A life of racing, riding and rodeo
<p>Rodeo kiddo Slade Stubblefield, 2, tackles "Danger" for a winning time in the horse wrestling event the Kootenai River Rodeo. Slade is the son of Nick Stubblefield, steer wrestler from Choteau - another Montana family who have strong ties to rodeo.</p>
James and Lisa Warfield may be a “roughie” and a “timey” on opposite sides of the rodeo world but they still found a way to cross that cultural divide to find love.
Lisa Warfield, a barrel racer since age 3, laughs when she remembers sitting on a fence with her brother in 2008 and telling him she had been asked out on a date by James Warfield, a long-time bull-rider.
“You stay away from roughies,” Lisa’s brother told her, referring to rough stock competitors. Lisa, a “timey,” or a timed event competitor, ignored the advice and decided to take James up on his offer of dinner.
“It all went from there,” she said, remembering how James stepped up immediately as a father figure to her two young sons. Lisa’s family also changed their tune. “They love him now.”
The Wolf Creek pair, married for five years now, will both be competing in this weekend’s Kootenai River Rodeo and Tobacco Valley Rode, travelling to Lincoln County in their truck and extended horse float with living quarters, bringing along sons T.J.,9, and Chance, 7. Both boys are learning how to rope and ride, Lisa said, which officially makes them a rodeo family.
While Lisa takes off to compete in barrel racing, James, now a member of the Montana Pro Rodeo Circuit board, will be facing the circuit bulls in the chutes. It is a passion he has pursued since high school, ever since he spent time on ranches branding cattle with his family. James wrestled competitively in high school but it wasn’t until he was taken to a friend’s bull-riding practice session that his childhood passion was rekindled.
One ride on a bull and James knew this would become his life for the next 25 years.
“I thought ‘this is what I gotta do,” James said. “I was hooked – that was that.”
Life on the rodeo circuit is a fantastic journey during the summer months, the couple agreed.
“You’re always running,” James said. Both the Kootenai River Rodeo and the Tobacco Valley Rodeo are events that pull in their group of friends who run into each other year after year. “It’s like a big family. The rodeos (in Libby and Eureka) have great people; the rodeo is excellent. It’s fun, the entertainment they have and everything.”
Lisa described it as an adventure for everyone.
“It does get trying – you’re away from home so you’ve got to manage your time on the road just like anywhere else,” Lisa said. “But the boys have friends wherever they go. It’s a lot of fun for them.”
Lisa said as long as the love of rodeo continues in the family, they will keep trucking.
“James loves it – I have plans for myself too...with barrel racing, I love the speed, the adrenaline. I really enjoy bringing young horses along. The rodeo atmosphere is so fun because of all that adrenaline, so keeping the horses together is exciting.
“We’ll be doing this for awhile, for sure.”