Saturday's Internet Edition, July 05, 2008.
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| Lloyd Koerth in 2004 at Twin Bridges, Montana where he was Reserve Champion. Photo was taken by a man that was compiling a book on senior athletes. |
The Progress Editor - posted Nov. 28 -
Riding around in Live Oak County you are bound to see the red truck with a dog, which looks like a Dalmatian, perfectly balanced in the back. That’s Lloyd Koerth and his faithful companion Champ.
Koerth, 49, is a world champion bull-rider that recently returned from his last rodeo. If anyone ever fit the bill for the term “Cowboy Up” it would be Koerth. Countless times, after being injured by a massive bucking bull, Koerth has picked himself up, dusted off, and started all over again.
Koerth lives by the old Texas cowboy code. You won’t catch him bragging about his accomplishments and when directly questioned he is overcome with modesty. A bashful smile runs across his lips and his eyes crinkle at the corners while he thinks about how he will answer. His integrity won’t allow for deception but he doesn’t want to brag about his accomplishments either.
Dan Ross a friend and fan of Koerth said, “He is the type of man that will give you the shirt off his back but wash it first.” Ross went on to say, when competing in the rodeo circuit he spent more time helping fellow competitors than helping himself. You could say Koerth is the epitome of a real-life Texas cowboy.
Since he was a young teen, Koerth, dreamed of being a rodeo star. Koerth was born in Karnes City and has three siblings. His oldest brother, Dale died from cancer at 21. He has another older brother, Danny and a younger sister, Ruthie. When Koerth was five-years-old the family moved from Karnes City to Alice where he grew up. Yet, Koerth was no stranger to the Live Oak area as he spent time visiting his grandparents in Whitsett and spent many a Sunday afternoon with Lester Davis in George West practicing for rodeos.
Koerth’s love of the rodeo started when he was about 13-years-old. The family had gone to a festival in Amargosa (8 miles NW of Alice) and he paid $3 to ride a steer. Koerth won 3rd place; from then on he was hooked. The next year he joined the Texas Youth Rodeo Association (TYRA) which is a non-profit organization that supports and promotes youth rodeo throughout Texas. Koerth said, “My mother wouldn’t sign for me to get on bulls, but she did sign for me to get on bucking horses.” Koerth went to seven TYRA sanctioned rodeos riding bucking horses that summer, however, he didn’t perform as well as he had hoped. He really wanted to ride bulls but, he didn’t quit TYRA. Finally in 1974, he competed in some non-sanctioned bull riding events and won first place.
Koerth said earning a first place “helped win Mom over,” and begrudgingly she gave in. Understandably, his parents were concerned when their son wanted to compete in one of the most dangerous sports in the world. Yet as Koerth said, “Many of us looked up to Phil Lyne [from George West and later Cotulla] in the early 70’s because he was the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) World Champion and he was the recipient of the All-Around Cowboy award.” Koerth continued, “We all wanted to be like him.” Keeping his eye on his goal Koerth made it to the bull-riding finals as a junior in high school.
After high school, Koerth attended Southwest Texas Jr. College in Uvalde on a rodeo scholarship. He and his team mates participated in bull-riding competitions against other junior colleges such Ranger Jr. College and Kilgore Jr. College. They also competed against larger schools like Northwestern State in Natchitoches, LA and Stephen F. Austin in Huntsville. Much to his coaches’ dismay, he and others on the bull-riding team would often participate in non-sanctioned rodeos away from school to make extra money. Koerth said college bull-riding was a very good learning experience. He continued, “I did pretty good, but mostly it gave me an opportunity to mature and set goals for myself.” During his time in college he made many life-long friends and met others from the (PRCA) that encouraged him to ride professionally.
Before long, Koerth was living out of his suitcase. When school was out he would “dump his stuff off in Whitsett” where his father was now living and get out on the rodeo circuit. He and his “buddies traveled all over the country”. Koerth recalled a friend had asked if he wanted to “ride along as he hauled a load of bulls to Florida.” His friend assured him the trip would only be two-weeks long. Koerth joined his buddy in February and picked up rodeos from Florida to the Carolinas. Koerth didn’t make it back until May. “My two-week trip turned into four months as we traveled a big loop,” said Koerth.
Traveling the rodeo circuit became a way of life for Koerth. He said he could not have made it in the rodeo business without the support of his father and others like his business partner Bubba Campbell. Koerth said in his mind he thought he would ride professionally until he hit 30 or 32-years of age and then get out and settle down. Yet, when Koerth reached 32 he felt he could ride better than he did when he was 22. Time flew and before long he was 38 and competing against his buddies’ kids yet he was still winning heavy and had no thoughts of retiring.
