Gilroy fire captain makes rodeo a family sport
Gilroy – Some families have basketball hoops or swimming pools, even the occasional soccer goal, in their backyards.
The Stelling family, however, has a virtual rodeo.
Actually, the Stellings have more of a ranch than a backyard. The place started as a vision for Marc Stelling, a captain with the Gilroy Fire Department, who bought the property in Hollister and built the ranch on the foundation that his family could participate in the sport together.
“It’s our hobby,” says Stelling, a 15-year veteran of the Gilroy Fire Department.
And a serious hobby, at that. Stelling and his wife Jimene got into rodeo when they moved to the ranch eight years ago. Since then, daughters Laila, 12, Haylie, 6, and Sierra, 3, have all been raised on horses and have learned the ropes of rodeo. They compete in rodeo competitions, including last month’s San Benito County Rodeo at the Bolado Park Fairgrounds.
“It’s what we practice for all year,” Marc says.
As the afternoon wanes into early evening at the Stelling’s ranch a few days after the event, the whole family and one of Marc’s roping pupils, 14-year-old Katie Vest, try to get in a few more roping runs.
Jimene, atop Shadow, and Marc, atop Misery, ride over to one end of the pen. Marc pulls a rope that opens the gate to the cattle pen. A speedy calf bursts out of the chute away from him. Marc and Jimene chase off on horseback after it as the rest of the family looks on. Jimene – the header – gets a good throw and catches the calf around the neck, but Marc – the heeler – gets nothing but dirt with his throw.
“And that’s why this is the practice pit,” Marc shouts.
Everyone but Haylie and Sierra, who were too young to compete, placed in at least one event at the San Benito rodeo, which drew about 300 participants this year.
Jimene and Marc finished third in family team calf roping out of about 25 teams, while Marc took fifth in regular team calf roping.
But Laila outshined them all by defending her title in keyhole in her age division and by taking third in both the barrels and the ribbon race competitions.
“She’s a natural,” said Jimene, nodding over at Laila, who’s been riding since the age of four.
Third-generation Gilroyan Marc began riding horses when he was 14. A few years ago, he decided he wanted to get into competition so he took up roping. Stelling had to remove more than 400 apricot trees from the property, which used to be an orchard, to make room for the ranch.
“This is what we bought (the property) for,” Stelling, 37, said. “We built basically a horse facility.”
Marc makes his living as a firefighter and he teaches at the fire academy. But when he’s not at work, Marc lives the life of a cowboy, farming hay, raising cattle and teaching rodeo skills to some local kids.
“It’s a full day,” he said.
The Stellings have accumulated a menagerie of animals on the ranch.
“Seven horses, including the pony, five dogs, three goats,” Stelling reels off. And that’s in addition to the 36 regulation Texas Longhorns they raise.
The white and brown spotted pony that hangs out in the corner of the dirt practice pen while the other horses are used for practice was born three and a half years ago on the same day Marc was promoted to fire captain. The pony’s name is, of course, Captain.
“We had a good baby and a new position (in the same day),” Marc said.
The family practices a full array of rodeo events in the practice pen: Barrels, calf roping and keyhole, just to name a few.
“We set barrels out so we can practice barrels, draw a keyhole (in the dirt) for the keyhole, we have goats for goat tying,” Jimene says.
All three Stelling girls are starting to make their marks in rodeo.
“I’ve gone to more (rodeos) than you can count,” says Laila. Her first sport was gymnastics, which Jimene thinks may be the secret to her daughter’s success in rodeo. She believes it helped Laila develop her balance and flexibility.
Six-year-old Haylie is already throwing ropes. Marc estimates that by age eight, she’ll be able to rope a calf.
“Once you know how to ride, it’s about a year (to learn how to rope),” Marc says.
Then there’s tiny Sierra, who already rides her regular-sized horse, Pico, around the practice pen like it’s second nature.
Stelling said learning how to rope is a step-by-step process.
“A lot of people go out there and just try to do it, and get hurt,” he says.
He’s started his girls on a Slick-Stick, a roping simulator that includes a plastic horse and a plastic steer.
When a rider has mastered that, he or she moves on to roping a plastic steer while riding a real horse. The next step is practicing roping on the slower cattle.
Stelling warns that roping is dangerous, even for the experts. Last month, a family friend with lots of roping experience got his thumb caught in a rope and detached his thumb.
The next big local event for the Stellings is the Bolado Charity Rodeo in August. This time, the two youngest girls will get to participate.
Until then, the family will keep brushing up on their skills.
“We do (rodeo) as a family,” says Marc. “It’s one of the only sports out there that you can be at the same time and do as a family.”
