Volume CIX, No. 4 Huron, SD JUNE/JULY 2024
A PUBLICATION OF SOUTH DAKOTA FARMERS UNION
SERVING SOUTH DAKOTA’S FARM & RANCH FAMILIES SINCE 1915.
The Family Who Rodeos Together...
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2024 Photo Contest Submit Today!
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Farmers Union Leadership Camp 2024
2024-2025 Junior Advisory Council
A Message of Perseverance & Inspiration
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South Dakota Farmers Union Celebrates Ziebach County Rodeo Family Roni and Lance Lesmeister raise rodeo bucking horses on the Cheyenne River.
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hoose your friends carefully, Coach Kush told campers during 2024 Farmers Union State Leadership Camp. “Who you hang out with determines who you will become. Respect everyone, but only spend time with those who have goals and aspirations.” Campers connected to the messages shared by the former Boys Town head football coach. And many felt the weeklong Farmers Union State Leadership Camp was just the place to connect with quality friends.
Leadership Camp Continued on Page 12
Grassroots Policy Begins Here! ATTEND 2024 POLICY MEETING
Date: July 17 Time: 9 a.m.-Noon central Location: Zoom Remote Login Details: visit www.sdfu.org Learn more on page 6
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Scan with smartphone camera and watch a video of Lesmeister horses
ance and Roni Lesmeister’s ranch house sits atop a bluff overlooking the Cheyenne River Valley. From the glass patio doors in their living room, the couple can take in the breathtaking scene of rolling hills, the river and more than a hundred horses – happy horses. Triple L Ranch bucking horses spend their days grazing the Cheyenne River breaks with their colts bucking in the sunshine. When its rodeo season, they only perform about 16 seconds a week. “We don’t train bucking horses – we breed them,” Roni explained. Roni’s parents, Bud and Melissa Annis, began raising bucking horses in the early 1950s for rodeos across South Dakota. She and Lance continue the tradition on the same land today. “This rough terrain legs them up and the native grasses grow them big and make them strong,” Lance explained. A good bucking horse has strong bones, a big hip, a short back and solid feet. Good bucking horses are calm in the chute, but once
Lesmeister Family Continued on Page 2