Rodeo Mom
RF: WHAT ADVICE HAS YOUR MOM
GIVEN YOU THAT REALLY STANDS OUT?
Rusty Wright: The advice she has given
me is stay humble. Remember where
you come from and where you started.
I started from the bottom and I wanted
to be like my dad, Chad Ferley, Taos
Muncy, all these world champions. They
are really good guys and I want to be like
them. She has always said, stay humble.
RF: TELL US ABOUT YOUR MOM.
Rusty Wright: She is awesome. I honestly
can say, I wouldn’t be where I am today if
it wasn’t for her. She doesn’t get a lot of
credit. My dad is the one who gets all the
credit because he is the world champion
bronc rider. My brothers, sister and me
wouldn’t be where we are without her.
She does a lot of behind the scenes stuff
that no one knows or gets to see. She
does just as much as my dad does. She
supports us and loves us no matter what
we do. Bad or good, she is always there
for us no matter what.
WRITTEN BY BRENDA MATAMOROS
continued from page 11
Chayni and FloJo won the hearts of the
world during their fairy tale run at RFD-TV’s
The American’s million. It wasn’t the run
they’d hoped for, but it was solid enough to
outrun several of the nation’s best.
Watching Chayni and FloJo in the holding
area gave us some insight into the weight
of the pressure the young cowgirl was
feeling. Watching FloJo’s quiet trust in
her despite the nerves that must have
been electrified in that 9 year old body
brought jaded competitors to their knees.
Forever more, Chayni will thrive under
pressure from the experience. She’s
liable to look back at that run knowing that
as astounding as her accomplishment
was, it was never to be her best ride. To
her credit, she’d ridden through the semifinals fighting the flu. She’d been in the
arena at Arlington’s AT&T Stadium before
dawn that morning, the barrel racers’
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appointed time on the ground and hadn’t
rested since.
when it’s time and be buried in a place
of honor.”
To FloJo’s credit, and that of the rare
unity they share, where Chayni made
those slight faults in timing, the world
of horsemen saw the champion gelding
turn one ear back to her and the other
forward, his eyes on the next mark to hit
perfectly while assuring his girl, ‘I’ve got
this’. And so he did.
Meanwhile, FloJo is treated with all the
freedoms a good horse deserves and
Chayni is still a playful, 9-year-old girl.
When they get home, the horse runs
bucking out across the pasture back
to his mates while his girl jumps on her
trampoline, smiling as he goes.
The family jewels are generally passed
from generation to generation of women
all connected by blood. In FloJo’s case,
he is the family jewel - more precious
than mountains of gems and gold for the
family of women who love him.
“Since The American, we’ve had dozens
of phone calls from people who want to
buy FloJo,” Jeane Bolin said. “He won’t
be leaving the family. He’ll retire here
WRITTEN BY LORI O'HARVER