The small city of Brawley was the center of the universe last week and bringing in Cowboys and cowgirls from across the country to compete in the Cattle Call Rodeo. That is because it is one that they could win money and to qualify for the national finals in Las Vegas. One event aims to draw local competitors it is called team Penning. When you come to the probably rodeo you can expect to see the horse race where three cowboys try to tame a very wild horse and ride it across the arena. You can see roping, barrel racing, bull riding. You have three riders and you also have title member zero title member 029. The announcer calls and the three writers head toward the cattle and the announcer calls the cattle number out so the writers have to find all three of their numbers and get them out of the herd as quickly as they can without any other cattle coming out and they put them in the pen and raise her hand and the fastest timeline. We first got involved with my dad and we started shortly after he did and I think he's been in the rodeo every year since that's so for about 27 years competing is interesting. We either went together or we lose together. The winning together is fantastic. The losing together stinks. I guess we bond closer because we are winning together or losing together and as my children are growing up and starting to do this we are probably harder on each other and we hold each other to higher standards but it makes the wedding that much more special when we are winning as a family. In the year 2000 I was fortunate enough to win the probably rodeo queen title so I was our local rodeo queen and I was also with my mom and dad in that rodeo. We won the first and the second one and we came back on Sunday and we ended up winning the whole rodeo that year. Where all just on cloud nine. It was the best year and the best rodeo and we just thank God for that experience. When we are out in their arena we try to communicate to each other and always try to watch to see what we are doing and what the cattle is doing. There is a lot of yelling at each other to let each other know what we are doing or what needs to be done. We've been together so long that sometimes the communication does it even need to be said. We just know what we are going to do and we just try to do our jobs the best that we can and get it done as fast as we can. Today we did not do so well. We had a tough draw and the cattle were very spooky in scattering and we did not get them pinned. I think we were all very disappointed coming out of the arena and very frustrated. It is different in the rodeo. You have a lot of people that you know watching use of the pressure is really on. We all feel that pressure every year in the rodeo. So when you do not do very well, it doesn't sit really good. I think for us it is sitting right here. I have my three boys my 10-year-old and my eight-year-old and my five-year-old and we are trying to teach them the ropes and how to pin and this is the future and we are just going to do it as long as we can and I'm glad my boys are interested in it. I'm glad that we of the horses and the cattle that we can all learn and practice together and coaching other together. As long as the Lord blesses us with those gifts, we are just going to do it as long as we can. Brett Leavitt participated with her mom and dad at this year's probably Cattle Call Rodeo. That first-person feature was produced by Brooke Ruth still ahead he showed us the absurdity of the modern world we would hear about a new biography of Franz Kafka.
Brett Leavitt's most memorable Cattle Call Rodeo was the year she was named Cattle Call Queen. Not only was she royalty at Brawley's main event of the year, but she, her dad and her mom also won the team penning competition that year.
"We won the first go, we won the second go, the Saturday night performance. We came back Sunday and we ended up winning the whole rodeo that year. We were all just on cloud nine," Leavitt said.
At this year's rodeo, the team didn't do as well.
"Competing as a family is interesting, we either win together or we lose together. The winning together is fantastic, the losing together stinks," Leavitt said.
In team penning, three riders on horseback compete to corral three numbered cows into a pen in less than 90 seconds out of a herd of 30 cattle.
Hit the play button above to hear Leavitt talk about competing in the Cattle Call Rodeo as a family.
