Severely wounded by a roadside bomb in Iraq, Army Spc. Jake Lowery of Fort Richardson found a novel way to get feeling better: He traveled to Fort Worth, Texas, climbed on a horse and entered the team roping competition at the 2007 World Finals Rodeo sponsored by the Professional Armed Forces Rodeo Association.
And he won.
In a Veterans Day competition for active-duty military personnel as well as veterans -- with more than 40 teams competing -- Lowery posted the fastest overall time in the finals as team-roping heeler (the cowboy who ropes the hind legs of a running calf).
At the same time, John Escobedo -- Lowery's 48-year-old stepdad and roping partner -- took first-place honors as team roping header (the cowboy who ropes the horns of the calf).
Together, father and son took home championship belt buckles as well as several hundred dollars in prize money. But the emotional boost Lowery received in reaching a personal goal may have been the greatest winnings of all.
"When he's on horseback, that's when he finds his comfort zone," said Escobedo, who owns a boot and saddle store in Silver City, N.M. "That's when you know everything is good."
Lowery is still trying to recover from his injuries, which occurred when the Humvee he was driving near Fallujah nine months ago got hit by a roadside bomb. The blast killed the soldier sitting next to him, 22-year-old Sgt. Russell Kurtz of Fort Richardson, and sent a metal shard through the side of Lowery's face that destroyed his right eye and damaged his brain.
Recovering in Anchorage in the months that followed while remaining on active duty, Lowery decided to try riding horseback and roping calves on weekends at a friend's home in Wasilla -- just as he used to as a kid growing up in New Mexico. Compensating for a loss in depth perception, he managed to win a few roping events during Alaska's brief summer rodeo season.
That's when a group of veterans and their families -- after reading about Lowery and his aspirations to compete in the PAFRA World Finals -- decided to sponsor his trip to Texas. American Legion, Susitna Valley Post 35, hosted a steak dinner and auction and raised $2,300 for the journey, says post adjutant Laura McCammon.
The funding also paid transportation costs for Lowery's horses, but the soldier did the rest, winning his event and finishing in the top six in PAFRA's year-end point totals --in spite of his injury and spending part of the year in Iraq.
He still gets headaches from the brain trauma, and the congestion of the rodeo crowds still makes him uneasy, says Lowery, who also suffers symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder while awaiting his final medical review at Fort Rich.
But winning felt good -- and he appreciates the support of Valley veterans. Said Lowery: "We did pretty good."
Find George Bryson online at adn.com/contact/gbryson or call 257-4318.
