Horse Sense

Photo by Greg Ebersole

Luke Hoyer, 12, demonstrates how to rope a steer during a Beacon Hill Elementary field trip last week at the ranch of Bill and Debbie Merz of Longview.

Tuesday, May 27, 2003 9:15 AM PDT

By Cathy Zimmerman

These mamas want their babies to grow up to be cowboys.

When your children's teachers rope and ride, said Ginny Feist of Kelso, "you want your kids to be cowboys!"

Feist spent Friday in the wild west of Longview, watching her son Michael and about 50 of his classmates from Beacon Hill Elementary trot on quarter horses and throw lassos at the ranch of Bill and Debbie Merz.

The Merzes have been orchestrating horse-riding days for children at their 16-acre Longview spread for several years. They team up with two Beacon Hill teachers, Tim and Kim Yore of Winlock, who happen to be rodeo riders in their spare time, and son Shawn Merz, also a serious rodeo rider who teaches at Barnes Elementary.

"We had 100 of these little darlins out here yesterday," said Debbie Merz.

This year, for the first time, senior citizens from Canterbury Inn and the Delaware Plaza joined the cow-down, petting horses and delighting in the dust, grit and action.

Every spring, several classes from Kelso schools spend a day at the ranch, where volunteers treat them to horseback rides, hay wagon jaunts, roping lessons and a chili feed.

There are choices for every skill level. Some kids ride stick horses, learn to lasso sawhorse steers, and pet powerful horses. Every child goes home with a straw cowboy hat and a medallion with a picture of a horse on it.

The thrill is in the arena, however, for the kids who choose to ride --- always accompanied by an experienced horseman.

"I was kind of nervous at first, but it got fun. You go up and down," said Zach Murphy, 11.

"I liked it, especially when she trotted," said Lacie Stewart, 10. "I liked being with my teacher, Mrs. Yore," who rode beside the girl.

"Mr. Yore's a really good teacher," added Sara Frank, 11. "It's so cool to seem him riding a horse."

Kim Cooper of Cowlitz County's Thunder Mountain Rodeo taught the kids how to saddle up and helped "load them on," she said.

"A lot of kids in Longview aren't exposed to the Western lifestyle," Cooper said.

Tucked in the green valley between Ocean Beach Highway and Pacific Way in West Longview, the Merz property feels out of time. As kids waited to ride, carp spun as they spawned in the Coal Creek Slough, a hawk floated overhead and the sun beat down.

"It's another type of life out here from the one we live," said parent Darla Stewart of Kelso, whose daughter Lacie came to ride.

"I took a day off to come here," Stewart said. "Oh man, I've never seen people enjoy something so much as the Merzes. They totally love it."

To safely host this many children, the Merzes said, they work through a group in Vancouver called the Silverbuckle Club, which provides insurance and the hats and medallions.

"Without them, we couldn't have kids on our place," Debbie said.

Volunteers are the backbone of the event, she added.

Saddlemaker Bill Keller, no spring chicken himself, leaned on the fence over the steers. Tom and Thad Akins, brothers from up the road, raced across the arena, demonstrating team roping. Volunteer Greg Libby skillfully led students on their horses. And Jeff Hause, who first took to horses two years ago under Bill Merz's tutelage, spent hours with the visiting youngsters.

Two Kelso school buses brought the students on the school-sanctioned trip. Teachers and parents came along; Beacon Hill Principal Jane Robinson herself was on hand, cantering across the arena on a sleek brown horse.

The students kept busy all day, roaming the huge horse stalls or taking part in tug-of-war contests when they weren't queued up for rides.

Fourth-grader Kaydee Beisel wouldn't miss this day for anything, teacher Kim Yore said.

Last year, Kaydee saw Brittney Spears the night before the horse day. "She didn't get to sleep until 2 a.m., but she insisted on getting up to come out here," Yore said.

"She wore her cowboy hat the first day of school this year."

Tim Yore, who with Kim competes in 50 rodeos a year, uses an old saying to explain why he works on this annual spring ritual. "The best thing for the inside of a kid is the outside of a horse."

"It's something that makes you feel good," agreed Bill Merz. "A lot of kids in their teen years, they get depressed. The best thing is to pet your dog, to ride on a horse."

"It's therapy," Debbie Merz said.

"It's natural to be outside riding," said Kim Yore, who grew up Kim Anshutz in Kalama and got her first horse from the Merz ranch. "I was with my horse from morning 'til night. I'd pack a lunch and tie him up so he could eat grass while I ate. I was pretty much out all day."

She and Tim got up at 4:30 a.m. to bring four of their five horses to the ranch before going to school. The teaching and riding duo provided the most exciting moment of a very full day. As their 4th- and 5th-grade students hung off the fence whooping and hollering, the Yores raced across the arena in the hot sun, swung their lassos high and flicked them over the heads of a galloping steer.

"It's nice having cowboys for teachers," parent Ginny Feist said. "I've been looking forward to this all year."