Warren's own participate in Cheyenne Frontier Days rodeo

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Mike Tryon
  • 90th Missile Wing Public Affairs
F. E. WARREN AIR FORCE BASE, Wyo. --  For two of Air Force Global Strike Command's Mighty Ninety members, Cheyenne Frontier Days provided them with the opportunity to rodeo in the "Daddy of 'em all."

Capt. Brian Boner, 90th Operations Support Squadron chief of ICBM training scenarios, and Capt. Carl Barrios, 90th Missile Wing command post senior controller, and Blue Pennington, Cheyenne native, comprise the three-man, wild-horse race team.

The roles of the team members are shank-man, who holds the horse's ropes; the mugger, who grabs the horse's halter; and the rider, who saddles the horse and rides it for the rest of the race.

"This event is special to me because of the tradition behind it," Barrios said. "This being the first-ever rodeo event and my background as a ranch-hand give me a real appreciation of it."

Boner and Barrios have teamed up for the past few years to compete in rodeos from Montana to Colorado between Father's Day and Memorial Day.

"I've really enjoyed doing this," Boner said. "It's great because of the camaraderie shared by all of us. Not just us on our team, but between all the teams competing.

"When [we] started out, other teams were there to help us break onto the scene," Boner added. "After doing this for awhile, we're seeing other teams come up, so we help them out too."

Competing in the rodeo is a way for Boner and Barrios to show community support.

"This is a fun way to take a break from work, and build good public relations with the community," Barrios said. "Community members notice we're in the Air Force, and competing acts as a good partnership for the base and city."

Barrios and Boner competed during the rodeo July 23 and 24.

"Unfortunately, we were unable to finish the race either day," Boner said. "That goes with the territory as it is all luck of the draw. As the name of the event implies, these horses are wild and don't always want to cooperate."

The next competition Barrios and Boner are competing in takes place Aug. 6 in Cripple Creek, Colo.