In 2001, Omar Benally was about to graduate from St. Michael’s Indian School near Window Rock, Arizona, when he got into a fight with his parents.
“I don’t want anyone yelling at my son,” Benally’s father, a Green Beret, replied when he learned his son wanted to join the Marines.
The men discussed the disagreement and Benally explained that he already knew college was not for him.
“I said I wanted to travel,” recalls Benally. “I gestured with my fingers and said, ‘I’ve seen a lot of the world. I stretched out my arms and said, ‘I want to see all this.’ »
Perspective globale
As an aircraft mechanic in the Marines, Benally got to see more of the world than most ever will.
“As a C130 mechanic, I traveled a lot,” he said, referring to the large four-engine turboprop transport planes employed by the military. “I lived in Okinawa for two years. I got to see a lot of Asia, and even when I was stationed in New York, we went to Europe.
Benally served for five years, during which the United States launched Operation Iraqi Freedom.
READ: Travis Beck: Versatile aviator
“I was there in OIF-II,” he said, using an acronym to describe the operation’s second year. “We were there for the Fallujah push and some of those [events].
“I almost went around the world,” Benally continued. “From Bangladesh to Iraq. Maybe one of these days I’ll get there.
For now, Benally is staying busy with his wife, Lydia, as a father of four in Moriarty, New Mexico. The two met when Benally was in Colorado getting his Airframe and Powerplant Technician certification after his service.
“In the military, you’re very, very focused on a job,” Benally said. “As A&P, we do everything on the plane but, in the military, it was really [specialized]. I was an engine and fuel systems mechanic. I figured I needed the training part on the airframe because I didn’t even know how to break a rivet or something.
With his certification, Benally went to work and was eventually offered a position in Santa Fe. He then transferred to Cheyenne for five years and currently travels between Santa Fe and Reno for work. It’s a different kind of trip, but Benally loves it.
“I love this job,” he said. “I hope it lasts forever.”
pick up the rope
Team stringing has also sent Benally on the road in recent years.
At the Navajo Nation Warriors And Rodeo clinic with Erich Rogers, Derrick Begay and Aaron Tsinigine that he helped organize for other veterans in 2022, Benally spurred on his favorite mare, Media Luna (named after the brand in half- moon on his face). In April, about a month before the clinic, the duo qualified for the Ariat WSTR Finals in Las Vegas, Nevada, when they took second place from No. 7 in Albuquerque qualifying with Andres Mendoza.
Then, just days after the clinic, Benally and Curtis Imming, with whom he hosted the WAR event, took first place in the #6 Buckle Up at NTR’s Mormon Lake roping.
Roping is a relatively new venture for Benally, who bought his first horse in 2020. He grew up around cattle, but roping was different.
“On the Navajo Rez, we had cows and we had horses,” he explained, “but we do it the old-fashioned way, on foot, around the post. Tie the head, tie the feet, and flank the calf right there. That’s how we would do our branding.
Benally’s uncles, however, were crew stringers and he regularly worked the offcuts for them. So when he got involved in veterans programs that offered the same kind of camaraderie as the military, he was quick to look for a group that could give him that kind of experience through rope, this is how he became involved with Warriors and rodeo.
READ: From California and Camp Pendleton to Cowtown and the Pentagon
To be honest, making the Final in 2022 after starting stringing in 2020 is quite remarkable. Although no checks were won in Vegas, Benally was able to celebrate some good races, while experiencing the event for the first time.
“We rode well that week. We went to Wickenburg on the way and were in contention in #8. And then we did the short round – eighth high call – at the Mathews [Land & Cattle] outside the South Point. It just didn’t work. It was just one of those things.
What’s next for Omar Benally?
Benally isn’t sure what comes next in the rope arena except to work on his head now.
“I’m having fun with it,” he said of tying in his new horse, Valiente, who works both ends meet. “I’ve mostly focused on the lead with him and it’s going pretty well.
“He’s quick,” Benally continued. “He’s probably the fastest horse I’ve ever ridden. It’s fun to ride; he is really sweet. Yeah, that’s a good one.
On the weekend of this interview, Benally was heading home for his daughter’s joy contest and, with children aged 3 to 10, he and Lydia have plenty to keep them busy. He’s not sure what the stringing arena has in store for him this year, but he does know that he’s discovered a great group of stringers in his area.
“I’ve come across some really, really good guys that I get on with at Moriarty and they’ve been a huge help,” said Benally, who is already involved in planning a second Navajo Nation WAR clinic in May. “We will hopefully make it as good as last year.”
