story by Lindsay King
photos by RodeoBum.com
[ FIVE of NLBRA’s own, placed at the 2018 Jr. Ironman Championship ]
The road to the second annual Junior Ironman Championship in Guthrie, Oklahoma, is paved with long days and even longer nights for five NLBRA cowboys. The final placings came down to the last competitor in the final event. Myles Neighbors of Bentonville, Arkansas, walked away with $10,000 in his pocket and a new title on his resume. “This weekend I was competing for two people: Pryce Hancock and Daryl Nally. I grew up with Pryce and he loved everything about the sport of rodeo. He never did compete, but he passed away from brain cancer a few years ago. And Daryl is my dad’s best friend who was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer about a month ago for the second time,” said 19-year-old Myles. All the competitors said this weekend was one of their proudest moments in rodeo so far, attributing their ability to compete at this level to their time spent in the NLBRA.
MYLES NEIGHBORS
An agribusiness freshman at Northeast Texas Community College, all Myles truly wants to do in life is rodeo. “I got a scholarship to rodeo, so I’ll finish these two years and then I want to go to the PRCA. Maybe in the future I will take over my dad’s plumbing business, but not before I take a shot at rodeo for real,” Myles said. Growing up around steer wrestlers, Myles said he is bred to take down a steer with his bare hands. “Probably the hardest part about rodeo is the mental game. I struggle with just as much as the next guy, but you have to find a way to block it out because it is such an instrumental part of being a true winner inside and out of the arena,” Myles said. He is on his second PRCA permit so he can finish college.
“My proudest moment so far was this weekend for sure, it is a big accomplishment of a dream and a goal I had set for myself. Winning the Junior Ironman has set me up for coming back in the next couple of years and for all the other things I want to do in life and rodeo,” Myles said. Each time he backed into the box, all that ran through is head was to get a clean and crisp catch. “One thing I really did not want to do the whole weekend was break a barrier or get a 60. I ended up breaking two barriers, but I made good runs regardless.” Each day he simply wakes up happy to spend his day with the people he loves, doing what they all love the most: rodeo. “There are too many people to thank for this accomplishment, but my parents, Jason Thomas and Justin Shaffer are some of the big names,” Myles added.
RYDER LANDER
Taking fourth place was Kiln, Mississippi, native Ryder Lander. “It is hard to name just one person who inspired me to work towards this event, but if I had to it would be Trevor Brazile. I look up to him, but I also recognize that he is just a person like anybody else. He acts that way also, which makes him an even better person to look up to,” said 20-year-old Ryder. A freshman majoring in business administration at Pearl River Community College, Ryder is on the rodeo team and competes in local amateur events. “Once I graduate I want to get my auctioneer license and start selling equipment. While in college I hope to make the circuit finals, so I can work towards competing in the NFR in the next couple of years,” Ryder said.
His single favorite moment from the weekend was his final draw in the steer wrestling. “The first steer I wrestled I got a 54-second run on him. Then my final steer was the only steer anybody had gotten a good time on the whole weekend, it was a relief knowing I had a shot at a good time on him. The steer I drew in round one cost Wyatt Hansen the title. I definitely felt his pain on that one.” Typically, a header and tie-down roper, Ryder appreciates watching his horses work well for him since he trains most them. “I only competed in the NLBRA one year, but it really got me ready for competing in high caliber events. I did not know it, but I got to see some of my competition last year in the NLBRA, it helped me prepare mentally for the weekend of some really tough rounds.” Along with qualifying for the Junior Ironman, one of Ryder’s proudest rodeo accomplishments is being one of only three ropers to make it to the American in both team roping and calf roping this year.
CULLEY MORGAN 
As a first-generation cowboy, Culley Morgan is originally from Louisiana but lived in Montana for 10 years before settling in Checotah, Oklahoma, three years ago specifically to high school rodeo. “One of my proudest accomplishments is making it to nationals all six years I high school and junior high rodeoed. Winning state last year in the steer wrestling was definitely my biggest win so far,” Culley said with pride. Though a skilled steer wrestler, Culley believes heading is his true calling in life. “Growing up I got to spend time with Clay and Travis Tryan, I always wanted to be just like them in rodeo and life. There are very few occasions that I will go somewhere without my rope, you just never know when you might need it.”
