Former Showmanship Star Turned 2013 World and Reserve World Champion Tie-Down Roper
If you were to pick which two equestrian events have the least in common, showmanship and tie-down roping would be a pretty good guess. But for 17-year-old Spencer Bramble from Queen Anne, Maryland, these two seemingly dissimilar equestrian pursuits have much more in common than you’d think.
Bramble began his equestrian career at a very young age. Like most, he first competed in leadline classes at local shows before progressing to larger breed events and adding to his repertoire of classes.
“I showed my first horse when I was 15 months old,” Bramble says. “I was a little squirt, and my mom put me out there in leadline at a local AQHA show. I showed showmanship and pleasure from there until about four years ago. Then, I bought my first roping horse.”
“When my dad was younger, he showed halter horses. We had a lot of halter babies [when I was] growing up. He fitted them and showed them, and my mom showed in western pleasure. That’s how I got starting doing pleasure and showing horses.”
Of all the events he competed in during his younger days, Bramble says showmanship was by far his favorite.
“Showmanship was my favorite because I had a really cool show horse at the time,” he says. “I was still in Small Fry then, so I would go in and it would be a straight line pattern. I would do something dumb like forget to back. Then, I’d go in the Novice Youth with a pattern that had pull turns and 360s, and I’d ace it and win the class. I liked the challenge of the pattern. It gave me something to think about.”
Photo courtesy of Kirkbride Photography.
As time progressed, Bramble’s love of action and his need to embrace new challenges soon grew too big for the confines of the western pleasure pen. He decided to try his hand at an event that was a more natural fit for his skills, tie down roping. During one trip to the All American Quarter Horse Congress, Bramble competed in both western pleasure and tie-down roping.
“Pleasure got a little bit boring for me, and I liked the action of the roping,” he says. “It was different, but it was more my style, so I went ahead and swapped.”
The change in discipline proved to be a good move as Bramble won his first World Championship title at the recent 2013 AQHYA World Show in Youth Tie-Down Roping. Not only was he the winner of the class, he was named the Reserve World Champion as well. His World Champion partner was Pure Blue Boon, aka “Maverick,” a 2004 blue roan gelding by Mecom Blue and out of Vang O Lena. The pair received a working total of 217 to take the win.
His Reserve World Champion mount was WR Lynxalena, aka “Lynx,” an 11-year-old buckskin gelding by Sonitalena and out of Bar Bouncer Script. They received a working total of 216.5 for the second place spot.
“I was second out on my buckskin,” he says. “Then, I was rushing because I had to go right back in the ring. I ran back out and had a friend sitting on my other horse. I jumped off, loped a couple of circles, and headed back down. Because it was moving so quickly, I never got to hear my score for the first horse. I didn’t really know I was winning it.”
“I went in last out on my gray horse. We made a run, and when I was walking out, everyone was asking me how I did. They called us into the arena. In the lineup, my trainer told me I was sitting first and second with another score under review. I was pretty proud of myself. I didn’t really know what to think. I definitely didn’t think I would do that good on both of them.”
Given the fact that Bramble lives in Maryland (which isn’t exactly a hot destination for roping) he must often travel long distances to practice and compete. Because Maryland doesn’t have a high school rodeo team, he shows in Pennsylvania. When it comes to AQHA events, he relies on the guidance of his trainer, Gary Wells, who is based in Lone Grove, Oklahoma.
“I’ve been gone an entire month between the High School Rodeo Finals in Wyoming and Oklahoma City,” he says. “We stopped in Oklahoma before the High School Finals to ride with Mr. Gary. Then, we went to the Finals, and I had to think ‘ride fast.’ Then, we went to Oklahoma City [for the World Show], and I had to start working more on horse show stuff.”
“There are a lot of hunter people up this way [in Maryland]. There are a couple of Quarter Horse trainers in New Jersey and a few in Maryland, but it’s not heavily populated. There are definitely no ropers here.”
Caption: A tiny Spencer Bramble with Sunsational Skipjack in Leadline. Photo courtesy of Ambrose Photography
When the fall school season starts in just a few weeks, Bramble will be beginning his senior year. After graduation, he’d like to find a college “somewhere out west,” where he can really immerse himself in roping and the western lifestyle. Although he doesn’t have any plans to pro rodeo, (he wants to become a veterinarian) he would like to continue roping as an amateur and possibly try adding cutting or reining to his list of skills.
“When I was growing up, I had it drilled into my head that by being a horseman you are supposed to be able to ride,” he says. “The better you ride, the better you’ll do. You have to be able to ride your horse and make it look good. When I started roping and trying to do cow stuff, I already knew how to ride, so that part wasn’t hard for me. All I had to do was add the roping to it, so I progressed a whole lot faster than some of the other kids that were learning to ride and rope at the same time.”
Tie-down roping at breed events does have a time component, however, Bramble says the bigger focus is that the class is scored by judges. This is where his background in showmanship and horsemanship, and his ability to quickly make transitions and streamline a run, gives him an advantage.
“At the rodeo, they base it on time, and at a horse show, you are judged,” he says. “It’s pretty much like a reining class. That’s the best way I can explain it. It’s judged on a couple different things: the way they start in the box, the way they run to the calf, how they rate off, obviously if you rope, and how they work the ground and the stop.”
“I like to think that at the rodeo, you’re running against the clock. The clock is always ticking, and pretty much the fastest time wins. Then, at the horse show, you are supposed to make your horse look good. You have to set them up, [not like in showmanship], make sure they are behind the calf, and you have to slow up when you get off to let the horse get into a nice stop.”
The next big show coming up for Bramble and his equine duo is the All American Quarter Horse Congress in Ohio this fall. He also plans to add a third mount to the list. Might this ambitious youth be trying for a tie-down roping hat trick?
“I will probably be showing three horses there,” he says. “I have another jackpot horse that I might take up there, because it’s closer for us and it’s not long to travel. He’s an older horse, and I don’t like the idea of him being on the road for a month.”
The welfare of his horses always come first for Bramble. This is a fact his mother knows all too well, as she often has to call him out of the barn at midnight to go to bed because school is the next day. An interesting note about Bramble’s Reserve World Champion mount, Lynx, is that up until just a few months ago he was a stallion.
“The Reserve World Champion horse is perhaps the Cinderella story, and the comeback story that warms everyone’s hearts,” says family friend Kris Ruppert. “The Brambles traveled to Pennsylvania, and were impressed with what they saw. What really got their attention was the massive buckskin stallion standing in the barn by himself. He had not been ridden for four years, but was previously shown by Gary Wells. Gary was able to put superiors on Lynx in both heading and heeling. The Brambles knew he was something special. Lynx only walked a few feet out of his stall and Spencer’s father said they were going to own that horse. The rest is history.”
“Lynx was gelded in late March. Because of his age, the Brambles allowed him plenty of recovery time before they hit the road in July for the National High School Rodeo Finals in Wyoming and then on to the Youth World Show in Oklahoma. They made a stop at Gary Wells’ ranch and spent a few weeks there. The Wells family was excited about Lynx’s return to the show pen.”
Although Bramble doesn’t see himself returning to the showmanship pen anytime soon, he may be planning a brief appearance in the western pleasure arena with a special young horse.
“We do have a No Doubt I’m Lazy baby that my parents bred the last year I showed,” he says. “He is turning a yearling, and my mom and dad keep telling me that I have to break him soon. If he ends up nice, I might show at the non-pro futurities.”
Whether his next adventure takes place in the roping chute or the pleasure pen, we wish Spencer Bramble the best of luck as he continues with his equestrian career.
