Cowboy priest at home in saddle

Press, Volume CXIV, Issue 33479, 9 March 1974, Page 12

Cowboy priest at home in saddle

(By

KEN COATES)

Wearing bright red J?ans, cowboy hat and roping a calf from a handsome Palomino horse, Danny Cummings, from Dunedin, cut an impressive figure at the national rodeo finals at Addington last Saturday.

Twenty - nine - year - old Danny would probably say he was just one of the blokes out there ridin’. But what makes him alittle different, is that during the week and on Sundays he is busy with duties far removed from the excitement of the rodeo ring — he is the Rev. Father Daniel Ish of St Mary’s, Kaikorai. Danny the cowboy is not impressed when people point him out and say, “there goes a fully ordained priest.” He explains: “I was brought up on a farm, at Lawrence, Central Otago, •nd I have always been interested in horses. It’s something I can do, it’s great fun and relaxation and well, I really enjoy it” He won't accept any suggestion that mixing with the other cowboys and all the other people who follw the rodeo circuit with avid interest makes him a better priest than a reverend who sticks close to the presbytery. “You can’t make that sort of comparison,” he says. Circuit growing When he first took up rodeo riding about 10 years ago, Danny recalls there were only about 30 or 40 riders. “We all used to go around the circuit during the Christmas holidays — they were great blokes and everyone knew everyone else. The competition was very ly“It is much more professional now, and the circuit has got bigger. But it used to be much more relaxed." He took up the sport during the long summer holidays when ne was training at the seminary — and enjoyed the companionship. Although he cannot take part in every rodeo in the circuit — and riders sometimes drive non-stop from one to another to get there on time — Danny Cummings manages to rake in sufficient prize money early in the season to get into the finals later. Calf-roping Tall, lean and fit, he’s no mean cowboy. One of his specialties is calf-roping, which calls for a high degree of skill and a welltrained pony. Danny explains that he looks after a horse, named Silver, which belongs to a former title-holder, Ron Jones, of Middlemarch, who does not have as much time for rodeo competition as previously. And there’s a horse paddock not too far away from the parish presbytery. “In calf-roping, the horse does everything — well, more than half," he says. And watching both in action, it's easy to see how it is a co-ordinated effort of horse and rider against time. The roper carries two lariat ropes secured to the horn of his saddle. After roping the calf at either his first or second tty, the contestant has to dismount and run along the rope to catch and throw the calf. While he ties three of the calf’s legs together, the pony

has to keep the rope taut, and as Danny puts it, act as an anchor. The roper, incidentally, must eaten his calf within 30 seconds, and if the calf does not kick free within six seconds, then the time is valid. Danny says a great deal of practice is needed for this event. “I have a wooden calf which I use for practising on — and I might rope it 50 times in one practice session,” he says. His other event is bulldogging or steer-wrestling. As the steer is released from the chute, the contestant and an assistant called a “hazer” ride on either side out into the arena. The hazer helps position the steer, 'and the dogger leans over and grabs its horns as his Horse gallops away. Boat show afloat This year’s “Boat Afloat Show” takes place from May 23 to June 2 at London’s Little Venice—at the junction of the Grand Union and Regent’s Canal, described by the British Waterways Board (organisers of the show) as “a nautical mile from Marble Arch.” Craft, engines, equipment and gear used in boating and allied sports will be displayed on more than 50 stands to be set up on the quays. Unlike other years, daily aquatic displays will be restricted to set periods in mid-afternoon and mid-evening: the expanse of water will be available the rest of the day for exhibitors to demonstrate their vessels to prospective customers.

Bringing the steer around, the wrestler reaches for the right horn tip, using his left hand for leverage under the steer’s jaw. Catching the animal with its upturned head off-balance, the contestant throws it to the ground. Of all the skills involved, timing is the most important in this event, says Danny. “And you try to ‘shape’ the beast with its head in the air and a curve in its back. You then apply the weight and over it will go.’’ It sounds easy but looks fraught with difficulties. Most riders are fairly fit, but the sport provides its share of tumbles. To the layman, this would seem inevitable with such events as steer wrestling, bareback bronc riding and bull riding. Danny Cummings says that, oddly enough, it is usually not the spectacular falls that do the damage, but those in which a rider falls awkwardly. He suffered a broken leg five years ago, and a broken arm in December last while training his horse at practice. Not only is interest in the sport of American origin booming — and among Saturday’s crowd at the Show Grounds was the Minister of Police (Mr Connelly) — but the number of riders is increasing and their skill improving. "Three or four years ago, in the calf-roping only three or four cowboys would actually rope the animal,’’ Danny observed. “Now hardly anyone misses.” To these riders a rodeo is irresistible and for Father Danny Cummings it’s the same. He’ll be in the saddle every moment he can spare away from his priestly duties.