CORNING, N.Y. (WENY) -- Explore one of the Twin Tier’s only rodeos for the 2024 season, offering a variety of events for all ages.  

The family-friendly rodeo came to life in Pine City when Kadie Reese, owner of Reese Ranch Rodeo, and co-owner Jake Reese, built an arena to get together with friends and enjoy the outdoors.  

Suddenly, they realized they piqued the interest of their neighbors.   

“Eventually all the neighbors are out sitting on the bank watching us,” says Jake Reese, “So we were like, let's build a rodeo.”  

An idea that sparked 14 years ago, soon launched into a family business serving all walks of life. The arena began as a starting point for those looking to get involved, to be trained, and to compete in radio sports. However, Jake says the biggest challenge is finding New Yorkers who are interested.  

“It's hard to find cowboys in New York, [but] we get a lot of people that want to try it, so they get a hold of us, and we hold practices.”   

According to research from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, by the early 1920s rodeo went from being a small-time attraction in rural Western communities and quickly shifted “into a marketable commodity [and] sold to eastern urbanites in Boston, Philadelphia, and New York.” 

At Reese Ranch Rodeo, those who came across the arena left with a new passion, all while representing the Empire State.   

“We have made a ton of cowboys,” says Jake proudly, “if you look around, we sell so many hats and gear, and then people get down here and they want to be part of it and they love it. So, it's infectious. And then they see all the costumes and every. Everybody wants to be a cowboy.”  

The Reese’s have also raised a cowboy of their own, their son Aiden Reese. With a smile across his face, Aiden says he followed in their footsteps by the age of 10.   

“My old man built it in the backyard when I was growing up and you could see all these guys doing it and it looks cool, so I had to throw my hat in there.”  

However, the world of rodeo historically has been a male-dominated sport. It wasn’t until 1948 that a group of 38 ranch women gathered to make a change in how they were treated, ultimately creating the Girls Rodeo Association. 

Little did they know how impactful banding together at a hotel in West Texas would soon leave a generational mark. Now, women are encouraged more than ever to tap into the recreation.   

Molly Christman, a competitive barrel racer, began her career at Reese Ranch in her youth.  

“I absolutely love it,” says Christman, “It really sparked it from the beginning all the way to now for me.”   

Christman competes with her horse “Q.W. Peppy Faith” who she bought this year. She says training for events like this requires a level of conditioning almost all athletes undergo.   

“You have to be really connected with your horse and there's a lot of practice beforehand. So, you practice at home and basically when you come to the rodeo, you're just ready to have fun and let them run.”  

Barrel racing is not the only thing that spectators can look forward to. The rodeo offers bull riding for beginners and professionals.   

Among the group of competitors was Hank “The Yank” Kellogg, a professional bull rider, from Williamstown, New York. He began his career in North Carolina when he was stationed in the Marine Corps. Now living in Texas, he comes back to visit family in the Southern Tier, while also revisiting memories of his first competitive matches.   

"I used to come out here and ride quite a bit, and I'm good friends with Jake and all of them. So, whenever they're putting on a rodeo or one of my friends up here puts on a rodeo, I like to come up, support them, and ride.”   

Hank best describes bull riding as a mental game."

“There's no, there's no easy way to really go about it other than you kind of just have to, realistically, you just kind of got to be selfish” adding, “You have to kind of tell everybody else, just, hey, you know, I need to be left alone right now, and I just need to focus and get my thoughts.”   

While debate does circulate around the well-being of the animals in most rodeos, one barrel racer, Jaime Wolfe, who owns a few of the bulls that compete, says bulls are bred to do this and are not forced to buck.   

“There's a lot of misconception that the bulls are like mistreated, but a lot of them are bred to do this and it's like if you had a Belgian Malinois or a Border Collie, you have a working dog, and they are born to do that. This is what these guys are bred for. They love it and most of the time they just go right up into the shoots because they know they're ready to do it.”  

Professional Bull Riders Inc., an international professional bull riding organization, says strict guidelines and regulations to protect the animals. 

“You don't want an animal that's abused out there. They're not going to perform right. They're not going to be healthy. They're going to look bad. You're going to look bad. Like, why would you want an abused animal? You want an animal that's taken care of, that's healthy, that's treated right out there because then you're representing the sport you love so much.”  

It’s not just competitors and professionals that take part in the rodeo. Reese Ranch Rodeo provides a family fun night with activities for the kids including dances, racing, and even mutton busting.   

Jake and Kadie Reese mentioned that most of the professionals got their dream of being in the rodeo from visiting one.  

“You start out with just the little kids that look up to everybody and you involve them, and it gets them out of the house,” says Kadie Reese. “It gets them away from video games or cell phone just to enjoy the outdoors.”   

The next Reese Ranch Rodeo is scheduled for Aug. 17. Gates opens at 2 p.m. and horse events begin at 4 p.m. The rodeo will kick off at 7 p.m., rain or shine. For information and tickets, you can go to their website by using this link.