M-SRA member, Reece Weber – JJJ Photo
story by Terry Rhodes
Reece Weber has been in the Mid-States Rodeo Association for about seven years and likes being part of the group. “The fellowship and friends that you make in the association are great. You get to see your friends at every rodeo.” He gets to about 30 of the Mid-States rodeos a year and has made the association Finals for the last three of those years. His events are calf roping and team roping. “Mainly I head but sometimes I’ll heel. My regular partner is Slade Thorpe.” Reece is also in the PRCA, NSRA, and NRCA.
Reece grew up in the rodeo environment and it was just natural that he would get into the sport. “My dad was a pickup man for years and was in the rodeo business and I just picked it up; there were several people that helped me get started, really too many to mention.” Reece says that there are individuals that he looks up to that are setting good examples for the sport of rodeo. “Trevor Brazil for example, he’s a class act and he’s someone that will help you. Jake Barnes and Turtle Powell are some other guys that I look up to.”
Practice and preparation are key elements for Reece. “I always have someone video my runs so that I can look at them afterwards and look to see where I need to improve and where I did well. I visualize what I want the run to be and I play the run over and over to get it in my mind. I really watch the start and plan out when I want to go. Then I just try to make the most of what I have (drawn).” Reece also knows his horse is a key component to success and works on his horsemanship skills and riding ability. “I’ve got several horses that I use. I think I’ve got some of the best horses in Nebraska. I’m not too concerned with breeding, just how they work.”
Reece, 18, makes his home in Valentine, Neb. on his family’s ranch. His parents are Rick and Missy Weber and he has an older brother, Brian, who is a heart specialist in Hutchinson, Kan. “We have a feed yard and ranch and raise horses. We’ve got 60 or 70 head of horses around so there are always a lot of colts to ride. We do a lot of roping and horse training.” Reece has just graduated from high school and is the process of looking at which college to start at this fall. “I’m not real sure where I’m going to go. I’m going somewhere and I’ve had a lot of offers from schools. But I haven’t made a final decision yet.”
During the week Reece stays busy working the family ranch. “We work cattle and build fence here and there. Lately I’ve been going to a lot of pro and amateur rodeos and since the 15th of May I’ve only been home 10 days. But normally I start at 6 o’clock in the morning and don’t get done until dark.” Leisure time is spent doing a little hunting or fishing. Goals for the future include a world championship, his own ranch and herd of cows.
