| Keeping the West in West Virginia: H&H RODEO
Text and photographs by Daniel Boyd
On the last Saturday night in September, car lights glow yellow amid the midnight dust kicked up by barrel-racing horses, bucking broncos and bulls, and the hardworking cowboys and cowgirls of the H&H Ranch and Rodeo in Apple Grove in Mason County. The final event of 2007 for the only remaining full-season rodeo in West Virginia has ended. As vehicles pull away, I watch and wonder if I am witnessing the end of a great tradition in our state.
I’ve just spent my first season competing as a bull rider, and I’ve been impressed with what I’ve seen: the talent and athleticism of the ropers and barrel racers, the skill and courage of the bull riders, and the camaraderie of the local rodeo community. These folks are working to save a rich tradition that showcases the talents and celebrates the heritage of the agricultural community of our state.
When long-running Organ Cave Rodeo in Greenbrier County pulled the plug on its 2007 season, H&H (Haga & Haga) Rodeo became the only full-season, multievent competition rodeo in the state. This year will mark H&H’s 10th season.
H&H owner Blair Haga, 54, was drawn into the business by his children. Growing up on a farm, he developed an appreciation for livestock and a passion for horses, but opportunities for competition in handling techniques did not exist for him as a kid. When he got older and started a family of his own, he passed on his love of horses to his daughter, Marsha, and his son, Brian. Marsha and Brian began raising contest horses (pole and barrel racers) and showing them at regional events. At these events they were also drawn to rodeo. In order for them to compete at higher levels, Marsha and Brian and their friends had to develop multiple skills, including riding, roping, and dogging. They also had to travel, as there were no organized rodeos near their community.
 The group picked up some skills competing on the regional rodeo circuit. In addition, Brian Haga traveled to specialized schools to learn more skills, then returned home and taught the others. The skills and passion of the group continued to grow, until one day Brian told his father that rodeo was what he wanted to do in life. He wanted to start a rodeo company right there on their ranch in Apple Grove.
In 1999, in an "if you build it, they will come" gamble, the Hagas constructed an arena on their property and began their first rodeo season. And come they did. As word spread, seasoned cowboys and cowgirls from five neighboring states began showing up to compete for jackpot purses (prize money determined by a percentage of the entry fees) in the multievent rodeo. The new H&H Rodeo also filled a niche for novice rodeo enthusiasts looking for an opportunity to learn and compete in the sport.
"I think just about everybody, deep down, kinda wants to be a cowboy every now and then," Blair Haga says. "It’s just a matter of having an opportunity to do it. We kinda gave that."
 Spectators quickly discovered that H&H Rodeo offered good family fun. From roping and dogging events to bull riding, audiences saw that H&H Rodeo was happening! Women barrel racers rode in perfect sync with their horses, like poetry in motion. Even kids in the audience got into the act, piling into the arena to pull the ribbon off a running calf’s tail in the popular Calf Scramble. Those under 50 pounds could don helmets and try Mutton Busting, or hanging onto the back of a running sheep for as long as they could. Afterwards the kids got trophies for their first forays into rodeo. With each season the rodeo shows got better and the crowds got bigger. It was not uncommon to have some 500 rodeo-goers come through the gates on event nights.
Then, in 2002, H&H Rodeo suffered a tragic blow when Brian Haga died suddenly from an undetected heart ailment. At age 23 he left behind his wife, two young children, and a devastated rodeo community. Yet in this time of inestimable grief, rather than close the rodeo, Blair Haga chose to keep it alive. "I want Brian’s kids—my grandbabies—to grow up and see what a great thing their dad started," he explains.
From that point, H&H Rodeo became more than a venue to promote and sustain western heritage in West Virginia; it became a living tribute to its determined, young founder. With the start of the 2002 season, the H&H Rodeo arena was named in honor of Brian Haga. A steel sign with his name, commissioned by his sister, Marsha Casey, was erected at the entrance to the arena.
 A man of few words, Blair Haga emphasizes that operating the rodeo today would be impossible without the help of the close-knit group that grew out of Brian’s initial inspiration. Marsha Casey, who lives on the family property with her husband and two small sons, says managing the ranch and rodeo is a year-round job. On event days she manages the tack shop and performs several other duties. Blair’s childhood friend Randy Shepherd also joins in to time, judge, herd, and do whatever else needs to be done. In traditional American barn-raising style, scores of other friends and family members jump in to help keep the show running. Even Blair’s mom, Rosalie Haga, 78, serves as concession stand cook and manager.
