story by Lily Weinacht
Before Mike Stephen of Springview, Nebraska, jumped his first steer at 31, he was on the baseball diamond, playing on a variety of amateur teams in the summers. He even tried out for the Cincinnati Reds and Chicago Cubs during his career. “But I got to the point where I’d been playing baseball for twenty-some years and I thought it was a good time to transition from that to falling off horses,” Mike says with a laugh. “I ranch and I’ve been around horses all my life. Steer wrestling is probably the only sport I learned to do the right way the first time. I went down to Oklahoma and got to jump off some of Sean Mulligan’s NFR horses. I was very fortunate to jump off that caliber of horses, and I crawled off some bales and then started jumping steers that first day.”
Mike started practicing in November of 2007, and the following summer, he was traveling and competing with Gabe Taylor in NSRA rodeos. He also competes on the PRCA Badlands Circuit. “Gabe has helped mold me, and he’s a fantastic hazer. I’m fortunate to have Gabe and Sean in my corner to help me, and I attribute all my knowledge and success to those two guys.” Mike, 41, is also a teacher and has coached football the last 17 years, along with girls and boys basketball and track. He emphasizes camaraderie to his students often, and he values the same camaraderie in rodeo. “When I rodeo, I’m around people who are interested in the same things I am. I call Gabe the endless optimist because he can see the worst steer and have a game plan to win. It drives me to be around those people, and even at forty-one, I’m competitive because I’m a strength coach and I work out every day.”
After college, Mike moved back to Springview, where his family has ranched the last 100 years. He and his brother, Tom, bought the family ranch and Mike started teaching at Keya County High School. “They created the athletic director position for me down here seventeen years ago, and I absolutely love the kids. They keep me young, and I like seeing them reach their goals at the end of the season and the accolades they receive for their work ethic. I also like getting to know the kids outside of school, and one of them rodeos. We’re getting him started steer wrestling, and watching him progress is very gratifying as a coach and a mentor.”
Along with coaching and ranching, Mike is raising his two daughters, Allie, 11, and Zayle, 7. They both run barrels, and Allie recently started roping. “We pick and choose the rodeos that are close, and they’re involved in the day to day operation of the ranch. I’ve taught them that they can start something later in life and still be competitive. They travel with me all the time, and Gabe is a great mentor to them. It’s nothing new to have a trailer full of kids going to the rodeo with us!”
Gabe has also helped Stephen stay mounted in the steer wrestling, and Stephen and Ty Melvin are partnering on a mare. “We travel with Jake Fulton and ride some of his horses, and Brian Fulton and Linn Churchill are people that mentored me as well,” says Stephen. “I’ve always been a horse fanatic, and I bought some fillies by Sixes Pick, so I’m trying to get some good ranch raised quarter horses going.
“I’d like to make the circuit finals, and I’d like to make both the NSRA and M-SRA finals this year,” Mike finishes. “I’ve made the Nebraska finals a few times, and since I’ve stepped down from coaching football, which conflicted with the Mid States finals, I plan on becoming a member with the M-SRA for the first time this year.”
