ANNOUNCER: This program is made by MPT to enrich the diverse communities throughout our state and is made possible by the generous support of our members.

Thank you.

NARRATOR: Coming up... A battle for bragging rights... At the rodeo...

COWBOY: Go ahead!

Go ahead!

NARRATOR: In the woods... And on the water.

Next.

Outdoors Maryland is produced in cooperation with the Maryland Department of Natural Resources.

(upbeat music) ♪ And the rocket's red glare, ♪ ♪ the bombs bursting... ♪ NARRATOR: Nicholas Jackson is a kid, just 16 years old.

NICHOLAS: Can I give you this?

Alright, thank you.

NARRATOR: But he's at the Maryland State Fair chasing a man's dream, against enormous odds.

COWBOY: Stick that chest out, and it sucks them hips in.

NICHOLAS: Yes sir.

NARRATOR: A tall teen from Maryland, hoping to become a world-class bull rider.

NICHOLAS: I got you, thank you!

NARRATOR: It's not the typical rodeo backstory.

NARRATOR: But Nick's not a typical kid.

NICHOLAS: Thankfully we're not fighting any muscle injuries right now.

NARRATOR: He's got a junior national title under his belt, and he's arrived at this professionally sanctioned event, looking to boost his ranking in the International Bullrider's Association.

NICHOLAS: He's got a lot of front end kinda?

RIDER: Yeah.

NICHOLAS: I know who you're talking about, yup.

COREY: He's a tall rider, he's got a lot of body to account for.

NARRATOR: Nick's father Corey, is also his coach.

COREY: He's got to stay in the middle, he's got to lift on his rope, he's got to put his hooks in and he's gotta be jump for jump.

ANNOUNCER: ...gonna be the cowboy, Dream On the bull!

NARRATOR: Each bull rider is judged on his balance, control, and on the difficulty of the bull.

ANNOUNCER: Maryland is on the boards.

NARRATOR: But only those riders who stay on a full eight seconds get a score.

ANNOUNCER: Praying on this one.

Out of Damascus, Maryland!

NARRATOR: Disaster strikes a rider just before Nick, [Crowd screams] unsettling the crowd.

MAN: We gotta help him, we gotta help him!

NARRATOR: And leaving him bruised, but not broken.

COREY: That's bull riding, it's like ballet.

It's a violent ballet, but it's a ballet nonetheless.

If you're gonna let that run you up a tree, you might as well pack up and not even get on.

COREY: All gas, all gas, be a dog!

NARRATOR: And just moments later, in the fading sun of the fair... [pounds chest] NARRATOR: Nick climbs atop a bull named Man of War... ANNOUNCER: We go to Nicholas Jackson, he's gonna be the next cowboy.

NARRATOR: He focuses everything on the eight seconds ahead.

COREY: Come on Nick, be a dog!

NICHOLAS: I'm good, dad.

MAN: Stick your chest out!

Get over there!

Yes sir!

Go ahead!

Go ahead!

Go ahead!

That's it!

Stay square!

MAN: Get off!

Pull your rope!

NARRATOR: A second-place combined score is good news.

[Clapping] COREY: Way to stick with it!

NARRATOR: Nick's IBA ranking will rise in the days ahead.

[Fast banjo music plays] NARRATOR: Two weeks later, the Bill Pickett Rodeo pulls into Prince George's County.

VALERIA: It is a community that loves animals and horses.

NARRATOR: CEO Valeria Howard-Cunningham has added a third show this weekend to accommodate the crowds.

VALERIA HOWARD-CUNNINGHAM: They come and have fun at the rodeo.

NARRATOR: Pickett is a rollicking celebration of Black cowboy culture that's been traveling the United States for more than 40 years.

Along the way, it's evolved.

But it's always clung to its central mission: to challenge a culture that has largely ignored the role of Black Americans in the history of the American West.

VALERIA: You did not read about them in the history books, you did not see em' on television.

But Black cowboys and cowgirls are real.

♪♪ COREY: We have everything here, at our place that the kids need to practice.

NICK: This is where my sisters, they keep their goats that they practice tying, and I keep the two bucking bulls.

