BEAUMONT, Texas — Today the YMBL South Texas State Fair opened its gates and began with the rodeo.
The rodeo kicked off the qualifying round of its annual mutton bustin' tournament. Kids as young as 5-years-old have to hang on tight to sheep as they dash out of their pens.
Mutton bustin' has been around since the 1960's. The sport is derived from bronco busting, which is the act of breaking a bronco in order to ride it.
Over 100 young cowboys and cowgirls were ready to test their strength against their wooly opponents as they took part in Thursday's mutton bustin' qualifier round.
"I want to hang on so that I can win a belt buckle," said 6-year-old cowboy Sawyer Nilclo.
He believes there isn't a single sheep alive that can shake him off and he's determined to win the top prize.
"It's going to have a bull rider with my name on it," he said.
While it can get a little rough for the kids, YMBL South Texas State Fair media relations Sal Guererro says mutton bustin' is just as safe as it is fun.
"I think it's just the fun of it. I've seen little girls out here that ride it to the end. And I've seen some older boys that come out here and fall off right away. I don't think it's about toughness. If you want to hang on, you're going to hang on," Sal said.
Martin Walles has two kids who live and breathe the sport. He says practice makes perfect.
"We have sheep at the house they get on randomly. We have barrels at the house they hold onto. They really have to work on their grip strength," said Walles.
He says his oldest son may be too old to compete next year, but his younger cowboy is ready to fill his big brother's boots.
"Little brother's gotta step up," Walles said.
12News asked the sheep about how excited they are to return this year. Unfortunately, all our questions were met with silence.
The winner of the mutton bustin' tournament gets a custom belt buckle and a $250 cash prize.
The 50 winners of this qualifier will go on to compete during the next five days of the rodeo.