22 SOPS officer doubles as steer wrestler

Photo By PA Workflow | First Lt. Ryan Southworth, 22nd Space Operations Squadron, shown steer wrestling at a recent rodeo, began competing in rodeos following his senior football season at the U.S. Air Force Academy. Two years after picking up the sport, Southworth is already competing at the professional level.  

COLORADO SPRINGS, COLORADO, UNITED STATES

09.12.2013

Courtesy Story

50th Space Wing

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - First Lt. Ryan Southworth grew up in Paris, Texas, where football, rodeo, auto racing and country music dominate the entertainment scene.

The son of a high school football coach, Southworth took to the sport naturally, and at 5 feet 9 inches and 250 pounds, he grew into a model fullback.

Coaches at the U.S. Air Force Academy noticed him during his high school playing days and he was offered admission as a recruited football player. He played four years at the academy, earning significant playing time at fullback during his senior season.

But while growing up in Paris, Southworth also became infatuated with rodeo. He liked all of the events, especially steer wrestling.

Like football players, rodeo cowboys enter into battles with strong and nimble opponents, ones resolved to buck or kick or otherwise demoralize their adversaries with reckless abandon. The strength, speed and timing required to wrestle a steer was particularly appealing, but as a suburban kid with no access to a ranch, his involvement in the sport was strictly limited to spectating.

For years, he thought he might make a good steer wrestler, but football and academics took up the majority of his time at the academy. Whatever thoughts he had of wrestling steers had to wait.

When he shed his shoulder pads for the final time following a productive senior season as an Air Force fullback, Southworth realized an opportunity. He knew a fellow football player, who also competed for the academy's club rodeo team.

Colin Goodwin took him up to a stable north of the academy, where he provided an introduction to the sport.

"We performed an activity known as chute dogging," Southworth said. "That's where you stand near the end of a cattle chute and wait for the gate to open. Once that happens, the steer charges out and you attempt to grab it by the horns and wrestle it to the ground."

Veteran rodeo cowboy Dave Hoffman was in attendance that first day and was amazed by what he saw.

"As soon as I saw Ryan chute dog those first few steers, I ran over to Colin and said, 'We've got to get that kid a horse,'" Hoffman said. "He had a natural talent for it. It was exciting to watch."

Southworth bought a horse soon after and began competing in collegiate rodeo competitions during his senior year at the academy. After graduating, he spent his first year as an officer working as a graduate assistant football coach at the school, while traveling to La Junta, Colo., for steer wrestling lessons.

In 2012, he traveled to Keesler Air Force Base, Miss., for his Air Force technical school and took his horse, Cinderella, along. It proved to be a pivotal experience because it allowed him to practice regularly.

"Rodeo is big down there and since the winter climate is rather mild, they can compete year round," Southworth said. "So, after training at Jace Honey's school in La Junta and getting all the practice down in Mississippi, I felt like I was ready to compete in Colorado rodeos this year."

Following tech school, Southworth reported to the 22nd Space Operations Squadron here. That meant he could fulfill his Air Force duties during the week while practicing his passion on the weekends.

"I've had a good summer, did well in some rodeos and not so much in others," he said. "But, I'm progressing. I feel like I'm getting better."

Hoffman, Southworth's first rodeo mentor and teacher, believes the sky is the limit for Southworth.

"Ryan is a coach's dream," Hoffman said. "In this business you tend to see guys with a lot of 'try' but little talent, and guys with a lot of talent who don't listen. Ryan, on the other hand, is very teachable. Plus, he's tough. As a steer wrestler, you have to be tough like a football player, and he obviously has that experience."

Hoffman said Southworth picked up the wrestling technique quickly, but in the sport of steer wrestling, competitors must chase the steer on horseback before sliding out of the saddle, grabbing the steer mid-stride, sliding to a stop and wrestling it to the ground.

"Ryan needed the most coaching on the horse," Hoffman said. "That's a skill not easily perfected. The cowboy and the horse are a team. When the cowboy is nervous, his horse senses that anxiety, so a cowboy has to control his emotions. He needs to get his horse to sprint at the right moment."

This year, the Colorado rodeo season has ended and Southworth barely missed qualifying for the next level of competition, which he hopes to do next season.

In the meantime, he plans to continue on his Air Force career path.

"I love the Air Force and the space and cyberspace career field," he said. "But, I also plan to pursue steer wrestling. Hopefully, I can progress to the point where I can earn my professional card and qualify for bigger rodeos."

• Date Taken: 09.12.2013
• Date Posted: 09.12.2013 15:25
• Story ID: 113544
• Location: COLORADO SPRINGS, COLORADO, US
• Hometown: PARIS, TEXAS, US