The future is closing in on rodeo

The potential future of rodeo can be seen frolicking on a ranch in Texas.

There, three yearlings, named Go Right, Go Straight and Go Left, the cloned offspring of champion gelding Go Wild are waiting for the day they will be old enough to compete in bareback or saddle bronc at a Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association event, such as the Pikes Peak or Bust Rodeo.

Whether they will, remains undecided. The three yearlings, owned by veterinarian Gregg Veneklasen, Jason Abraham and four-time world champ saddle bronc champ Clint Johnson, could be old enough to compete like their 33-year-old champion father in 3-5 years, maybe sooner, since a few great broncs started competition at age 3.

“The horse tells you when it is ready," Veneklasen said. "Several years ago it was just a dream. Now, we’re not far off.”

Then, making a decision may be forced onto the PRCA, which relies on its members to approach the board of directors for a policy change.

“We’re probably the last to do it because we’re so grass roots,” commissioner Karl Stressman said. “We don’t react as quickly.”

To be fair, it is hard to keep up with science.

Animal cloning caused a media sensation years ago with the birth of Dolly the sheep in 1996 and the announcement a year later. It’s since quieted down as developments became more commonplace.

The first cloned horse was born in 2003 in Italy. In 2005, Texas A&M University created the first in the United States. The clone can be used in competition, in some sports, or most often, to make the original horse’s genes available for future breeding.

“There are very, very few problems now when initially there were quite a few,” Veneklasen said from his base, Timber Creek Veterinary Hospital in Canyon, Texas. “If you’re in business to do this and do not get better, you get out. Now it’s not any different than any assisted reproductive technology.”

Veneklasen said the hospital, in partnership with ViaGen, produces the most horse clones in the world. Sixty will be born this year at the hospital, in all varieties of horse. Texas A&M produces a horse a year, he said.

While the science is becoming more commonplace, the topic remained an uncomfortable one for some competitors at the recent Pikes Peak or Bust Rodeo.

“If it isn’t the way God intended, I’m not too sure about it,” said team roper Michael Jones of Stephenville, Texas.

The other negative for most cowboys or cowgirls could be the cost. Each horse clone costs $165,000, making the purchase something only some stock contractors could manage. Kirsten Vold, the general manager of the Harry Vold Rodeo Company, said the cost is prohibitive for a science that is not 100 percent.

“We’re not against it by any means,” she said. “If you have a great animal, all of us would like to have 10 of them. But it’s pretty costly so it’s not something we’d venture into.”

The payoff could be tremendous if another legendary bull like Bodacious was developed. Horses used in barrel racing, steer wrestling and tie-down roping require considerable training that go beyond just genetics while bulls can still be bred the “old-fashioned.way,” as Stressman put it.

Barrel racing horse Scamper, which won 10 world championships with owner Charmayne James, was cloned in 2006 by ViaGen. Its cloned offspring, Clayton, has the same genes but different markings.

“That was a once in a lifetime horse,” Golden cowgirl Lacey Hufnagel said of Scamper. “But you just don’t know what will happen. Experiences and training can affect a horse.”

“Some horses learn and their brother or sister may never,” Nebraska cowgirl Trula Churchill said.

That can apply to bucking horses too.

“My argument all along is you can’t clone the heart and soul of an animal,” Vold said. “That’s what makes them great; their heart and desire to buck. There’s no guarantee and that’s the chance you take.”

Veneklasen said he hopes to someday show those intangibles can be repeated through clones, taking the gamble out of conventional breeding.

“We’re kind of excited,” Veneklasen said. “Go Wild was one of (the Calgary Stampede’s) best horses and we now have three of him. It will be a neat scientific experiment to see how they turn out. I know Clint is smiling. He says they look just like the original and they all act like each other.”

The possibilities are tantalizing if the day comes when clones are considered the norm in rodeo.

“Our sport runs on animals,” Stressman said. “We don’t lack for great bucking horses but we’re always trying to provide the best animals and livestock. If there is a future in looking at that, it’s a good possibility.”

How it’s done

Cloned embryos are produced when the nucleus of a horse’s cell, which contains its DNA, is placed into an unfertilized egg, which has had its own nucleus removed.

The egg then develops into an embryo, which gestates in a mare, which later gives birth to the genetic clone.

Some other organizations’ rules

American Quarter Horse Association – Will not register cloned animals. Only registered animals are allowed to compete.

The Jockey Club (oversees thoroughbred racing) – No cloning or artificial insemination allowed with natural parentage verification required.

National Cutting Horse Association –  Allows clones to compete.

United States Trotting Association – No foals produced by cloning are eligible.

Women’s Professional Rodeo Association – No policy. It would likely adopt one once PRCA does.