Living the life of a cowboy is every boy's childhood dream. 2020 Garfield graduate Cameron King made that dream a reality, dropping out of college and becoming a full-time cowboy to live her life.
“For me, it was just the love of horses. I work for a rodeo company, so every time people ask me, they ask me why I don't rodeo,” King told Weekly Villager. . “When I was learning, I wanted to be the best jockey I could be. Everything I do is trying to get close to horses, and I love horses.
Since moving to Montana after his sophomore year at Hiram College, King has become accustomed to the cowboy lifestyle, working as an extra on the set of the hit television series Yellowstone, starring Kevin Costner, and in its spinoff (1923). He also worked as a wrangler in 2010. , starring Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren.
King currently works as a shuttler for Red Eye Rodeo, a traveling rodeo company specializing in high school and college rodeos. His responsibilities include riding horses during rodeos, picking up competitors riding bucking horses and bulls, and helping them dismount safely.
“We're all very proud of him,” said King's father, Aaron, owner of Skylane Bowling. “He's a very focused kid. When he decides he wants to be good at something, he works at it until he gets it. He emerged as an outstanding drummer in high school and is a really good basketball player. He was also an outstanding hitter.”
During high school, Cameron's entire schedule revolved around track and field, competing in basketball, baseball, golf, and football, as well as being a drummer in the marching band.
During his fourth year, Cameron served as a counselor for Garfield's fifth-grade students at Camp Fitch in Springfield, Pennsylvania, and returned home with a desire to take horseback riding lessons.
Cameron took a job at Sand Hills Stables, a boarding school in Sharlersville Township, and took horseback riding lessons from Mark Troyer, owner of Fox Hill Stables in Garrettsville.
“Back in the day, he used to rope. I knew that, so I messaged him and went to his house and started learning how to rope and ride,” Cameron said. “I had been working at a riding stable for a few years and had asked if I could ride horses if I had the chance.”
After graduating from Garfield College, Cameron studied at Hiram College for two years before deciding to pursue a full-time career with horses and taking a job working at Rock Creek Dude Ranch in Phillipsburg, Montana.
“It's crazy that one of the handful of people who accepted me was the nicest person in the world. To me, it just shows if you're motivated. People see that. He’ll give me a chance,” Cameron said. “There may be someone far more qualified than me, but if they don't come to work every day, they're not worth hiring.”
Most of the people he worked with on the ranch were his age, leaving home for the first time to learn how to live independently.
“I was 3,000 miles away from home and didn't know anyone, but then I started liking the place more than the people,” Cameron added. “It was the most beautiful place I've ever been in my life.”
Cameron applies to be an extra yellowstone I applied through Facebook in the summer of 2022 and was accepted. One day during filming, he was approached by an assistant director who asked him to appear in a scene with the show's actors.
King was given a few seconds of screen time in a branding scene in the seventh episode of the show's fifth season, and used that experience to become a wrangler on set. 1923 Located in Butte, Montana
Shooting in progress yellowstoneCameron met Bobby Lovegren, a professional horse trainer who has worked on several high-profile projects, including: sea biscuit, django unchained and Return of the lonely pigeonand hired him, 1923 His plan is to run until November 2022, after which he will retire to become a pickup man at Red Eye Rodeo.
“I've worked with a lot of guys from Montana and they know the area and the people really well,” Cameron said. “I told them I wanted to learn pickup, and they gave me the name Cale Berg, the owner of Red Eye Rodeo. , I called him one day and said, “Hey Kale, I want to know how to pick up the phone. How can I do that?”
Cameron is in his second year as a shuttler for the company and is enjoying the offseason, but he still has his hands full. He handles about 200 cows, 80 bulls and 100 horses, and he is only one of his three workers tending the herd.
Once rodeo season begins at the end of March, Cameron plans to travel extensively with his company through September.
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