NARRATOR: Nick has grown up on this ranch in Upper Marlboro, the same home where his mom Robyn was raised to love horses.

Home from the State Fair, he's healing some bruises and putting in practice hours.

NICHOLAS: How bad do you really want it?

That's just putting the work in and everywhere you go, try and make a name for yourself.

REAGAN: I'm a fifth generation cowgirl, they started us up riding western.

NARRATOR: Nick's 14-year-old twin sisters Reagan and Ryan have junior rodeo titles too, and their own rodeo dreams.

RYAN: Roping is number one for me, I would say barrel racing is number two.

ROBYN: Nick looked like he was- NARRATOR: Robyn's family has been working with horses in this region since the days of sharecropping.

She met Corey at the Bill Pickett Rodeo in 2004.

In a state that loves to boast about its English horse culture, the family might seem out of step.

But dreams don't answer to anyone but the dreamer.

NICK: At the end of the day you're not there to see how people look at you, you're there to do the job that is in front of you to do, and since I've gone into every rodeo with that mindset, I've had success.

REAGAN: A lot of girls are getting scholarships from rodeoing and going out west.

And, I'd like to go to the national finals rodeo.

SONNY WILLIAMS: About '97 we had our first bull riding with the stands and everything.

NARRATOR: Sonny Williams grew up on a dairy farm in Maryland and rode bulls professionally.

His ranch now holds eight professional rodeo events each year and supplies the livestock and infrastructure for many others.

Today the ranch is hosting a Maryland high school rodeo.

COREY: Alright, love you, Hey go get it!

Alright Ry.

NARRATOR: And with Nick away at a pro tournament... COREY: Clean around the neck baby.

NARRATOR: It's the girls' turn to shine in four events: calf roping, pole bending, barrel racing and goat tying.

ANNOUNCER: Reagan's a 14 year old freshman.

NARRATOR: The points competitors score here will help decide who gets to nationals, with trophies and scholarships on the line.

Ryan Jackson lays down the best time of the day in breakaway calf roping.

RYAN: A few rodeos before this I just kept missing but for the last few rodeos I've been doing pretty good so.

NARRATOR: Sister Reagan locks down the two-day goat-tying competition.

REAGAN: Goats was great yesterday, poles was good, breakaway I missed both days.

I've got to work on that when we get back to the house.

NARRATOR: With beautiful fall weather and a bustling crowd of competitors, high school organizers and rodeo lovers across the state are feeling good about the weekend.

SONNY: There's a lot of young kids getting into it now.

That'll really help in the future.

NARRATOR: According to Sonny, professional rodeos have become so popular with local crowds.

COREY: Come on, Come on, Come on!

MAN 2: Go go!

NARRATOR: They struggle to find enough contestants.

COREY: Alright we just looking for this third barrel.

NARRATOR: Which makes these high school events... COREY: Yes sir!

Yes sir!

NARRATOR: ...a needed pipeline of talent, a showcase where dreams really can come true.

COREY: Rodeo is not prevalent in Maryland so anytime there's a rodeo everybody wants to come to it, whether it's the Bill Pickett or whether it's at the state fair.

MAN: Come on Nick!

COREY: I think a little bit of cowboy is in all of us, for those of us that are fortunate enough you know to actually be and live the life I think we get the best deal out of it and those that aren't they get to come watch us.

But it's a win-win situation for everybody.

♪♪ NARRATOR: On a cool afternoon in Cumberland, practice is underway for the Allegany College Trojans.

But this isn't your typical college sport.

Instead of running plays or throwing passes, students here are preparing to compete by rolling, aiming, cutting and climbing, and it's all part of their education.

MARIE MILLER: So at Allegany College we have a two-year forest technology degree program, where we train students in traditional forestry skills but also teach them modern technology and about urban forestry.

NARRATOR: Marie Miller is the college's Forestry Program Director.

MARIE: we have a very hands-on program where students are out in the field the first week of class learning skills that are applicable over a wide range of different careers.

So anything from working in a very traditional forestry field like at a sawmill or for a state agency to working in an urban setting where they're taking care of the trees in a neighborhood or on city streets.

MARIE: And it might be easier to bend down a little bit.