Though this is his first year to compete in the junior ironman, Culley helped a Kentucky competitor in the team roping last year. “I did not have the greatest weekend as far as competition goes, but this event was still incredible. I cannot tell the Lazy E thank you enough for starting this event and doing such an incredible job with it,” said Culley, the sixth-place finisher respectively. “I was only in the NLBRA my senior year, but it elevated my level of competition exponentially.” He was reserve champion in the team roping, third in the steer wrestling and rookie of the year at the NLBRA finals this past summer. He is dedicated to competing in the IPRA, ACRA and CRRA this year, so he can be ready to start his career in the PRCA in 2019. “The hardest part about rodeo and preparing for the Ironman is staying consistent. This pertains to everything from getting up every morning to feed horses and making sure they are sound to practicing long into the night more often than not. I want to thank everyone who helped me along the way and were there on those long nights,” Culley finished.
CARSON GOOD
The long trip back to Long Valley, South Dakota, gave eighth-place finisher Carson Good time to realize how large the national stage he just competed on truly was. “After I left I was a little disappointed I did not win even a dime the whole weekend. But then I realized just how fortunate I was to have even made it to the Junior Ironman. One of my highlights of the weekend was competing alongside my friends from the NLBRA and high school rodeo all on the same dirt as the pros,” said the 20-year-old Chadron State College rangeland and livestock management major. With aspirations to become a rangeland specialist for the NRCS, Carson is also on the rodeo team at school. “At college rodeos I do all three timed events, but for pro and amateur rodeos I stick with my main two: steer wrestling and team roping. Steer wrestling is by far my favorite, both my dad and his brother did it when they were younger and going to rodeos.” Carson followed exactly in their footsteps in the event and then again by winning the steer wrestling at SDHSRA finals twice, just like his dad and uncle did.
Without access to calves small enough to tie, Carson thinks he might have been more competitive in the event if he could have started tying sooner than two weeks before the Ironman. “Luckily, the college got some calves, so I could practice on them. I thought I was going to be rusty, but I was surprised by how well the practice actually went. I could have probably done better in the calf roping but I also did not take a 60 in the event over the whole weekend.” The first round did not go quite as planned, but Carson pushed through the mental block and proved himself in round two. “That was probably the most memorable part of the whole weekend, proving to not only everyone there but also to myself that I deserved to be there. I just want to thank everyone for the help and support throughout my rodeo career so far, whether it was going to a little rodeo or something like the Junior Ironman. Without all the support, I don’t know where I would be at today,” Carson added.
LAINE MOORE
At just 17 years old, Laine Moore was the youngest competitor at the Lazy E Arena. A steer wrestler and header in the team roping, Laine put the most thought into heeling and tie-down roping. “When I first started rodeo all we did was team rope, so I decided to try out steer wrestling. I like doing something different than the rest of my family. And it is a lot more challenging than team roping,” said the Asbury High School junior. While preparing for the weekend, Laine worked on tying calves more than he did roping them. “The biggest part of my preparation was talking to Dustin Buchannan from Georgia. He helped me a lot with sharpening my heeling and working on the mental aspect.” The hardest part of rodeo for Laine is the mental game. “I used to tear myself up when I messed something up in the arena. I have gotten a lot better. This weekend was proof of that. You have to stay positive even when you mess up one event because you have several more to go just in that round,” Laine said.
One of his proudest moments of the weekend came in the second round of heading. “I brought a buddy of mine to help me in the team roping and I just remember when he caught those two feet and we stretched that steer out, it was electric for both of us. I broke the barrier on that steer, but the overall run felt incredible.” Though Laine placed tenth, he is the only competitor who gets the opportunity to qualify for the Junior Ironman again next year. “This weekend taught me to be smart about everything, this event is one of the toughest marathons in rodeo. You have to be smart and use your head in every run.” To prepare for next year, Laine plans to work on his consistency in the practice pen. “The key to this event really is not trying to go fast, but to just get a time on everything. My plan moving forward is to keep being positive and just rope competitively like I do at home,” Laine finished.
The Junior Ironman Championship was designed to attract a younger generation of cowboys to one of the toughest competitions on dirt. All five competitors could not express their gratitude enough for the opportunity to take part in this growing event and the support they received from their friends, family and all the fans who came to Guthrie.
