PRINTGood ride cowboy
The Baurichter boys know a thing or two about women and muddy boots
Heather McGuire
Forrest Baurichter, 17, practices on his homemade bull after school. The mechanical practice machine is made from two 50-gallon drums and is powered by a washing machine motor. Forrest says he practices 20 to 30 minutes every night to train for weekend rodeos.
May 15, 2008 | 12:00 a.m. CST
The gate bursts open, and a horse springs from the pen. The rider, in a cowboy hat and chaps, kicks his legs forward and clutches the leather rigging tightly as he adjusts his body position to the movements of the bucking animal.
The crowd waits to see if the teenage rodeo veteran will hold on or if he will succumb to the strength of his ride.
19 June 2000, "Small in the saddle"
Eight years after the Baurichter brothers, then 7 and 9, were featured in a June 2000 issue of Vox, the boys are still involved in rodeo competitions.
From buckin’ broncs to honky-tonk
In a room decorated with ropes, saddles and a mechanical practice machine, Kaleb Bauricter, 15, answers text messages on his phone as his older brother, Forrest, 17, explains the judging process of bareback riding.
“You aren’t even talking that much,” Forrest says. “You are texting that girl.”
“I’m texting a couple girls,” Kaleb says.
Kaleb, now a sophomore, and Forrest, a junior, attend Hickman High School and are dealing with typical teenage concerns. “Riding, school and women.” That’s what Kaleb says he has been preoccupied with since Vox last spoke with him.
When it comes to riding, the boys saddle up and get down to business. Both brothers ride for the Missouri High School Rodeo Association. Forrest earned the honor Reserve Champion, or second-highest scorer, in saddle bronc and Champion in the bareback competition last year, which qualified him for National High School Rodeo Finals. He finished 24th out of 115 contestants.
For Kaleb, success comes at a cost. He recently took a year off because of back injuries. Before that, he earned the title of Reserve Champion in the 2005 Pee Wee Bull Rider and is ranked 6th in the MHSRA Bull Riding division. The belt buckles that line his walls make the rides worth it.
Moving forward
Graduating next year doesn’t mean it’s time for Forrest to hang up his mud-crusted boots and retire from rodeo. It means he has to start thinking about colleges and what program he wants to ride for. Scouts from state universities have already contacted him.
In preparation for college-level rodeo, Forrest drives to Missouri Valley College twice a month to practice with coach Ken Mason.
Kaleb says he is proud of his older brother for his plans to graduate and go to college but hopes Forrest stays on the right track. “To be honest, if he starts practicing more and stays out of the partying and all of that bad stuff, he could be pretty good at it,” he says.
According to Kaleb, pressure to be better than his brother doesn’t exist because they don’t normally ride in the same event. “Competition, yeah because we are brothers, but then again we also cheer each other on and help each other out,” Kaleb says.
Still involved after all these years
All the sweat, blood and tears the boys have shed have been cleaned up by one man — their father. David Baurichter, 52, has been someone the boys could rely on for support.
His interest in getting down and dirty started years ago when he studied training videos and tried rodeo “to get the girls.” His passion for the sport spilled over onto his sons.
David asked his boys if they were interested in mutton bustin’ (sheep riding). They replied, “Oh, we can’t do it, we don’t have spurs.” So he bought them some cheap spurs. They then said, “Oh, we can’t do it, we don’t have any chaps.” So David bought them chaps. They were 3 and 5 then.
Forrest started riding, but Kaleb waited for a few years. “Then he looked at me and was like ‘I’m tired of carrying Forrest’s rope,’” David says. “‘I want my own, so I can do it.’”
These days his participation in the rodeo consists of paying for equipment and entrance fees as well as recording the boys’ performances just as he did eight years ago. He used to offer advice, but now the boys tell each other what they did wrong.
“I was told by Kaleb three years ago that my job is just to drive him and pull his rope if he needs me,” David says. “I could have got mad, but I looked at it this way — they were right.”
He was born to ride
Kaleb was born with a birth defect in his back, which has worsened throughout the years because of rodeo riding.
“That man, if he lands on his butt one more time, he’s done for,” says his friend and riding partner Tyler Davidson. “It might paralyze him. He’s hurt his back too many times.”
Still, Kaleb insists on riding. “I’m not gonna quit,” Kaleb says. “I love doing it. I’m sure I’ll get hurt. There’s that chance of getting paralyzed, but really anyone can from getting bucked off.”
This very passion the boys and their father have invested in both time and money is worth the risk. David won’t stop him. After all, it is in the boys’ blood.
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