Thirteen-year-old Rodney Howard looks like he galloped right out of a Western movie set. He’s sporting leather cowboy boots, wide-legged jeans, a belt with a huge silver buckle, a flannel corduroy long-sleeve shirt, and a worn-out cowboy hat. This is not your souvenir-shop cowboy hat. This hat has seen some action—rodeo circuit action.
The outfit goes along with Rodney’s life dream of becoming a rodeo star. Before Rodney spoke about his dream, he practiced his lasso techniques with his grandfather and mentor, Ronald Howard. The two cowboys ran their horses back and forth in a field behind Ronald’s home in McCalla, Alabama. They swung the lassos over their heads, then threw them forward, as if to catch a calf that was trying to escape. Afterward, they settled on two ancient rocking chairs on the front porch.
Rodney Howard looks like a 50-year-younger version of Grandpa Ronald. He has been competing on the rodeo circuit and has recently won four belt buckles and the International Miniature Rodeo Association World Senior Champion title.
