by Ruth Nicolaus
Alan Hennigh is the new Kansas Pro Rodeo Association judging director.
The Erick, Oklahoma cowboy has been around rodeo all his life, involved either as a contestant, producer, or judge.
The son of an all-around Rodeo Cowboys Association hand, he competed in all the events in junior and high school rodeo. “If they had an event, I thought I needed to be in it.” He won several high school state championships in all of the events except bull riding, but tie-down roping was his favorite.
After high school, Alan attended Eastern New Mexico University in Portales. He was a member of the ENMU men’s rodeo team that went on to win the National Inter-Collegiate Rodeo championship in 1974.
He married his wife, Cathy, in 1978, and they had a son, Jeremy, and a daughter, Cayla. It was then he decided he needed a steadier paycheck. That paycheck was soon derived from horse racing. He trained and raced horses across the nation, from West Virginia to California, but sticking mostly in the Midwest.
After twelve years in the horse racing business, he decided to stay closer to home. His kids were ready to rodeo, and he needed to be there to haul them.
In 2005, after a serious accident which included a broken leg, Alan decided to quit competing and began judging rodeos full-time. He’s judged junior rodeos (the Junior Rodeo Cowboys Association and the Northwest Junior Rodeo Association), high school and college rodeos, and rodeos for the Texas Cowboys Rodeo Association, the United Pro Rodeo Association and the International Pro Rodeo Association.
There’s more to judging than the average person realizes, he says. A good judge takes his job seriously. “If you take it serious, you’ll be nervous. It’s in our hands to get the money in the right spot. That’s our job. If you’re just there for the check, I honestly think you’d better find something else to do.”
Nerves also are a part of it. “I’ve helped younger guys start (judging), and I tell them, if you’re not a little pumped when you walk out into that arena, you’d better look around. By the time you relax, you’ll think, ‘uh, oh, what just happened?’”
He judges about forty rodeos a year, and during the week, works at a crop service company.
Alan loves everything there is about rodeo. “I enjoy the competition and watching it. I can watch a (tie-down) roping till forever, till they get tired of roping. And you meet a lot of people. I have met more people judging than when I rodeoed.”
His formula for being a good judge applies to nearly everything. “Show up on time, put a smile on your face, and be willing to work. That’s basically life, right there.”
