Nanton native Blake Schlosser is what cowboys call a “good hand.” He can do it all — he is an excellent roper, a talented pick-up man and an accomplished horseman. He has worked as a stunt man in movies including The Assassination of Jesse James, Shanghai Noon and The Virginian. He raises cattle on the family farm with wife Monica, son Stran and daughter Reata. They also run their own horse breeding operation with 10 colts on the ground each year. His lengthy career as a respected pick-up man all over western Canada culminated with the highest award in 2011 — PCRA Cowboy of the Year.
His career in rodeo began in the early 80s at a Bucking Horse School and Sale held by Tom Bews. It was there that Wayne Vold, stock contractor to the Nanton Nite Rodeo, spotted him and asked him to work as a pick-up man. He was soon doing the “main run” of rodeos with Vold Contracting that included stops in Stavely, Rocky Mountain House, Innisfail, Wainwright, Ponoka, Strathmore and Okotoks to name a few.
Schlosser estimates he has worked at an average of 20 rodeos a year for the past decade. He has worked the ranch rodeo finals in Edmonton, and had the honour of being selected for the Canadian Finals Rodeo (CFR) for the first time in 1989. Since then, Schlosser has worked at the CFR seven times over his career, including 2011. He says it’s always an honour to be selected as a pick-up man for the CFR because you are chosen by the competitors who trust you with their safety in the arena.
Schlosser has always been aware that part of his success in the rodeo arena is due to his horses, most of which he has started and trained himself. “A good pick-up horse has to have lots of speed,” he explains. “They also need a big heart and not be scared of much. I like them to be pretty well broke, and for that we use them all on the ranch. Usually to get them ready for working in the arena I will tie a couple of them from saddle horn to saddle horn. That way they get used to all the bumping and jostling that they will encounter with the rough stock.”
Over the years, Schlosser has learned countless things from his horses, but one lesson stands out most. “You have to let the horses figure it out for themselves,” he says. Not all of the horses he trains will end up as pick-up horses. “Some of them don’t work out. Sure, you can get the job done, but they didn’t enjoy it. I want a horse that likes the job — it makes it easier on me.”
Although working rodeos means a lot of travel and being away from home, Schlosser says the best part of being a pick-up man is the opportunity to meet a lot of different people. “You also get an adrenaline rush every performance,” he says. “That can get quite addictive.” It’s not all fun and games working at the rodeos though. “The worst part about being a pick-up man is all the rainy rodeos and working in the mud,” laughs Schlosser. “I’ve been pulled off a few times in conditions like that and it ain’t fun!”
As a pick-up man you have a front-row seat for some pretty wild scenes, he says. “There was a bull one time at the Rocky Mountain House rodeo,” remembers Schlosser. “He jumped through the fence and into the crowd. Another time, at Ponoka, a bareback horse tried to jump out of the arena and was caught up in the top rail of the stands.” He has had his pick-up horses gored by bulls as he tried to haze them out of the arena. His favourite bucking horse, a saddle bronc mare named Shoestring, turned out to be the opposite of wild. “This old mare was actually halter broke and really gentle — you could lead her out of the arena — but she really bucked hard too.”
After 27 years as a pick-up man, Schlosser decided to retire at the end of the 2011 season. “I made the decision at the Wainwright Rodeo that this would be the last year for me,” he explains. “I want to spend more time with my kids but at the same time I will miss seeing everyone I have met over the years at the rodeos.” He was excited to learn that he had been chosen to work the CFR for what would be his last year as a pick-up man. “I couldn’t have planned it any better,” he says, unaware at the time of the real award to come.
As he was preparing his first horse on the first night of the CFR, Schlosser recounted that he wasn’t even thinking about which award was about to be announced. “I was going to use a younger horse of mine for the first performance and so I was totally focused on preparing him to go into the arena.” It was then that Schlosser heard his name announced as winner of the 2011 PRCA Cowboy of the Year award. “I was surprised and shocked. I had no idea until they announced my name during the grand entry of the first performance. It was amazing — they lowered the trophy down from the ceiling!”
The Cowboy of the Year Award is sponsored by the Douglas Lake Ranch and the winner is chosen from a selection committee consisting of Joe Gardner (Douglas Lake Ranch), Dale Leschuitta (president of the CPRA) and the previous recipient of the award. The honour is presented to the cowboy judged best in ability, sportsmanship, appearance and personality and his contribution to the betterment of rodeo in Canada. It seems that after his long dedication to the sport of rodeo, combined with the respect of his peers and ability to consistently perform in the arena are what made Schlosser the best choice for the award — and an excellent way to cap off the career of this talented pick-up man.