NARRATOR: Some students further hone their skills while participating on the school's Woodsmen team, training now for an upcoming competition.

MARIE: Traditional timber sports, so cross-cut sawing, chopping with axes, stock chainsaw, axe throw, also some technical skills like tree identification, compass and pacing.

So they're really building relationships with each other that are going to carry into their lives beyond Allegany College.

They're also learning about the history of their profession.

NARRATOR: The science, study and practice of forestry dates back to ancient times.

Early civilizations recognized the importance of forests for resources like timber, fiber, even medicine... NARRATOR: The boom of the industrial revolution revealed that effective care of our forests was needed to both sustainably supply resources and balance conservation.

And that required people to specialize in this kind of work.

SHANNON WOLFE: So we'll start out, how today will progress- NARRATOR: Shannon Wolfe manages the fire program in the southern and western regions for the Maryland Forest Service, within the Department of Natural Resources.

Today he's the lead instructor for basic wildland firefighter training for the Allegany College students.

SHANNON: There's several parts to this training: there's instructional parts that they get in classroom and today is the field day portion of the basic wildland course.

So today they're instructed how to construct fire line that would be used to control wildfires, the tools that it takes to do that and then the safety aspect of constructing the fireline itself and how to work safely in that environment and then also using water and pumps to get water to the fire to put the fire out.

[Hiss of spraying water] And then we end with the proper use of the fire shelters.

[Crumpling] SHANNON: Stay in, everybody stays in until you're told to come out.

NARRATOR: Students Madison Painter and Abel Gonzalez have always been outdoor enthusiasts, and the possibility of spending a career working in the woods is driving them to pursue degrees.

ABEL GONZALEZ: I've loved being outside since I was a kid, I grew up in kind of uh, I don't want to say suburban but definitely less wild place and I always found myself feeling at home visiting parks, visiting forests, so I just want to spend the rest of my life preserving those places.

MADISON PAINTER: I chose this field because I was coming out of my senior year of high school, I kinda stumbled upon forestry accidentally.

I grew up in Cumberland so I was always around Allegany College and I didn't really have a direction but I knew I liked to be outside, and I had a meeting with Marie.

I was like we'll give it a try and I just absolutely fell in love with it.

[Soft roar of blower] ♪♪ JAMIE WEAVER: Maryland Forest Service is broken up into a few different sectors.

We have personnel that work in the state forest side of it, and we have folks that are dedicated to strictly wildfire suppression.

And then myself and several of my colleagues, we work in the service forest industry.

NARRATOR: Far from the expanse of the state forests of Western Maryland, Project Forester Jamie Weaver is checking in on an effort taking place near Westminster in Carroll County.

JAMIE: We don't own the property that we're working on, the state doesn't.

We're working with private landowners to implement best management practices for forest conservation and stewardship.

JAMIE: Morning!

NARRATOR: Today he's meeting with Rich Anacker and Nick Graybeal from A&A Tree Experts to go over progress on what is referred to as a salvage harvest, taking place on this 194-acre property.

RICH ANACKER: A salvage harvest is just when an unexpected event occurs, maybe a storm or a tornado or a hurricane, when you lose a lot of trees.

Instead of leaving them rot in the woods, we just try to get some monetary value out of it, in addition to just cleaning up the woods so people can walk through it again.

NARRATOR: The unexpected event that brought them together was one that made national news in August of 2023.

NICK: It had started off as a very hot day.

We had a very long stretch of hot weather and a cold front was moving through and when that front finally blew through, it brought with it tremendous straight line winds.

That did a tremendous amount of damage particularly north of 140, so anything north of 140 through Carroll County suffered a lot of substantial damage to infrastructure and to woodlands.

NARRATOR: Hundreds of trees on the farm were either broken or destroyed by the high winds, prompting the landowners to take action.

[Buzzing of chainsaw] NICK: We're trying to salvage what's left of the woodland so that we reduce the wood from a fuel perspective to fuel wildfires.

[Crashing of branches and tree] NICK: And then there's a forest health perspective as well.

RICH: Pretty much anything we pull out of the woods we're using for something, whether it be firewood or pulpwood or saw logs.

