth. (For all of you who don’t know any better, this is a big deal!) Over 300 top-notch women and men competed that day, ranging in age from thirteen to seventy. Only the top 12 would make it to the finals. Mary Donna placed 7th! She was the seventy year old...and that thirteen year old competitor was her granddaughter, Rainey. But I’m getting ahead of the story.
Meanwhile, back in Corpus Christi, a fellow student by the name of Ronnie Smothers was entering the bull riding competitions in the same Texas Youth Rodeo Association events in which Mary Donna excelled as a roper. Before he knew it, Smothers was smitten. She lassoed him in, and they married, riding off into the sunset. Oh wait, that’s a different movie.
Mary Donna and Ronnie Smothers rode right back into the arena, this time with baby Rhonda. At age two Rhonda was competing in Showmanship at local rodeos. By age five she was running barrels and break away ropin’ just like her mom. She competed all through high school, eating, breathing, sleeping rodeo, and qualifying for the National High School Finals. At age 18 she acquired her Women’s Professional Rodeo Association permit and quickly won enough money/competitions to qualify for a Women’s Professional Rodeo (Barrel Racing) card. She then saddled up and headed west to Southwest Texas Jr. College in Uvalde where she competed on the Rodeo Team, qualified for the National College finals, and earned an Ag degree to boot.
It was after college, when Rhonda joined the rodeo circuit, that she met Rich Skelton. Rich had lived in Llano and trained and later partnered with World Champion roper Tee Woolman, winning titles with much success, and leaving the competition in the dust. Apparently they were all so busy ropin’ and ridin’ that it took a while for them to find time in their busy schedules to do anything else, but eventually the dust settled, and Rich and Rhonda rode off into the sunset.
No. Wait, sorry, that’s Hollywood again...this is Llano.
So, once settled in Llano, Rich and Rhonda set about adding another barrel racer to the family lineage. If anyone was destined to be a barrel racer, it was Rainey Skelton. She too, was riding before she could walk. Rainey, now 16, doesn’t remember not barrel racing.
In 7th grade, Rainey qualified and competed in the Junior High Nationals which were held in Lebanon, Tennessee. In high school she did even better. The Texas State High School Region 10 holds 12 rodeos from September to March in Hamilton. This past school year Rainey, a sophomore, won Barrel Racing and Best All-Around Cowgirl (that’s an all-around combo of roping, team-roping, goat tying, & barrel racing). Last year she set the JLK Arena record of 14.824. And this year, on her birthday, she won the San Antonio Open Breakaway Competition. Nice to have your cake and eat it too!
One might think that once the next generation is in the saddle, winning titles, keeping the family name up on the competition boards (and in the newspapers), filling the bureaus with belt buckles, the shelves with trophies, and the tack room with saddles, that the previous generation might slow down a little, kick back in a rocker and issue advice from the back porch. But you’d be wrong.
They call themselves The Three Amigos, each putting forth their best effort to win, while cheering each other on to victory. These women were born to compete. It’s in their blood. And while many athletes continue to compete at different levels and different age groups as they mature, there aren’t a whole lot of sports where the age group is “open” and one might find herself competing against her mother. And grandmother. It’s almost surreal. But that’s exactly what happens most Wednesday nights in Llano when three generations of barrel racers take the reins. Now that’s a Hollywood movie.
