Noah Suchorab was on his way to becoming a professional cowboy. But fourteen months ago, at only 19 years old, he got thrown from his horse.
A hoof came down on his wrist. Two surgeries later, and he still finds himself sitting on the sidelines. But that doesn’t mean he’s given up on the rodeo world. Just this weekend, Suchorab opened a brand-new rodeo school a short drive north of Prince Albert.
“Instead of beating myself up over it, I took my energies and my efforts out on helping these kids,” he said.
Starting on Saturday, the school offered a two-day course in bareback and saddle bronc riding to twenty students from Saskatchewan, Alberta and B.C. Suchorab brought in professional instructors, three cowboys he calls “the best in the business,” to the Red River Riding and Roping arena on Red Wing Road. He did it on a shoestring budget, with financial support from his aunt and uncle.
“I wanted to give back to a local facility in my city. I’m born and raised here,” he said. “All the money made from this school is getting given back to the 4R’s arena.”
The students, aged 14 to about 25, started off doing “dry work.” They learnt proper technique on a wooden spur board before moving on to a bucking dummy, basically a mock horse pulled behind a quad. Only then were they ready for the real deal.
For more on this story, see the March 7 print or e-edition of the Daily Herald.
