Published: October 31, 2006 09:38 am      

Rodeo refound

EDMOND — Gary Haddock was nearly 40 when he finally discovered his calling. One of his new neighbors was a retired firefighter. The other was a DEA agent.

“After visiting with them, I realized I wasn’t doing what I wanted to do,” Haddock said.

So he entered law enforcement, first spending three years as a jailer at the Oklahoma County Jail before being hired as a Guthrie Police officer in 1995. Today, he’s a lieutenant in the department.

And it wasn’t until he turned 50 that Haddock, a longtime Edmond resident, rediscovered an old favorite pastime.

Rodeo.

Haddock, now 54, started “rodeoing” when he was 18, and competed until he was 31 or 32, he said. He quit competing then because of family commitments and the fact that he was getting to the age where competing was harder on his body.

But 20 years later, his son decided to give the sport a try. That’s when Haddock got the rodeo “bug” again.

Today, he’s the No. 2-ranked bareback rider in the world in National Senior Pro Rodeo Association in the 50-60 age group. He’s scheduled to compete next month in Nevada in the world finals for the overall points championship.

“What really got me started again was when Oklahoma City had the BullZilla rodeo in the winter at the fairgrounds,” Haddock explained. “They were giving a real nice buckle for that.”

So he reasoned if he could compete in those and get two or three wins, he could come away with one of those nice buckles.

Now, he’s competing for a more prestigious buckle as a national champion.

If he wins it this year, he’ll retire. If not, he’ll give it one more try next year, he said.

“This has been pretty all-consuming the last three-and-a-half years,” Haddock said. “It’s a pretty focused effort.”

For him, it’s one last chance at some fading glory, he said.

“It’s just real tough to do this at this age,” Haddock said. There are only about 40 members of the NSPRA, he said.

As part of his training regimen, Haddock lifts weights, runs and works every week on his homemade spur board and the El Toro bucking machine in his backyard.

He’ll hang up his rodeo spurs next year, but Haddock said he has no plans to retire from the Guthrie Police Department until he gets his 20 years in.

“There’s no reason for me to. I’m in good shape, and I enjoy it,” he said.

In Guthrie, Haddock is commander of the SWAT team and also the coordinator for the Field Training Officer program.

“Guthrie’s been awful good to me,” Haddock said. “It’s been a real successful job for me, and I like the people I work with.”

(David Hartman may be reached via e-mail at dhartman@edmondsun.com.)