story by Ruth Nicolaus
Foster Krempin is loving his first year of Colorado Junior High School Rodeo.
The Granby, Colo. cowboy, who is fifteen years old, competes in the team roping (this year heeling for Luci Bruchez); the ribbon roping (roping for Luci); the goat tying, chute dogging, the tie-down and shooting.
He has two horses he uses for junior high rodeo. Sniper, a five-year-old red blaze face horse is primarily his heel horse. Sniper is “food obsessed,” Foster reports. “He likes to eat all the time.” He’s also a horse that likes to have fun, but works hard, too. “He likes to goof off and play around with everybody. He’ll go all day and do anything you ask him to.”
Foster’s second horse is a twelve-year-old little bay named Beetle, who was ridden for college rodeo. Beetle is his breakaway and goat tying horse, and he acts like a puppy, but has less stamina than Sniper. “He likes to come up and nuzzle you. He’ll do just about anything you ask him, but he gets tired if you do a whole lot of stuff with him.”
Foster is homeschooled and in the eighth grade. He loves reading and shop classes, with his favorite book genres being anything but romances. He loves reading the Sugar Creek Gang and the Hardy Boys.
For shop, he learns from his parents and uncle and has done a variety of mechanic work including welding, changing oil in the ranch vehicles, and has helped put a new front end on his mom’s pickup, new brake pads, and new tie rods on the four-wheeler. This summer, he may be working to rebuild the engine on a four-wheeler.
For fun, he plays basketball for the East Grand Middle School and skis and snowmobiles. The ranch is about fifteen minutes from Granby Ranch, where he skis.
His home is located in the Rocky Mountains, and he loves it. “In the summer, it’s the greatest place ever,” he said. Summer temperatures usually don’t get above 85 degrees. The winter is a different story. Foster estimates the winter snow drifts can be six to eight feet in height, although this year they’ve gotten less snow. It doesn’t rain much in the summer, so they count on winter snowfall to water pastures and fill rivers and lakes.
The mountains are home to a variety of wildlife, some of whom think they can help themselves to the Krempin’s sheep and cattle. The Krempins have two dogs, a Great Pyrenees and an Akbash, who are good livestock guardian dogs. The dogs keep bears away, who have killed the Krempins’ lambs in the past. The dogs also kill coyotes.
Foster loves helping around the ranch. One of his jobs during calving season is ear tagging new calves. He’ll check cows in the morning, before school, and ear tag any new ones. After school and practice he’s back to the calving pens to tag new babies. He likes it, and it gives him an adrenaline rush if the “cow is a little bit hooky.”
When he grows up, he’d like to be a professional cowboy. He’d like to attend college and study ag engineering or business, and be a diesel mechanic or welder, and continue to rodeo.
He loves the travel that junior high rodeo provides, and the windshield time he spends with his parents.
Foster has twin siblings, sister Sego and brother Flint, who are eleven years old.
He is the son of Tish Linke-Krempin and Tony Krempin.
