North Texas siblings follow father’s rodeo success through hard work, drive to win

Twenty years ago, Kirby Berry could spur a rampaging bronc in dramatic fashion on the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association circuit.

The 47-year-old Poolville businessman was a top 25 bareback rider in the PRCA’s world standings.

Today, his two sons, Leighton and Kade, are walking in his boot steps. Leighton Berry, 21, is ranked No. 6 in the PRCA’s 2020 bareback riding world standings and is on pace to earn his first trip to the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas. Kade Berry, 17, finished fourth in the bareback riding title race at last month’s National High School Finals Rodeo near Oklahoma City.

If that’s not enough, his 19-year-old daughter, Maci, has been a top break-away roping competitor on both the high school and pro circuits.

Kirby Berry’s two sons have had the advantages learning bareback riding from their father and from access to other accomplished bareback riders such as former National Finals qualifier Pete Hawkins. Berry also is in the construction building business and he has put up rodeo practice facilities for his family over the years.

Leighton and Kade began riding bareback broncs as teenagers. Last year, Leighton competed at the College National Finals Rodeo in Casper, Wyoming, for Weatherford College and finished fifth in the National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association’s bareback riding title race. He also qualified for the College National Finals this year while competing for Tarleton State, but the 2020 championships were canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic.

But while he was competing on the collegiate circuit this past school year, his pro career exploded during the early season on the PRCA circuit. He had a strong finish at the San Antonio Stock Show Rodeo in February and recently tied for first in bareback riding at the Parker County rodeo.

Kirby Berry said Leighton thrives because of hard work and extensive preparation.

“He loves the competition of it and he loves being in those pressure situations because he’s a pretty cool, calm, collected character,” Kirby said. “You can’t hardly rattle him up. He’s real methodical when he does it, he doesn’t get overly nervous. He’s prepared. He also goes to the gym a lot. He’s in tip top shape. It really shows in his riding.”

In addition to having a physical fitness regimen, Leighton, who is from Weatherford, said mental preparation has made a big difference.

“I have a big white board in my room at home that I Iook at every morning,” Leighton Berry said. “It’s got all of my goals and my steps on how to make those goals become a reality. I like to write down stuff a lot and keep my memory charged on what I’m focused on the most and when the opportunity comes, I’m ready to win instead of having to make a game plan on the spot.

“When I win, it’s not so much of a surprise or a huge exciting feeling. It’s more that this was supposed to happen, I had this written down, I had worked for it and I put in what is necessary to accomplish the goal.”

Leighton began riding bareback broncs at 15. But Kade started riding broncs about a year ago.

A high point for Kade, who is from Poolville and is home schooled, was turning in the highest score in bareback riding during the July 23 final round at the National High School Finals Rodeo at the Lazy E Arena near Guthrie, Oklahoma. He turned in an 83 aboard a pro rodeo bronc named Square Bell, which is owned by Hi Lo Rodeo, to catapult from 16th to a fourth-place finish overall.

Kirby said one reason Kade wins is because he naturally takes to aggressively spurring a bronc.

“He leaves the chute to be 90,” Kirby Berry said. “He wants to spur bucking horses. Most kids are scared they will get bucked off so they don’t want to spur. But this kid’s not afraid to get bucked off. He leaves there spurring. We have to go about things differently than normal because he’s already spurring them and now we have to kind of control it.

“He kind of lets it all hang out right out of the gate and you can see it in his videos and his pictures. We are having to go about it in a different way to make sure he stays with that horse and it doesn’t get too much behind on that horse while he’s trying to make that spur ride that he’s wanting to make.”

Kade Berry said riding a bronc correctly is physically demanding.

“It’s like lightning sticking in the same spot over and over,” he said. “It’s fast and you can’t really see much. But whenever you’re rolling those feet up, you can feel it. That horse is sending them, and he’s right in your lap and he’s pulling on you. It’s using every single muscle you can and just putting together a great spur ride.”

Like her two brothers, Maci Berry thrived on the high school rodeo circuits. She was the 2018 Texas High School Rodeo Association champion break-away roper. As a pro, she’s also clinched break-away roping titles at events that were produced by legendary athletes Larry D. Guy, Joe Beaver and Cody Ohl.

“We’ve always been taught to work hard for what we want and we’ve always put in a hard day’s work every day and do what we need to do for ourselves to win,” she said. “That’s something that my dad has taught us from the beginning.”

PRCA/WPRA update

The top riders from the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association/Women’s Professional Rodeo Association congregated last weekend in Dodge City, Kansas.

The Dodge City Rodeo turned out to be the highest-paying PRCA/WPRA show so far this summer. Some of the higher-paying pro shows such as the Cheyenne Frontier Days in Wyoming and the Calgary Stampede in Alberta have canceled because of the pandemic.

But in Dodge City, competitors vied for a rodeo record payout of $401,285, according to prorodeo.com. The previous record was $333,038 in 2018.

The rodeo was televised by the Cowboy Channel, which has its studio in the Fort Worth Stockyards. During the final round on Sunday night, former National Finals Rodeo qualifier Stevi Hillman of Weatherford turned in a time of 17.15 seconds, which helped her finish fourth overall. Hillman is ranked No. 6 in the WPRA’s barrel racing world standings and is on pace to qualify for the 2020 NFR.

Orin Larsen, a Nebraska cowboy, turned in a Dodge City rodeo bareback riding record score of 92.5 atop a bronc named Uncapped, which is owned by Pickett Rodeo. According to the PRCA, Larsen’s 92.5 broke Jason Jeter’s then record score of 91 in 2004. Jeter is from the Fort Worth area and earned multiple National Finals berths.

Circuit Finals rescheduled

The PRCA’s Ram National Circuit Finals Rodeo has been moved to Greeley, Colorado, and it’s scheduled for Sept. 10-13, according to prorodeo.com. The rodeo originally was scheduled in April in Kissimmee, Florida.

The 2020 RAM NCFR will feature more than 200 contestants from each of the 12 U.S. circuits plus Canada and Mexico. They will compete for $500,000 in prize money. The PRCA Texas Circuit, which traditionally conducts its annual finals in Waco in early January, is among the 12 U.S. geographic regions that will send contestants to the Greeley-based RNCFR.

PBR update

The Professional Bull Riders’ Unleash The Beast, the association’s top tier tour, is scheduled to stop at the Lazy E Arena near Guthrie, Oklahoma, on Aug. 14-15. A World Champions Rodeo Alliance performance also is scheduled in conjunction with the PBR’s UTB performance on Aug. 15.

The PBR also has scheduled a tour stop in Fort Worth. The UTB show is scheduled for Aug. 29-30 at Dickies Arena. For more information, visit pbr.com.