Coaching cowboys

Wayne Herman remembers teaching a young cowboy the finer points of bareback riding a few years ago.

When that cowboy, Mandan native Ty Breuer, scored an 87 to win the Sandhills Stock Show & Rodeo in Odessa, Texas, in early January, it was hard for Herman not to think he might have had a hand in Breuer getting to where he is today.

This weekend, the 45-year-old Golden Valley native is back in the area, showing more young cowboys the intricacies of the sport during a three-day bucking clinic which wraps up today at the Dickinson State University Indoor Arena.

"I enjoy doing these schools," said Herman, who won a world bareback riding championship in 1992. "I've done quite a few over the years. It's fun helping these kids, helping them get started and watching them develop."

For more than 15 years, Herman and four-time saddle bronc riding national champion Brad Gjermundson have been holding the clinic and teaching their respective sides of the sport.

Herman estimated there are 10 cowboys at the clinic to work on bareback riding and about 15 are attending for bronc riding.

Killdeer High School sophomore Sam Dillman said he's been working with Herman on setting his feet correctly this weekend.

"He just pretty much sets you up so you get your form down and your figure and everything, so you get to where you're supposed to be, and gets your feet working," said Dillman, who rides also rides bulls. "My biggest problem is not working my feet."

Belfield senior Trell Shyposki, last year's high school state runner-up in the saddle bronc riding, said learning tips and tricks from a pair of world-renowned cowboys has its perks.

"It's really nice to have somebody who knows what they're talking about to help you with their weak points and let you know what you're doing right," Shypkoski said.

Gjermundson, 49, lives and ranches north of Richardton. He said Herman brings an influential voice the young cowboys respect.

"He spends a lot of time with them," Gjermundson said. "They need it for the safety part. The kids are pretty good riders, but he can help them get better too."

Herman, a 1982 graduate of Golden Valley High School, now lives in Watertown, S.D., where he works for Orwig's Livestock Supplements.

While Herman has been out of professional rodeo since 1998, he said getting back into the arena and helping kids brings back good memories.

"It's kind of fun to get back into it a little bit and play around a little bit," Herman said.