NICK: My career has taken me all over the country working on all kinds of different projects.

I just feel a sense of commitment to carry that ethic forward as well to be a good steward and to help landowners manage their property the best that they possibly can.

ANNOUNCER: 3,2,1 Go!

[Cheering] NARRATOR: It's competition day at Penn State's Mont Alto Campus.

And the Allegany College students are ready for the challenge.

Here at the Mid-Atlantic Woodsmen meet, they face teams from Pennsylvania, Virginia, and North Carolina.

And despite the name, both men and women are part of this showdown.

MARIE: I think it's a really great way for people and students to learn new things, get together as a team, really preserve where forestry came from and it's not just physical skills.

There also are some technical skills involved.

But you know a lot of these students are going to end up working in the woods.

[Cheering] MADISON: I think my team has put forth a lot of effort and I think we've all put some blood, sweat, tears, all of it into it and we're gonna give it our all today.

NARRATOR: Madison's prediction turns out to be prophetic, as Allegany College's team performs the best they ever have, taking first place overall at the event.

ABEL: I'm really excited that we won, This is the first time that Allegany has ever won this competition.

NARRATOR: Abel's future plans include even more forestry education at West Virginia University.

ABEL: What I'm going to be learning at WVU, writing management plans, working with larger pieces of land, afterwards I'd like to become a forester.

[Cheering] ABEL: Yeah doing my best.

[Cheering] ♪♪ NARRATOR: Nearly every day of the year, second generation waterman Scott Jones works the waters of Maryland's Eastern Shore, around Hoopers Island.

His primary target: the region's iconic blue crab.

SCOTT JONES: This pot coming up here now is a nice catch.

NARRATOR: Shifting environmental conditions, strict government regulations and fickle market pricing all take a toll, as does the physical labor.

SCOTT: It's a hard way of life but if it's in your blood, it makes you proud.

Started out when I was about twelve running a boat just like driving a car.

NARRATOR: Scott steers his vessel with just the slightest touch of the controls.

SCOTT: Well I know what my boat's going to do before it does it, you just know what your boat's going to do.

NARRATOR: Decades ago, this connection between a waterman and their most essential tool of the trade, their boat, became a source of pride and competition.

Who can dock their boat the fastest?

♪♪ Now contests staged up and down Maryland's eastern shore have generated a wave of popularity and even found a following across online platforms under the name "extreme boat docking."

NARRATOR: Captains race their way past pylons, back their boats into safe harbor and lasso the pier.

All for the amazement of adoring fans.

SCOTT: It draws crowds and then you kinda see who's the best boat handler.

Shoot it's your bragging rights.

Just about 100 percent of the time there's a pole knocked down, there's a boat being stern busted, I mean if you're in it to win it you're going to tear something up.

NARRATOR: Out on the water, Scott's always practicing.

SCOTT: I picture it in my mind, the buoys as a pole when I'm trying to maneuver, how close I'm coming to the buoy as the pole.

Trying to get around it, not hitting it.

NARRATOR: With the next competition in three days time, Scott slips dockside like second nature.

SCOTT: Once you do it day in day out it gets a lot easier.

NARRATOR: But Scott won't be competing this weekend.

Instead his 15-year-old son Caden will carry the family honor.

SCOTT: He's real good for his age, he uh he's good, he's smooth.

NARRATOR: Family patriarch Paul Jones built the boat Caden will pilot: The Elena Scott.

PAUL JONES: We love a little bit of speed also.

NARRATOR: He also competed in some of the first boat docking competitions back in the 70s.

Tradition runs deep across the three generations, as Caden learns from his elders.

CADEN: They let me take over, run the boat out the bay and learn little by little.

SCOTT: He's got it definitely in his blood, he likes being a waterman following in my footsteps.

NARRATOR: While boat docking may help Caden prepare for his future... For others, like Jamie Marshall, the competitions help hold on to their past.

Jamie grew up on Smith Island where working the water has always been the primary way of life.

But after serving with the Marines he found as a young man the commercial fishing business didn't provide the stability he needed for his growing family.

