By Frank M. Buchman
Reed Boos, a 14-year-old White Cloud cowboy, was recently honored as all-around champion in the Kansas Junior High School Rodeo Association. Reed graduated from Doniphan West Middle School (Denton) and has already collected 11 rodeo trophy saddles in his young arena career. One of his toughest competitors and biggest supporters is little brother Jesse, 12, who’ll be a seventh grader at Denton.
Children of Jeff and Peggy Boos, and both little brothers of perhaps more renown rodeo winners at this point, Kaleb, 24, and Kolby, 23, Reed and Jesse have been riding since before they could walk, competing in every competition they could find, and often in the bright lights.
Jeff, an agriculture equipment merchandizer, has been a roper all of his life, and has won a lot of rodeo and jackpot awards. He has a handful of trophy saddles, and the boys have certainly followed in their dad’s footsteps. “More of our effort now is helping the boys, hauling to rodeos, and making sure they’re mounted,” said mom Peggy, a cosmetologist by trade. “Reed has always had a rope in his hand, started competing and winning in breakaway roping when he was five years old, following his dad, and older brothers into the arena, and Jesse has been right after them all,” she said.
Along with his all-around title at the Junior High Finals, Reed ended the year fourth in goat tying, and first in tie down calf roping, ribbon roping and team roping. “Kya Johnson of Bennington was his ribbon roping partner this year, and Jesse was his team roping partner, making that title even more special to them both, and definitely, Jeff and I,” said Peggy.
Reed was also recognized as the rookie cowboy of the year in the United Rodeo Association (URA) last year. All of the Boos cowboys compete in URA competitions, United States Team Roping Championships (USTRC) events, and jackpot rodeos throughout the Midwest.
“Reed can head and heel. He’s headed at the junior high rodeos the past two years, but Jesse headed and Reed heeled this year,” Peggy said. “We have cattle, roping steers and calves, here at the ranch and practice nearly every night year-round, weather permitting. If the weather is bad, we will haul to an indoor facility 40 miles away.”
It takes a herd of horses to keep the boys mounted, but the one that has brought the boys up is Change, a 23-year-old sorrel gelding ridden by Kolby and then by Reed in calf roping, breakaway, heading and heeling. Minnie, Reed’s calf roping horse, only cost $700 at the sale barn, but we had her trained, and Reed worked with the trainer riding Minnie. They grew up together, actually, and are a real team. Jesse’s main mount is nine-year-old bay mare, Vegas, used in heading and goat tying. “We call her that because Jesse says she can take him all the way to the National Finals Rodeo,” Peggy noted.
Both young cowboys are honor students, and Reed will be a freshman at Doniphan West in Highland this fall planning to be in FFA, while Jesse’s a seventh grader. “They aren’t involved in other sports, because roping practice and going to rodeos keeps them both busy,” said Peggy.
Family and friends can keep up with the boys practice sessions, travels, and accomplishments on Facebook. “The boys have a site called The Regulators, after watching a movie about Jessie James,” Peggy said. The Boos brothers’ cousins, Grayden, Fletcher, Parker and Hudsen Penny from Troy, also compete successfully in rodeos, and share their escapades on the Facebook page, with the assistance of a Go Pro. Take a minute to like that page and support these boys.
