story by Ruth Nicolaus
Cinch Heikel knows both sides of rodeo.
The thirteen year old Nebraska cowboy not only competes in the Nebraska Junior High School Rodeo Association, but he works in the arena at Nebraska State rodeos alongside his dad, Lance Heikel, a pickup man.
Cinch, who lives fifteen miles from Hazard, Neb., competes in the saddle bronc steer riding, the team roping (as a header for Cooper Phillipps), the goat tying, breakaway roping, and the ribbon roping (as a roper for Jordan Peterson).
And when he and his mom and dad, and brother and sister go to rodeos on the weekends, his dad picks up while he and his younger brother Riggin clear the arena of steers and calves.
Cinch spent his summer working alongside his dad on the ranch, riding pastures and in the hayfield. He rode pastures and drove tractor to pick up big round bales for his dad. He doesn’t get a paycheck, but he gets great compensation: room and board, and paid entry fees.
This fall, Cinch will be an eighth grade student at Pleasanton Public School. He plays football, basketball, wrestles, and runs track. Football is his second favorite sport, after rodeo. His favorite teacher is Mr. Loomis, his history teacher, because he is very understanding. “He’ll tell you how to do something, and if you don’t understand it, he’ll go back through it with you again and again,” Cinch said. He had Mr. Loomis for sixth and seventh grade and will have him again this year.
For fun, Cinch loves to fish and hunt. He often fishes in local ponds or in the South Loup River. He hunts for deer and turkey, and has put in for an elk tag in northwestern Nebraska but has never gotten one. He had a great time last year when he and his dad and grandpa went to Wyoming to hunt antelope.
His mom and dad, Lance and Marti, appreciate how hard their older son works and how helpful he is. “He’s pretty dedicated and motivated,” Lance said. Cinch has picked up a couple of bucking horses, and helps rope bulls, and his dad says he shows an inclination for picking up. “It’s pretty hard to keep him out of the arena (to help),” Lance said. “He likes it and craves it, and he has an eye for it.” Cinch and Riggin do nearly anything to help. “At the rodeo, they’ll cool off pickup horses, clean the arena, and they don’t have to be told. You don’t have to go look for them. They aren’t in the trailer watching TV.”
Cinch competed at state junior high finals this past spring. When he grows up, he’d like to be a rancher and a professional team roper.
His brother, Riggin, is ten, and his younger sister, Emma, is six years old.
