story by Lindsay King
Raesh Casebolt catches cattle in two ways; either with a rope or his Black Mouth Cur dogs. The Ryan, Oklahoma, cowboy competes in everything involving a rope, including ribbon roping, tie-down roping, team roping, chute dogging and goat tying. “Calf roping is easily my favorite. I like that it is just me and my horse. I feel bad when I let someone else down, so calf roping does not have that kind of pressure,” said the 15-year-old, who started on a pony when he was five years old, pen roping calves with his dad. He competed in the MRCA of Texas when he was 8 and competes alongside his brothers Foreman, 12, and Crosby, 8. “Our parents are our biggest supporters, they pay for everything and haul us everywhere we need to go.”
Todd, the boys’ dad, taught them to rope at an early age and continues to be their coach today. “My mom, Heather, helps us anyway she can. If we go to a rodeo on a weekend and I have homework she will sit in the back seat and help me. I appreciate them both so much, there is no way I could ever pay them back for what they do. I am forever grateful.” Todd was a tie-down roper back in the day, now his rodeo friends’ kids compete alongside Raesh. “I love getting to hear all the stories from back when my dad was rodeoing.”
His one rodeo goal is to win high school nationals in the calf roping, just like his role model, and dad, did. Last year he finished fourth in the boys breakaway roping, sending him to Nationals for the first time. “When I think too, much I have bad runs, so I just try and do what I already know how to do. At home I practice like every steer is for a $20 million jackpot.”
The Ryan High School eighth grader is also a football and basketball player, serving as a quarter back and safety on the field as well as a wing and post on the court. “My football team started with a bunch of kids that did not play a whole lot and this season we only lost two games. It has been fun to be a part of that and is why football is my favorite.” He is also involved in his FFA chapter at school and plans to start judging livestock in the future. Two years ago, Raesh started hunting pigs and baying cows with his dogs. “Baying” cows with dogs is just simply “herding” them…keeping them bunched up together with the use of dogs for the purpose of moving cattle.
“Gage Williams introduced me to it and I have had anywhere from 10 to 13 dogs here at a time. I like to get them as puppies, so I can train them the way I want to.” He teaches his dogs to mind and then instinct takes over when they go out looking for hogs or bay cows.
Running cattle on winter wheat pastures keeps the Casebolt family at home most of the winter, but they jump back in for the spring season of OKJHSRA events. “It is a good association to be a part of, everyone knows each other, and they are all good people. The best part is getting to represent my state at Nationals though.” His favorite events take place in Guthrie, Oklahoma, at the Lazy E, where the boxes are underneath the upper bleachers. Raesh hopes to follow in his dad’s footsteps and run a ranch one day. “My dad works for my grandpa now, but he is slowly building his own herd. Ranching is what I have grown up doing.” Naturally, the best advice Raesh has gotten comes from his dad: “never give up and think smart.”
