A true cowboy, Gee does it all

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March 29, 2008

Maegan McGowen The Huntsville Item Sat Mar 29, 2008, 12:54 AM CDT

Mickey Gee is a true cowboy. He can rope, ride and tackle a steer after jumping off a horse at a full gallop.

“I’ve been into rodeo since I was 10 years old,” Gee said.

Gee, a world champion steer wrestler from Wichita Falls, also participates in team roping and tie-down roping.

“My favorite event to participate in is steer wrestling because I won a world championship in steer wrestling," he said.

According to Gee, his parents have always been supportive of his choice to make a career in rodeo.

“My father steer wrestled while I was in high school,” he said. “I really didn’t have much choice in my career. My dad always made sure I had good horses and good equipment and all that good stuff.”

In addition to winning the 1999 world championship in steer wrestling, Gee has won numerous other competitions.

“The highlight of my career was when I won the Cheyenne, Wyoming, rodeo which is the daddy of them all,” he said. “It’s a very prestigious rodeo, and I won about $24,000. I also won a world championship in 1999 in Las Vegas, and I won in Las Vegas in 2003, as well as the Fort Worth rodeo back to back in 1998 and 1999.”

Gee was also the 2003 National Finals Rodeo average champion, the 2003 Dodge Rodeo Series Champion and the 2003 Copenhagen Rodeo Series champion.

Rodeo competition requires competitiors to travel extensively and Gee said he competes at about 75 rodeos per year.

“I compete all over the country, from Canada to Florida to California to Huntsville,” he said. “I’ve been to the Walker County Fair and Rodeo before, and in 2002 I won second, but I’ve never actually won it.”

Gee said he qualified for the Walker County Fair and Rodeo this weekend and is optimistic about his chances.

“The guys that I’ll be competing against are the top guys, so it’s going to be a tough competition,” he said. “It really goes back to the draw of the cattle and who draws the better steer, so I have as much a shot as anybody to win it.”

According to Gee, there is a big difference in the steers that the competitors draw at each rodeo.

“Some run real hard and some don’t run at all,” he said. “Some go right and some go left, so it’s a good idea to pay attention and know your cattle. That way, if you know the steer goes left, you can steer your horse to catch him. There are lots of little tricks to it.”

Before he enters the arena, Gee tries to remain focused on the job at hand.

“I just try to think about the start I want to make on my steer,” he said. “I always find out what kind of track record is on the animal I drew, and I try to make game plans from there.”

Horses are an important part of steer wrestling, roping and calf roping, and Gee owns four, all of which he brought to the Walker County Fair and Rodeo.

“I brought all four horses, and I’ve got a bunch of guys that ride my horses,” Gee said. “Because the guys ride my horses, I get 25 percent. This is called ‘mount business,’ which is good money also.”

Gee said he trains his own horses.

“I grew up poor so I had to train my own horses,” he said. “I couldn’t afford any $100,000 trained horses.”

Gee said there are several things he enjoys about the rodeo life.

“I enjoy the friendships you make because you get to meet a lot of people traveling all over,” he said. “The money’s good if you win, and you don’t stay in the same place all the time.”

The hardest part about rodeo is the driving, Gee said.

“The all-night drives are the worst; we drive 500 miles per night,” he said.

When Gee is not at a rodeo, he likes to pursue his other passion: hunting.

“I have a hunting service at home where we take people out on wild hog hunts,” he said. “That’s about it, it’s hunting and rodeo.”

Gee also teaches his rodeo skills through schools and lessons. His schools help beginners to develop their rodeo techniques and skills from the unqiue perspective of someone who is on top of the rodeo competition.

“People are always coming by the house to try and learn,” he said.

According to Gee, rodeo isn’t something you can do half-heartedly.

“You’ve just got to try hard and put 100 percent into it,” he said. “Eat it, sleep it and breathe it. It’s not something you can do halfway and it will turn out.”

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