Every year since 1996, Koerth has qualified for the finals. In 1998, when Koerth reached 40-years of age he joined the National Senior Pro Rodeo Association (NSPRA) and attained his first true sponsors. When Koerth was younger he and other cowboys rarely had corporate sponsors. However, today cowboys are competing for more money then ever before. Double E, a soil chemical testing company and the Ohkay Casino-Resort sponsored Koerth. The casino was required by law to spend a percentage of their earnings on gambling awareness and responsibility. The casino hired Koerth and five other bull-riders as their spokesmen; they called them the “Six-chuters”. Koerth secured another valuable sponsor called Horizon. They are a company that deals in mold remediation and professional mold removal.
In 2000 Koerth was the runner-up to the World Championship. Koerth made up his mind to “cut out everything else” and in 2001, at 43-years of age, Koerth became the NSPRA World Champion Bull Rider. Campbell Drugs sponsored a “Go Round” buckle and Koerth won it. When Koerth returned he gave the buckle to Campbell. Koerth was poised to win again in 2002, but he broke both bones in one leg and it took eight months to heal. He made a come back and earned the title again in 2003. In 2004, 2005, and 2006 he was the Reserve Champion. Koerth also participated in the Canadian Senior Pro Rodeo Association (CSPRA) finals eight times. He was the season leader in 2000 and 2001 and in 2003 won the Canadian Championship.
Yet, many of Koerth’s wins, championship buckles, and titles have come with a heavy price in terms of physical well being. In February 2005, just after riding a bucking bull and prior to his dismount, Koerth’s spur “hung-up” on the bull’s flank rope. Koerth said, “The bull dragged me under and his dew-claw scraped across my cheek.”
In true cowboy fashion, just prior to passing out from his serious injury, Koerth asked the emergency personnel, “They marked me, didn’t they?” They gave Koerth their assurances and rushed him to a hospital in Arizona where he received over 300 stitches. He stayed in the hospital for three days and then stayed with a friend for four more days as the doctor forbid Koerth to fly. That year Koerth ended as the Reserve Champion.
Koerth tried to keep his injury a secret because he didn’t want his mother to worry about him. However, she is a clever woman, and she found out. Just as in the parable of the “Prodigal Son”, she greeted him with open arms and celebrated his safe return and his birthday (March 8) with a feast of his favorite meal: turkey and dressing. Unfortunately, for Koerth, his jaw was still wired-shut and he couldn’t eat. Koerth was back on the circuit by April. “After you have been riding as long as I have, it’s all mental. I think about riding every day, but I don’t think about getting hurt.”
Even though Koerth asserts injuries have not made rodeo life difficult; he does admit he dislikes traveling nine months out of the year. Furthermore, since 2003, his buddies in the Senior Tour have been retiring one by one, making the rodeo life somewhat lonesome. Many of buddies are now grandfathers; causing Koerth to pause and take stock of his own life. Koerth said, “I have no regrets, although the traveling always made me wonder if “I was missing something at home.” To achieve the dream of being a champion bull-rider you have to be committed to your goal; you have a split second to get in rhythm and finish strong, continued Koerth. Then he switched gears and said with a mischievous smile, “Besides, there’s a saying among cowboys, ‘money won is so much sweeter than money earned’.”
This past May Koerth broke his arm and had surgery to repair it. Following the surgery he entered in eleven rodeos and he placed in three of them. As recently as September Koerth was once again injured by a bull during dismount. This time the bull nearly ripped his ear off. He had his ear stitched back on and at the end of October, Koerth left for Winnemucca, NV to participate in his last rodeo, the Senior National Finals Rodeo.
Koerth started off strong in the first round and won a buckle. On the next two rounds Koerth didn’t place. On the fourth round he stayed on the bull, named “Linebacker” for 7.13 seconds. Koerth said now that he has retired from the rodeo circuit he plans “on getting the ranch up to date” and continuing his hay hauling business.
Yet, Koerth is the type of man that could easily adapt in any line of work. He is smart, physically fit, and has a winning smile and magnetism that enchants and intrigues not only the ladies, but children and men. He could readily turn to politics and win. Koerth’s genuine concern for others and his forthright, honest behavior are a refreshing change. Although, if Koerth decided to “go back to work” he would probably get back on a bull rather than run for office.
Koerth concluded the interview by saying, “I know I can still do this. There is nothing like the rush you get when you take your first three steps after you dismount from a successful ride. Riding is in my heart.”