As we returned from the 103rd National Western Stock Show in Denver Sunday at 7 p.m., it was difficult not to beg the threesome (son K.C., his wife Gayle and his hazer Zack) to spend the night with us rather than embark on their 12-hour trip home to Texas. Coming into the short go-around in sixth place, K.C. had hoped for a nice paycheck, but a hard running steer stole his chances for that. At least his eighth place in the short-go will cover part of the fees and gas for their 1,800 mile trip — once last weekend for the first/second go, then again this weekend for the short-go.
Zack’s chances for some earnings hadn’t been as bright as K.C.’s since his first two times hadn’t placed him, but he made the long trip with K.C. to serve as his hazer. We knew he was just as disappointed with the results since a hazer who helps a bull dogger into the win column can earn one-eighth of the paycheck. The Denver winner of the short-go won $7,713; his hazer earned $964 — not a bad deal for a weekend trip.
Particularly for the winter “big barn” rodeos (think Denver, Ft. Worth, Rapid City, Houston) but often throughout the season, contestants choose to fly to a rodeo and “borrow” a doggin team. Since winter rodeos are often weeks apart and most contestants aren’t yet committed to driving every single day like they do during the summer season, flying is often more feasible. As long as they’re confident someone they know with a “good” doggin team is planning to haul to the rodeo, they’ll make this choice.
Most doggers either have their own team and a traveling partner who serves as a hazer, or they travel in a pack using a top quality horse that may or may not belong to someone in the rodeo rig. In addition, there are some non-contestant cowboys who haul to rodeos (usually regionally) to provide a team and serve as the hazer in hopes of making some money. In that instance, rodeo etiquette usually dictates that one-fourth of the winnings go to the owner of the doggin team. In other situations where only a hazer is needed, one-eighth of the winnings go to him. The arrangements made among contestants vary greatly.
K.C. has put together a “good” team with either he or Zack hazing, and the team includes “Money,” “Bugs” and newly acquired “Zippity” filling the role as doggin horses, and “new” (since last August) “Fudge” serving as a hazing horse. In training at home as a hazing horse is “Fonzy” (since he’s so cool) and he’ll soon go on the road. The quest for a top-notch hazing horse since his “Colt 45” collicked and died 2-and-a-half years ago has been long and frustrating, but “Fudge” is filling the bill quite nicely. “Fonzy” will be a good practice and “back-up” horse in case of injury or sickness. K.C. brought his team to Denver, so both he and Zack hazed for many of the 12 contestants at the Denver short-go who had chosen to fly in or needed a “mount.”
Steer wrestlers can’t emphasize enough the importance of a good hazer since he’s the guy who can make or break them. Possessing top notch horsemanship skills in controlling his horse plus attempting to control the steer, he must be able to make split-second decisions to help the dogger make the best possible time. He must be able to leave the box at the exact precise second so he can guide the steer into position for the dogger to make the fastest throw. If he’s late, the dogger is hanging out there alone trying to get down on a steer that’s moving away from him to the right. If he’s too soon, he may cause the steer to slow up or “set up” (come to stop) so that the dogger either hits the ground in front of the steer or is forced to ride on by. If he pushes the steer to the left too much, the steer will get under the dogger’s horse causing a huge wreck as it tangles with the doggin horse’s feet. If he stays too wide, the dogger will get down but can’t reach the steer’s horns, and if he rides too close, he’ll push the steer into the dogger not allowing enough pocket to get down. Keep in mind all of this is happening in 3 to 5 seconds.
The good hazers are someone, like Zack, who travels full time down the road because he then has each steer’s behavior patterned memorized. All timed event contestants keep a constant log in their mind or on paper of what each stock contractor’s cattle do at each rodeo. It is a constant amazement to me that K.C., Zack and the other contestants recall what a steer did, months or even years ago. Around-the-table conversations often include comments like, “Oh, yeh, he was that brindle steer that came out slow each time, then ran like the wind to the other end,” or “He’s that one that always breaks to the left” or “He’s that one Joe Blow had at Pendleton that stops three steps out of the gate.” Last Saturday as they looked through the photos, they vividly recalled what a steer did in 2002. I could barely remember even going to the rodeo!
Thus you can see that the hazer must be someone who can read the “play” (what the steer is going to do) and make adjustments in a split-second. A good hazer can make an average steer into a really good steer by positioning himself to shut down the speed of the steer or by keeping a steer that’s not very good from stopping. Hazer and dogger may know the steers inside out and have a precise strategy in mind based on the steer’s past performance, only to have it completely change in a split second. The hazer’s the one who has to pull it altogether since usually the dogger has already let go of the reins and started his dismount.
A good hazer can transform a mediocre bulldogger into a good one and a great one possibly into a world champion. We’ve witnessed many runs, particularly at the National Finals Rodeo, where the hazer was the one who saved the day and put the contestant in top money. And we’ve seen some who have totally “missed the haze” costing the dogger thousands of dollars. On occasion, a particularly observant and savy rodeo announcer will point out to the crowd a great hazing performance. Behind the chutes you’ll often hear remarks like, “Good haze, cowboy” or “Good job — you really shut that steer down” from other doggers and hazers.
Just as the bull doggers must rely heavily on a top-notch, finely tuned, speedy horse, the hazing horse must possess the same propensity for speed and quick takeoffs from the box. Unlike the dogging horse which is trained to run on by the steer, the hazing horse must be “cowy” — a term meaning the horse by nature likes to watch cattle and try to herd them. That factor, together with a hazer who’s a better than average horseman, makes the winning combination. K.C. believes most mediocre hazers can turn into good ones if they’re mounted on a good enough horse.
Hazers may be considered one of the “unsung heroes” of the sport. In no other rodeo event, other than team roping, must the contestant rely so heavily on someone else to bring in the paycheck, yet their name is never mentioned and they’re often “cropped” out of steer wrestling photos. Confidence is so important to any professional rodeo athlete’s performance, and a dogger who is assured his hazing partner will handle his side of the run with confidence and supreme ability definitely has an advantage.
So here’s to all the hazers on the rodeo road — hats off to you and your “unsung hero” skills!
Las Animas, Colo. —
