Western Shooting Horse

Chip Off The Old Rock

Maybe you were in Guthrie, Oklahoma last June.  Or you’ve seen the video on the Western Shooting Horse website. The gangly teenager in the black hat with a feather sticking out, on board his Quarter Horse gelding. Maneuvering through gates and around barrels, nailing all the balloons, and hitting the line in world record time.

Cheers, hoots and hollers, and applause greet him. And so does the gray haired guy with the handle bar mustache.  The youngster leaps off his horse and into the arms of the older cowboy, a tight embrace of joy and celebration and affection.

Father and son.  Rock and Cody Clark. A picture that says much about a very special relationship.  A relationship based on love and mutual respect, and forged in the arenas of Cowboy Mounted Shooting.

Cody has some big boots to fill, for sure.  But he’s also putting his own stamp on the sport.  This is his story, but you can’t tell it without Rock.

Born to Ride
Cody Clark is a good kid. Polite.  Respectful.  Smile on his face. He refers to folks as “Mr.” or “Mrs.” or “Miss.”  His every answer during our interview is punctuated by a “Yessir” or “Nosir.”  He gets that from his dad.

Cody gets his love of horses from his dad, too—and his mom Terri. “Six weeks old was about the first time he was on horseback,” she remembers. Rock put him up there. “Of course, mom was scared to death.  I still get kinda nervous.”

At one point in his life, so was Cody.  Actually it was worse than that; the 16-year old admits that he was deathly afraid of getting on a horse.  It goes back to when he was about 5, and Rock entered him in a barrel contest. “I don’t know what it was, but when they got to announcing, ‘Up next—T-Bar and Cody,’ T-Bar got to dancing and prancing and I had to get up on the back of him.  And it was all I could do to keep him walking around.  And Cody was scared.”

That lasted for about three years.  At times, his folks thought Cody would never be a horseman.  And then Rock introduced his boy to mounted shooting. 

Ridin’ Hard
Chip Off The Old Rock
One of his first memories is not exactly positive. Cody was an eight-year-old Wrangler riding a mount named Geronimo at Winchester, TN.  The youngster fell off during the rundown “and got rope burns on my hands.
His dad made Cody get back on the horse and ride the next stage.  There’s no quit in Rock Clark, and he’s made sure that his son learned that lesson.

But it took Cody a bit of time to really taste the rewards of competition. It was at the 2007 Westerns, aboard a mount named Goose, and the kid shot clean and rode fast. That earned him a champion buckle in the Junior 3 class.

Rock has coached Cody throughout.  Before every run, the two confer with dad offering some advice or encouragement.  Sometimes it’s something simple like “shoot your balloons and keep your head on your shoulders.”  Other times, it’s more complex—like course management.  Cody had to get those lessons banged into his head more than a few times—things like “know where you want to turn and be able to execute it.”

But as he grew and learned and executed, the boy got more and more successful.  So much so that in 2010, Cody Clark became the youngest Mens 6 in CMSA history.  He competes head to head against Rock, and beats his dad on more than a few occasions—a fact that the older Clark mentions with a lot of pride in his voice.

And then Cody set the standard on course 52 in Guthrie.  He was a little nervous and excited just before going into the arena—but he had a feeling about it. “I told Dad, ‘I guess I might as well go after it.’  And he said, ‘Okay, just ride smart.’  And Gin was calm going into the arena, which is always a good sign.  I shot the first five balloons, and I thought, ‘Wow! That was a quick first five.’  And we came around and shot the last balloon.  I didn’t know until I circled around and looked at the timer.”

Then jumped off the horse and into a big hug from Rock.

Father and Son
Now you may be wondering if Rock Clark is trying to live through Cody’s accomplishments.  Both deny it; so does Terri. And if you think about it, Rock is even more successful than his boy as a mounted shooter.

A demanding father?  Absolutely.  A sometimes stern taskmaster? No question. But unreasonable?  Not really.  In fact, if Cody got tired of mounted shooting and decided to quit, Rock (and Terri) say they would support him all the way.

The one thing that Rock is committed to: sharing his experience and knowledge with Cody—especially to make him a better person.  What are those major lessons? “Be nice to people,” says Cody.  “Take care of your horse before yourself.  And treat others the way you want to be treated.”

And Rock stays on him, making sure Cody does his best.  It doesn’t matter what the area—school (Cody is an 11th grade honor student); other athletics (Cody was a baseball all-star before quitting to focus on mounted shooting); and even his faith (Cody prays for other competitors and those in special need before every run).

Rock and Cody are much alike.  Both have tempers. Both are pretty emotional. Both have a combination of little boy enthusiasm tempered by maturity. Both are fierce competitors. Both are talented riders and shooters.  
They share a remarkable bond.

Yep, Cody is a chip off the old Rock.  He can’t help but be.  But keep your eyes on him, as he continues to develop as a shooter and a person. Cody Clark will be his own man, too.