Rhineers, rodeo, and riding go together
By KENDACE BORRY
WILLOW STREET - Near
Willow Street, in Lancaster
County, on just about any
evening you can find them
out behind the house, in the
small arena, working their
horses and practicmg their
sport. The entire family gets
into the act and riding,
roping, and barrel racing
will be practiced as each
concentrates on bettering his
skill.
This is the Mike Rhineer
family, with members Mike
and his wife, Darlene, and
children, Tammy, 16, and
Mike, Jr., 15. Their sport is
rodeo and love of the
cowboy’s sport is evident in
their endeavors.
It probably all started
when Mike, Sr., started
rodeoing about Ifbr so years
ago. A local boy, he related
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Tammy Rhineer shows her winning form as she
brings her horse around a barrel while practicing
her racing skills.
that he had tried some other
sports, but rodeoing ap
pealed to him and he’s been
involved ever since. Then
later the children came
along.
“I thought maybe the kids
would get involved in
rodeo,” Rhineer related.
“But I didn’t expect it to be
this much at such a young
age.”
According to the Rhineers,
Tammy and Mike, Jr., who
were bom exactly one year
apart, became'active with
horses at an early age. They
started with a small pony,
and have been riding for nine
years each. They were each
12 years of age when they
competed in their first
rodeo.
Why rodeo? “It just
seemed interesting,”
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Tammy stated, while Mike,
Jr. nodded his hea_d in
agreement. “Horses are fun
to be around, and we both
really like riding, and we
liked the idea of competing
for money. But horses are
also fun for trad riding and
pleasure.”
Barrel racing is the
favorite event of Tammy,
and this is her third year in
the competition. Her horse is
Traveler Ben, a five year old
Reg. Quarterhorse gelding
that she raised and trained
herself.
She won her first cham
pionship barrel racing
buckle in 1975, at age 14. The
award was received for
being the high money winner
in the Eastern Shore Ropers
Association. Series of Rodeo
barrel racing. She repeated
her winning of the award in
1976. In 1977, she also won a
rodeo buckle for a barrel
racing championship at the
Hampton-Hanover Rodeo.
Calling herself an “out
doorsy” girl, the pert
teenager told that money she
wins is saved for future
years. She hopes to tram
horses, especially barrel
racers, and give riding
lessons. She thinks of the
possibilities of going to
college, too.
Both Tammy and Mike,
Jr. take care of their own
horses, feeding them,
brushing them, cleaning the
stalls, and caring for the
saddles and equipment.
Weather permitting, they
work their animals about
two hours each day.
Besides the barrel racing,
Tammy also ropes, team
ropes, and goat ties.
One highlight of Mike,
Jr.’s life so far has been the
winning of four cham
pionship belt buckles in one
year-1977. Each were won at
individual rodeos.
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He team ropes, does
breakaway calf roping,
barrel races, goat ties, calf
ropes, and also does trick
ropmg. Both he and his
father entered the American
Rodeo Association finals last
Family competes
The entire Rhineer family gathers down at the arena to work their horses.
From left to right are Mike Rhineer and his wife Darlene on the horses, and
Tammy and Mike Jr. in front.
yea»* in the team roping and
won the event.
Mike’s horse is an 11 year
old bay Reg. Quarterhorse.
It was bought in Oklahoma
and he has had it for five
years.
This is the first year that
Mike, Jr., has performed his
trick roping in public-in fact
•his very first performance
was given at the Keystone
Rodeo held at The Buck a
few weeks ago. But, ac
cording to his father, he has
been working with ropes for
a long time.
“He’s been playing with
ropes since he was about
four years old,” Rhmeer
explained. “But he really
started working with tricks
about three years ago.”
Mike, Jr. explained. “One
time at a rodeo I saw my
dad’s fnend, Dick McCoy,
Calf roping is not something that is learned by just one practice. Here Mike, Jr.
improves his techniques by roping at home in the arena.
Lancaster Farming, Saturday, May 27,1978
goofing around, doing tricks
with a rope. I asked him how
he did it and he taught me.
He has shown me how to do
all the tricks I know.”
So now, in addition to
competing at the rodeos,
Mike, Jr., is also per
forming. He will appear m
his white slacks and colored
shirts at 15 different rodeos
this Summer, entertaining
the crowds with his variety
of rope tricks.
Mike’s favorite event is
team roping. This is his third
year and he works with his
dad and Dick McCoy, acting
as the third partner.
“Rodeoing is different
from other sports,” Rhmeer
stated. “Everyone is on their
own. There are no coaches,
no teams, and the financing
is your own. Winning is
strictly on ability.”
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He went on to tell that he
thinks the children have
learned sportsmanship from
rodeo and have made friends
from all over the United
States through their com
peting.
To help in improving their
skills, motion picture films
are taken of every event the
family competes in. The
handling of the camera is
usually the job of Mrs.
Rhineer. Then the film is
soon developed and the
family studies it to see where
mistakes were made.
In the future, the family
plans to continue their in
volvement with rodeo. Mike,
Jr. wants to stick with his
rodeoing and training and
Tammy would like to have
her own barrel racing
school. At the present, her
dad runs a once-a-year
school on roping.
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