It doesn’t surprise Rustin or Kama Bruns that their kids love rodeo.
“Our kids grew up on horses. I would be pregnant and riding horses and they would be babies and riding with us. So, it was pretty natural just to go in and start rodeoing,” Kama said.
It’s an early morning in June and we are sitting outside near the family’s chicken coop.
In addition to a small flock of laying hens, the family’s primary focus are Angus and Hereford cattle which they raise with Rustin’s parents, Bob and Roberta, on the family’s ranch near Plankinton.
Horses are part of everyday life for the Bruns family because they use them year-round to help with cattle work – to move feedlot cattle, to sort pairs, to move cows from one pasture to the next, to do health and calving checks.
And when the workday is over, they and their horses head to the arena to practice for the upcoming rodeo.
17-year-old Royce Bruns explains.
“We ride horse every day and rope every other day and rope the dummy every evening,” Royce said.
Royce is focused on training for the 2023 South Dakota State Finals. He recently qualified to compete in calf roping and team roping.
His sister, 15-year-old Layce, competes in breakaway roping, but hasn’t qualified for the Rodeo Finals yet, so she has a lot riding on the upcoming June 9 regional rodeo held in Watertown.
“I missed my calf both days, so I don’t have any points right now, but hopefully we can get some points,” Layce said.
Rodeo athletes need to earn three points in their event at a regional rodeo to qualify for the State Rodeo Finals. And there are only four regional rodeos.
Like all rodeo events, breakaway roping requires skill and perfect timing. To win the three points she needs to qualify requires Layce to rope the calf and do it faster than most of the other competitors.
“Rodeo makes you tougher… mentally tougher. If you miss, you’re always thinking, “I can get them next time,’” Layce said.
Along with training for her upcoming event, Layce and her older brother, Royce, also make time to help their younger brothers, Tyce and Chayce get ready for their events.
“It’s nice because they teach me things, and I can see what they do and it makes me better,” Tyce said.
Tyce Bruns is 11 and team-ropes with his friend, Grace Saienga. And even though Tyce and his younger brother, Chayce are not yet old enough to compete in the upcoming Rodeo Finals, they will definitely be in the crowds cheering.
Chayce shared his best words of advice for his older siblings: “Go get-em!”
Sportsmanship, mentorship, optimism, perseverance, goal setting and responsibility are all reasons Kama and Rustin are happy their children enjoy rodeo.
“The actual rodeo is a competition, but it’s mostly a competition with each individual. Each kid gets their personal records and they have goals – they want to be faster or ride harder,” Kama explained.
And unlike school-sanctioned sports, Rustin explained that rodeo places more responsibility on the individual athlete. First of all, a horse plays a critical role in a rodeo athlete’s success.
“It’s different than a sport in town. The school gives you your uniform and you get on the bus and they take care of you and get you there. It’s a whole different deal with rodeo. I mean you need to take care of a horse. You need to have all the equipment – you can’t just throw a horse in a trailer and go there. You need to make sure you have your saddles, your water buckets, your hay,” Rustin said.
Rustin grew up competing in rodeo with his family. His Uncle Vernon Niles taught him to rope in his grandparents’ arena. He was competing at the collegiate rodeo level when he and Kama met. They were agriculture business students at Western Dakota Technical College.
“I grew up showing cattle and sheep and we ran cattle, we always used horses, but we never roped or did any of that, when we started dating he taught me how to rope, then I was team roping with him just for fun, that is how I got to know it and love it,” Kama said.
The fact that rodeo is a sport the entire family does together is another reason the couple love it. Throughout the summer, it provides them with an opportunity to take a break from ranch chores and spend time together and with other farm and ranch families.
Rustin Bruns.
“It’s like a huge family. All the guys and gals I used to rodeo with, and now it’s their kids. It’s very generational. At night you sit around your trailers and campers and all eat and grill together. You know, it’s basically like a camping trip with a rodeo event,” Rustin said.
We learned that Layce Bruns did not qualify for the finals this year. But she will be in the stands along with the rest of her family cheering on her brother Royce during the 2023 South Dakota High School Rodeo Finals.
