Rodeo Hall of Fame's Reeves to teach in Malta

This Saturday, January 26, a free, one-day rodeo school will be held at the Milk River Pavilion in Malta and will be hosted and taught by 2001 World Champion bronc rider and ProRodeo Hall of Famer Tom Reeves.

"We are going to have a Western lifestyle-type school," Reeves said. "Or, more or less, a rodeo school where we also focus on visiting with youths and talking about life issues."

Reeves said at the Saturday rodeo school, there will be bucking machines and other training machinery as well as bucking horses. He said the idea of the class is to teach students about the rodeo industry and western lifestyle, and higher education. Reeves started a youth program in his home state of South Dakota and said that future classes in Montana will be held in Fort Peck and Wolf Point.

"We even take kids to brandings and teach them to work cattle break-horses," Reeves said. "We go into school and visit with children as well so that we don't miss anybody. We have been going for about a year now in South Dakota. I was born and raised on an Indian reservation and we are working with many different tribes. The Professional Bull Riders Association is behind us, and so is the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association. We are just growing slowly so we keep the integrity of what we are trying to achieve."

Reeves was born in 1964 in Eagle Butte, S.D., and is Rosebud Sioux (Sicangu Oyate Lakota.) His rodeo training started at a rodeo school and he went on to qualify for the first 18 National Finals Rodeos held in Las Vegas (1985-2002), including a world champion in 2001, at the age of 37. A two-time national high school champion, Reeves bought his PRCA card at age 17 and made his first NFR appearance at 21. He finished among the top 10 in the world standings 12 times and was six times among the top four. Reeves also earned a silver medallion for finishing second at the 2002 Olympic Command Performance Rodeo in Farmington, Utah, while serving as captain of the United States' championship team. He retired in 2005 with career earnings of $1,745,962 and turned his attention to stock contracting and coaching rodeo at the college level.

Reeves told the PCN, students will not be put onto any rough stock until they are confident to do so and said that if anyone shines brightly at the school, maybe bigger things could be on the horizon.

"If there are some stars, or possible stars, in the rodeo industry at the class and they want to make bronc riding or bull riding their thing, we know the right people to put them in front of," Reeves said. "But the rough stock event that we will be holding in Malta is only a small part of what we do."

Reeves said the Malta class came about after he'd talked to his friend, Dale Four Bear of Fort Peck, and Four Bear relayed a story about Malta's Tim Pankratz who recently had held a buck-out which didn't have very many contestants. (Pankratz and his wife, Leeanne, own and operate Pankratz Bucking Horses.)

"I contacted Tim and talked to him about the school and the last class we taught which had about 65 kids," Reeves said.

"I said of course," Pankratz said of the offer. "The whole school came on really fast because Tom is a mover. There has been a lot of interest and there are people coming from out of state to both help teach and to participate. There are also kids coming from Browning, and Wolf Point, and all the surrounding areas."

The class is free and Pankratz said there will be a ground school for the youngest students (including spur boards) so they can learn without having to be on horses.

Though the classes are free of charge for everyone, the school is a non-profit (501C) and donations are accepted to help keep the classes free.

"This program is where the inability to pay, your political or social affiliation will not dictate your success," Reeves concluded. "Everyone is equal and the only thing that dictates your success is hard work! We run completely on donations and anyone that is interested in participating or donating can contact me on my cell 918-964-9551."

The event gets underway at 8 a.m. at the Milk River Pavilion, everyone is welcome to attend (students, parents, and spectators alike), equipment will be provided, and there will be horses for all levels of competitors.