For a high schooler set to compete on two of the biggest rodeo stages in America, Reece Brown is remarkably confident.
It might have something to do with his successes on the high school circuit, cementing himself as one of the best team ropers in the state of Florida while working with multiple partners over the past three years. Or it might just be because he’s able to do what he’s always loved to do, going back to the first time someone handed him a rope as a child and taught him how to throw. This is who Brown is, and the Plant City High student will spend this entire month working to get some new hardware to show for it.
He only has two tournaments to compete in this month, but the driving schedule is enough to keep him fully booked for the next month. At this time, he’s in Shawnee, Oklahoma for the International Finals Youth Rodeo with his roping partner, Aaron Barber. When that’s over, he’ll drive to Rock Springs, Wyoming to compete in the national championship.
GETTING STARTED
Brown’s father, Russell Brown, was the one who first got the boy into roping. But while Russell mostly did it just for fun, Brown got hooked early on and knew he wanted to take it somewhere.
“Ever since I’ve been able to walk,” Brown says.
When he would go with his dad to work, at Brown’s Jewelers, he made a name for himself as the little kid with the rope in his hand. More specifically, the one who tried to rope just about everything he could see.
“I’ve walked around up there, in that little concrete building, and I’ve roped the fence,” Brown says. “I’ve roped all kinds of stuff.”
He got his first head horse when he was about 8 years old, borrowing one from his father. He never looked back.
At Plant City High School, he joined the Florida High School Rodeo Association circuit, and has consistently won saddles and buckles in the team roping division.
This isn’t Brown’s first time competing in the IFYR tournament, so he’s used to the stakes that this coming week will bring. To get to this tournament, and to nationals, competitors must finish in the top four in their event.
“We were number one in the state of Florida, in the high school rodeo, so we won the saddle and all that,” Brown says. Shawnee’s just our first stop. It’s a big deal — there’s, like, 900 contestants, so you’ve got people in every state competing.”
Brown last competed in the event two years ago, as a freshman. He says that he would have competed last year if not for the fact that his then-partner had to have surgery following a shoulder injury. Regardless of where Brown and Barber finish at Shawnee, they’re Rock Springs bound.
THE CIRCUIT
The high school circuit isn’t an officially sanctioned sport, but functions in the same way that a club team would. As soon as the school year starts, Brown must commit to one event per month. Brown and Barber, who is from Lake City, often rely on sponsors to get the funding they need to compete in events and cover the cost of traveling. Brown’s current sponsors include Brown’s Jewelers, Southside Western & Outdoor Wear, and Crop Protection Services.
Each competition is held over one weekend, and winners are determined by total points earned.
“You’re gone for a weekend, and the competition is two days,” Brown says. “You get one steer on Saturday, one steer on Sunday. Whoever has the most points wins it.”
In this case, due to the size of the competitions, both the IFYR and national championship tournaments will last for a week. Factor in driving time — Brown prefers driving to flying — and these two tournaments will eat up a month of the teens’ time. It’s a snippet of what a professional competitor’s life is like, but Brown has seen enough to know that it’s the life he wants to lead once he graduates from high school next year.
“It’s one of them deals,” Brown says. “You’re always on the road. You’re always busy. You’ve always got a horse. It’s basically an expensive hobby. You can make money, but you’ve got to be doing it every day. There’s people that spend 11 months out of the year on the road.”
He wants to go to college somewhere out west, where he can get a scholarship for team roping, and then commit himself to going pro full-time.
“It’s what I’m shooting for, but we’ll see what happens,” Brown says.
Contact Justin Kline at jkline@plantcityobserver.com.
HIGH SCHOOL RODEO
The high school rodeo circuit is governed by the FHSRA, a body independent of the FHSAA. School teams function on the club level. For more information, visit fhsra.com.