story by Siri Stevens
Steve Stone lives in Rio Vista, Texas. “It’s a little slice of heaven,” he says. “I love Texas. I’ve been 10,000 miles in the last 45 days, and there’s some beautiful places in this country, but I love Texas.” Steve is the bass guitar player for the Casey Donahew Band, something he’s done for 13 years. “I make a lot more money playing music than I do roping,” he said, but admits that whenever he’s home, he ropes. “I’m gone half the week, then I rope and raise bucking horses.” His wife, Jamie, and daughter, Kyndall (19), join him in the arena to rope steers. His son, Riley (18), who also ropes, took up his dad’s previous rodeo event, bareback riding, and that led the family into another adventure raising bucking horses. “When my son was 15 and he wanted to ride, I put bucking chutes in the arena and we bought some mares and he practiced on the mares and their babies ended up at the futurities and did pretty good, so now we’re part of the UBHA.”
Steve started roping 10 years ago. “I grew up as a teenager riding bareback horses. I started roping in my late 20s.” Steve had a family, and once that happened, he was shoeing horses for a living, and playing bass on the weekends. “That’s when I got interested in roping.” Steve went to college at Sull Ross State University in Alpine, Texas, to rodeo and learn how to be a farrier. “I wanted to stay around rodeo and shoeing helped me do that as well as spend more time with my kids. The music got too busy to shoe, so I gave that up.” Music is something he picked up during college and he started playing with Casey, who was a friend of his, around the Stock Yards. “Here we are almost 13 years later doing 120 shows a year – from New York City to Alberta and Seattle.”
COWBOY Q&A
How much do you practice?
I’m a #4 header and heeler – I don’t get to go much. I’m gone half the week, the last thing I want is for my wife to take care of roping cattle. It’s so nice to hook that Heel-O-Matic machine up and within an hour we’re done. I’ve only been home for a week from a tour, and there’s a lot I need to do – planting wheat is one. We also raise bucking horses.
Who do you respect most in
the world?
My Lord Jesus – you can tell by the life I live – I’m humbled by the opportunities that I’ve been blessed with. I couldn’t ever imagine what my life is now – I was in Youth ministry.
What makes you happy?
My family and home. This is a new chapter – my daughter and son have moved out, so my wife and I are at home without kids. I can’t wait to see what they do. My family means more to me than anything else.