Cowboy # 76 rides

Peter Killen, cowboy # 76, with cousin Finn Killeen, # 77.

Mutton bustin' and kids' rodeo draw big crowd

By JORDAN PASCALE / Lincoln Journal Star

Hold on tight! That's the best advice the 96 kids who were about to ride some sheep received.

The large group got a crash course in all things rodeo Monday night at the Lancaster County Super Fair. The kids, ages 3 to 12 years old, "busted mutton," learned how to rope and did other rodeo activities.

Six-Four-year-old Peter Killeen was ready to dominate that sheep.

"I rode on my dad a lot at home, so I have lots of practice," the cowboy boot-clad kid said from his father's arms before the ride. "I'm not scared of it."

But the sheep proved to be more powerful than Peter's dad, Marty -- it bucked Peter off its back in a few seconds and left him crying for a minute.

Equipped with a batting helmet for safety, the rider's goal is to hold on to the sheep -- a buckin' bronco for tots -- as long as he can. It always ends with a tumble and a cloud of dirt.

Most leave the arena with huge smiles. Others, like a little girl with pigtails and a pink plaid shirt, came off in tears.

"It's just dirt," her parents said to console the girl who face-planted and got dirt in her mouth and hair. "Don't worry."

A piggyback ride from dad fixed her sorrows.

Another little boy lost a shoe.

It's the second time the fair and KX 96 country radio station sponsored the event.

It drew first-timers in plainclothes and experienced rodeo kids dressed in cowboy hats and boots. More than a dozen were turned away.

"It's always very popular," said Lorraine McClain with McClain's Mutton Busters, a rodeo company based out of Republican City.

The family has been running shows for 19 years.

The top four riders advanced to the Midwest Mutton Bustin' Finals, which will be during the Women's Pro Rodeo on Oct. 14 and 15 at the Lancaster Event Center.