[Seagulls squawking] JAMIE: I tried to stay on the water and I have kept in touch with my water roots, but I had to make a decision so I moved to the mainland and got a mainland job.

NARRATOR: He's held a number of law enforcement positions and currently owns Marshall's Marine, building, repairing and storing boats.

But the competitions ground him.

JAMIE: Boat docking keeps me in touch with the waterman community, being a waterman and operating that that work boat.

NARRATOR: A photo of his father competing in the 70s sits on a shelf in his office alongside his own mementos.

JAMIE: This is kind of some of my boat docking stuff.

I've got a lot of trophies at home.

NARRATOR: He's become a boat docking fan favorite thanks to his special flair.

JAMIE: I made a big ole lunge and looped the pole and got the win.

NARRATOR: Wet or dry doesn't matter, fast times do.

ANNOUNCER: Fast time right here, fast time!

NARRATOR: Especially at this weekend's elite Chesapeake Cowboys competition.

A party atmosphere surrounds the pier as crowds gather at Brew River Seafood House and Dockside Bar, situated alongside the Wicomico River in Salisbury, Maryland.

ANNOUNCER: Give him a run for his money he'll go do it!

NARRATOR: Eric Emely serves as the emcee.

ERIC EMELY: Happy time, everybody's fun to watch these watermen and what they can do with their boats.

[Airhorn blows] JAMIE: You basically go from point A to point B.

You leave from one area, you make basically like a 180 and then you back up, you reverse the boat in, and then you put the 4 lines on and that's all it is, it's that simple, it's easy.

NARRATOR: Well, it won't be four lines today, highlighting how this contest differs from a typical day at work.

ERIC: You won't see them running in the docks going in with their bushels of crabs or anything like that, but here it gives them a time to let their hair down, you know what I mean.

They could- if they bang, they bang.

NARRATOR: The smoke, noise and decals have earned boat docking the nickname "Nascar on the water."

ANNOUNCER: Jamie out of Smith Island.

NARRATOR: But Jamie soon learns about another similarity: engine problems.

ANNOUNCER: Ladies and gentleman unfortunately Jamie Marshall on the Heather Nicole is out.

JAMIE: Dead in the water, I ramped up the RPMs, locked in gear and gone.

This is the first time it's happened to me, since, I tell you the truth, since I've been docking for 25 years.

NARRATOR: So like others in the crowd, Jamie sits back to enjoy the show.

JAMIE: I love it for the sport and the competition, I've never really been a spectator 'cause I'm always doing it.

NARRATOR: Today's prize money is relatively small, but as the boats amp up the audience, it's clear the captains want to win.

Because victory brings local fame, if not true fortune.

JAMIE: It's the fast speed that people love to see.

SPECTATOR: Would I go out and do it?

I can't drive a car (laughing) let alone a boat.

But yeah, these guys are skilled.

NARRATOR: And that includes 10-year-old Peyton Reiss, here with her father, working waterman Ronnie.

PEYTON: I want to be an engineer but I also want to have a boat on to go out on the weekends.

RONNIE: Any day that she's not in school, she's on the boat oystering with me.

And she's been doing that since she was probably 5.

This is my favorite thing, it doesn't matter if we win if we lose if we break down, it's me and her, that's all that matters, I don't care about anything else.

NARRATOR: For competition in the youth division: Caden Jones.

Whose ultimate victory puts his mother in the middle of a fun family rivalry with his father Scott.

CADEN: I'm definitely the better boat docker.

Definitely.

SCOTT: I beg to differ.

[Laughs] MOTHER: I'm gonna say, he's got skills, Scott didn't start at 15, and to be 15, my boy is rocking it!

NARRATOR: While some bask in their glory, bragging rights secure until the next contest, others simply enjoy the camaraderie, knowing news of the day will echo across the Chesapeake region, part of a celebration rooted in all things blue claw and blue collar.

SCOTT: They're always checking to see who caught the most crabs so they're always checking to see who wins the contest.

♪♪ NARRATOR: To stream episodes of Outdoors Maryland , visit mpt.org and don't forget to follow us on social media.

(owl hoots) Learn more about Maryland's diverse natural resources at dnr.maryland.gov, or download the official mobile app.

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