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Rodeo judge travels circuitDUNCAN, Okla. (AP)--. Anderson has been the judge at all of F&F Rodeo Company's rodeos. Anderson said that he got his start as a favor to the Duncan Future Farmers of America. The group used to have a high school rodeo, and Anderson was asked if he wouldn't mind judging the contest because he had been in rodeos since his early teens. Since then, he hasn't been able to shake loose from the arena. "I got drafted in the late '80s or early '90s," Anderson said. "I had participated in high school rodeos and was part of Southwestern Oklahoma's college team. "Somebody with Duncan FFA asked me to judge their rodeo, when they were having it; I told them 'I've never judged bucking events,' and they said that was OK. Dwight Frick (of F&F) asked if I wanted to judge some for him, and we talked a couple of months later and I did three or four of his rodeos. "He called me back the next year and asked me if I wanted to do more, and I said how many and he said all of them. I've been doing it since then, and that was 17 or 18 years ago." Out of all the rodeos, Anderson said that he enjoys the ones that are close to home. There are some parts of the rodeo that wears on all the participants and organizers. "The toughest thing is just the duration of the event," Anderson said. "You're talking about three days a week. You get there around 6 p.m., and may not leave until 3 or 4 in the morning. By the time you get home, it is 5:30 a.m., and then you're back at 5 p.m. to do it again. F&F rodeos are so popular that we'll have multiple entrants. "If a rodeo was just from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. it'd be all right." Staying focused that long is something that isn't easy to do for most, but Anderson is locked in from beginning to end. "It takes a high level of concentration to go from event to event," he said. "People will ask how did so-and-so do, and I couldn't tell them, because I'm focused in on each ride. "It makes you feel good to have the respect of the contestants, but I know I could make a mistake and lose it all. I do mess up some, and I beat myself up. If I know I messed up and cost somebody money, I'm really hard on myself. They don't expect me to be perfect, but I do." Anderson also has experience as a contestant, including a Rookie of the Year award from the Southwest Cowboys Association. "I've calf roped since junior high," he said. "Won the All-Around out here my senior year. I rode an appaloosa for a guy and won the World Championship Appaloosa show in 1975. There were over 200 entrants in that." Anderson said that he hopes to get more involved as a contestant. "I still team rope," he said. "It is hard to stay as competitive when you don't have time to prepare. Being the perfectionist that I am, I don't want to go unless I'm 100 percent. I don't want to go find a partner and waste his entry fee." 7/28/08 Date: 7/24/08
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