Jay Beck, Chute Coordinator |
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Jay Beck is from Fort Worth and he started out in the rodeo
right of the bat. "When I came out one of the first things
I became interested in was TGRA. My Friend Tim Appling and
I decided to join TGRA and see what this GAY RODEO
was all about."
He went right to work, at Finals Rodeo in Fort
Worth in 1993. The following year he was Assistant Chute Coordinator.
And it's been non-stop ever since. "Rodeo got into my
blood, I put together my first chute crew and took them with
me to the to Little Rock, Oklahoma and several others around
Texas. I have been working 4 to 8 rodeos a year ever since
then."
"After working as assistant for a few
years in Oklahoma, Rick Jones and OGRA trusted me enough to
give me my first invitation to be Chute Coordinator. I began
building a network of crew members from around the country
and was priveldged to be invited to serve as chute coordinator,
with my yellow shirt crew, at finals in 2001. This will be
my 3rd finals as chute coordinator, and I still get that adrenalin
rush on Sat morning when we load that first calf."
But it's more than hard work. He says, "The
pride I feel as we pop open that first beer on Sunday afternoon,
for the hard work and sweat of the volunteers that make our
rodeos happen only gets stronger with each rodeo." He
says it's hard to explain the feeling you get when you find
something like rodeo. "No matter how dirty, how many
fingers get slammed in a gate or how many times you get kicked
by a stubborn steer that wants to do things his own way in
the chutes, or how many friends you see get hauled to the
hospital in an ambulance, you still wish you could do it all
over again next weekend. Gay Rodeo, whether a contestant,
a member of the chute crew or the arena crew, grabs hold of
your belt buckle and won’t let go."
The experience forms life-long bonds. "In
my job as chute coordinator, I have a unique position in the
rodeo because I get to help a city slicker get ready to dog
his first steer, or ride his first bull, and a few years later,
watch him or her win their first buckle, and then watch them
become a finals rodeo champion."
And that probably explains why Jay is so good
at his job down in the chutes. Watch for him this weekend
as he and his crew work another Finals Rodeo.
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