story by Lindsay Humphrey
In Kiowa, Kansas, just about everything is as deeply rooted in family as it gets. That’s especially true for Colby Houlton who’s now the seventh generation working on the family farm and ranch in the southern part of the state. “Ever since I could walk, I wanted to be horseback,” said the KPRA tie-down roper. “Most of my immediate family has rodeoed at some point in their life. My started out in the team roping and breakaway events at junior rodeos up through elementary school, until we moved a couple times, landing in Stafford, Kansas, when I was going into the sixth grade. I had never really played sports and fell in love with just about all of them.” Rodeo took a back seat for a few years while Colby explored his interest in school sports. By the time high school came around his interest for rodeo came back strong.
“By my freshman year, all I did was rodeo. I got hooked up with the Junior and Gay Lewis family and they let me ride one of their family’s great horses, Gus. They lived about an hour away, so any time I could get away or if it was still light outside after school, I was running over to their house.” Colby knows his time with the Lewis’ ultimately helped him land a rodeo scholarship to Vernon College. After finding early success as a freshman, a lingering hip injury from junior sports sidelined Colby for almost a year. Colby finished up his degree at Tarleton State University in 2015 in Stephenville, Texas. “I didn’t college rodeo there; I just went to as many roping jackpots as I could. And rode some younger horses, which I still enjoy doing today.” After meeting his now wife, Skylar, at Vernon, the pair tied the knot in 2018 and eventually found their way back to Kiowa.
Today, Colby works alongside his grandpa on the farm and ranch. “I love being around cattle and being horseback. I don’t mind the work even though it’s a lot of long hours. My grandpa works harder than anybody I’ve ever met. It’s pretty special that I can come back and play my part here.” The family operation runs a commercial herd of black Angus cattle while raising wheat, soybeans, milo and hay. Colby and Skylar run their own herd of yearlings on wheat through the winter months and grass in the summer. Last March the couple’s life changed significantly when they welcomed their first child, Brody. Even though Colby has his hands full at home, he still finds time to both practice for and travel to rodeos. The KPRA plays a huge role in that ability since there are plenty of events close to home and they pay well enough to make the time away from home worth it for Colby and Skylar.
Team roping may have been Colby’s first event as a rodeo athlete, but it’s calf roping that he enjoys the most. “I gravitate towards roping calves because its an individual event and you get everything out of it you put in. I’ve always liked the event for the horsepower that it requires. The calf horse is a pretty special animal to stand flatfooted in the box and then run and stop as hard as they can all while helping their rider through the process. There’s a lot of athletic ability that goes into that and a mindset that not every horse has.” Colby’s main calf horse, June bug, is sentimental for more than her sweet nature. She was acquired almost by accident. “Junior Lewis fought cancer for a short time, and my parents, along with some friends, put together a benefit roping that turned into a memorial. The year after Junior passed, the Arnold family donated a weanling filly to be auctioned at the roping. My parents put a bid on her to get things going, but nobody else bid so we took her home. She’s been easy from day one. She’s basically made a horse all on her own. She’s probably not going to be the best one at the rodeo, but there’s nothing more solid than her.”