Like Blair and Marsha and the others, Brian’s two best friends, Daniel and Tommy Ferguson, continue to honor him by staying closely involved in the rodeo. In addition to competing in roping events, Daniel works the back pens (loading bulls in the chutes) and is Blair’s main "pick-up man," riding his horse into the arena to rescue the bronc and bareback participants after their rides.
While Daniel would much rather work than talk, his younger brother, Tommy, is, pound for pound, the most entertaining attraction at the rodeo. In addition to being a champion bulldogger (one who jumps from a speeding horse to wrestle a steer to the ground), he doubles as both rodeo clown and bullfighter. One moment he’s keeping spectators laughing as he puts on water skis and is pulled around the arena by a horse. The next moment he’s the bull rider’s best friend, at the ready to keep the animal away from a bucked cowboy. After I was thrown by the bull Vortex, Tommy was there in a flash to get me up and out of harm’s way. Tommy makes you laugh—and, as I discovered, he can also save your butt.
As for the rough stock—the bucking broncos and bulls—you can’t tell me that they don’t get together after each event and have a good laugh over what they do to the humans. My initial thought while climbing on my first bull, Bandit, was "These things aren’t designed to be sat on." My next thought was, "How did I get on the ground so fast?" In my seven bull rides through the course of the season, the longest I lasted was six seconds. (It takes eight for a qualified ride.) It’s as hard on the ego as it is on the body, but the crowd sure loves it.
 In a state that boasts 21,000 family farms, I wonder why there aren’t more rodeos in West Virginia. After all, the enthusiastic crowds at H&H Rodeo continue to grow. Blair Haga has a quick answer to my question.
"It’s hard work and it’s very expensive," he tells me. Besides the huge, initial investment for the facilities, equipment, and specialized live and rough stock animals, the care and maintenance of all of these is perpetual. Specialized horses and rank performing bulls cost in the tens of thousands of dollars each. Properly and humanely protecting that investment (H&H animals get rock-star treatment) requires a time commitment of more than eight hours a day, 365 days a year. When you add the astronomical cost of the high-risk insurance that is required for an enterprise that can be devastated by just a few rain-outs, it’s not the safest way to try and make a buck.
West Virginia’s 10-term commissioner of agriculture, Gus R. Douglass, agrees with Blair Haga. An old farm boy himself and a champion of the family farmer for some five decades, Douglass explains that in today’s business climate, rodeoing, like farming, is more a lifestyle choice than an economic one. "They do it because they love it," Douglass says. "H&H puts a value on a proud heritage of yesteryear—a heritage of community spirit, honesty, and truthfulness among people."
In recent years, the state has made great strides in agritourism, a marriage of agriculture and tourism. From guided tours of homegrown, gourmet salsa businesses to visits to Halloween cornfield mazes, West Virginia’s Division of Tourism and Department of Agriculture are partnering to successfully market rural, agriculture-based attractions to an "off-farm" tourist community. For Douglass, rodeo is a no-brainer for this marketing collaboration. "The skills on display at H&H Ranch and Rodeo give the average person an appreciation for the work our ancestors did building this nation into what it is today," he says.
 Douglass and Blair Haga agree that the only way to keep western heritage alive in West Virginia is to establish and maintain the interest of the state’s youth. The West Virginia High School Rodeo Association (WVHSRA) is attempting to do just that. Established in 2000 as a chapter of the national organization, the group has nearly 50 members from seven counties. It stages 16 in-state rodeos a year and last July sent 10 qualifiers to the National High School Rodeo finals in Springfield, Illinois. According to WVHSRA’s director, Billy McCormick, high school seniors continuing on to higher education receive scholarship money from national and state association funds.
As I watch the last cars leave on that last night of the 2007 season, I press Blair Haga for reassurance that H&H Rodeo will continue next year. We have become good friends during the season. In fact, I have made many good friends in my season of bull riding—friends who would drop anything to help you and never expect or accept anything in return. And I’ve met kids who still say "yes, sir" and "no, ma’am." There’s just a general goodness about the whole experience that I don’t want to let go of. Then Blair reminds me of H&H Rodeo’s heart and soul.
"This is bigger than business, Danny," he says finally. "We ride for Brian."
Daniel Boyd is a communications professor at West Virginia State University, an award-winning filmmaker, a three-time professional wrestling champion, and now a retired bull rider.
H&H Rodeo 2008
Experience a bit of the Wild West and a lot of family fun at the H&H Rodeo. The rodeo is held Saturday nights, beginning at 7:00 PM. Entry sign-up closes at 6:00 PM. For more information, call 304.576.2243. The dates for the 2008 season are:
April 26
May 24
June 28
July 26
August 23
September 27
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