12-Year-Old Blind Roper Overcomes Odds To Back in Box For First Time

The sport of rodeo is all about defying the odds and overcoming the hardships put before you. One 12-year-old cowboy from Burton, Texas is doing just that as he is legally blind, yet stepping into the arena to become a breakaway roper.

Overcoming The Odds

Elijah Faske comes from an unconventional family. With 30 siblings, 28 of whom are also adopted, his family doesn’t do anything half way. Many of his older siblings are also in rodeo, and that is how he decided he wouldn’t let blindness slow him down.

In an interview with Cowboy Channel, it's said that Elijah was born with a birth defect; he was missing one eye and had limited vision in the other. Eventually, he was adopted at 6 years old, but Elijah didn’t know what to expect coming into such a big family. He was quickly welcomed and adjusted to living on a ranch.

It was here that he learned to do what few cowboys have ever been able to do- he began to learn how to rope a steer, blind.

In the interview with the CowboyChannel, his father said,

“When he came into this rodeo family, you automatically get handed a rope and put on a horse. He had to kind of jump in and run with it.”

Elijah Faske standing with his horse. — Elijah Faske | Faske family

The family trained their own horses, allowing his older siblings to work with both the animal and Elijah to become accustomed to one another. Finally allowed on the back of a horse, Elijah learned barrel racing and pole bending, learning the basics of riding and reining. But, he quickly learned that the roping pen was his true calling.

When he first stepped into the family, he had to stand on the outside, constantly wondering what his siblings were up to in the Fasquelle arena, but it was his older brother Caleb that began to teach Elijah everything he knew about roping.

So, when he decided he wanted to transition from a dummy to live cattle, a new challenge was presented. Finding the calf in a large arena, with dim lighting and lots of movement, proved to be nearly impossible, but it was then that the family discovered something amazing.

Love breeds innovation and that is exactly what the Faske family did for Elijah. After trial and error, it was discovered that placing a lighted collar with music on the steer’s head gave the young cowboy the ability to make out where the animal was headed in the arena; that method was the first way that Elijah caught a calf.

Stepping Into The Arena

Despite some wins on the journey, there were setbacks as well. He struggled to become consistent, a feat most roping cowboys struggle with even with all five senses. After hard work and perseverance, Elijah entered his first junior rodeo in January of this year.

His family stood in the crowd with baited breath as Elijah stepped into the arena on the back of his horse, Catalena. The pair had been working constantly to earn each other's trust, and now it was all coming to a head.

In the same interview, his parents said,

“I thought, ‘It's just not going to happen today.’ And all of a sudden, he threw it, and everybody just started screaming because it was around its neck.”

After overcoming such hardship, Elijah has now been able to do what he loves. With boosted confidence and a newfound love for rodeo, Elijah will continue to see where this passion takes him.