Trainer Joel Lybbert obtained a special calf from a client about two years ago, when it was just a few months old.
The offspring of a Watusi bull and a bison cow, Calamity the beefalo is a rare breed, Lybbert told the Calgary Eyeopener.
“She came out all splashed up with lots of white on her, and like splotchy colouring. So she kind of took some of the colouring from the Watusi, but she had quite the little wooly buffalo look at the same time. It’s really a unique looking animal,” Lybbert said. “Honestly, when she’s haired up in the winter, a lot of people think she’s a yak.”
A Watusi bull is a large breed of cattle with massive horns known for being particularly difficult to tame, a trait Calamity appears to have inherited. Since raising Calamity for about two years, Lybbert, who owns Bar JL Horse Training near Cardston, Alta., has managed to saddle-break the animal.
He performed with it and a buffalo in Dunmore, Alta., this past weekend as a part of his act. Lybbert describes Calamity as a “firecracker.” He says riding the beefalo is comparable to riding a buffalo.
“I always make the joke that she doesn’t live up to the name, the name lives up to her,” Lybbert said.
“A buffalo isn’t a domesticated species, so they tend to really have a high flight, a high fight,” he said. “So it’s taken the whole first two years of her life to try and get her tamed down a bit.”
LISTEN | Joel Lybbert talks about what it’s like to ride a beefalo:
Calgary Eyeopener8:13Beefalo riding
You’ve heard of horseback riding and bull riding… but have you heard of riding a beefalo.
Lybbert says training to be able to ride Calamity was difficult. He had to start conditioning the animal when it was young through bottle feeding and keeping it in a small, contained area separate from other cattle.
“She would be looking for a way out when I was getting in — even with her food — and then I’d talk her into eating,” he said. “I honestly didn’t have any idea if it was going to work for the first year and a half because she was just like a high octane powerhouse, and she didn’t really like anyone but me. Like, there was questionable days whether she liked me or not either.”
Lybbert suspects he may be one of the few if not the only animal trainer who has successfully saddle-broken a Watusi-bison cross. He emphasizes that saddle-breaking and riding a Watusi bull is difficult to accomplish, like buffalo riding.
“Both of those things are impressive, and then when you put them together, it almost seems mind-blowing,” Lybbert said.
He has heard from other experienced animal trainers that saddle-breaking a beefalo like Calamity is not easy. But when it came time to try, it took only a handful of attempts to get the animal comfortable with Lybbert as a rider.
“This spring was the moment that I’m like, ‘I think this is going to work,'” Lybbert said. “And then we put that first ride on her, and I was like, ‘Oh yeah, give us five, six rides and I think she’s going to be going great down the path of success.'”
Lybbert adds performing with Calamity at the rodeo in Dunmore was a resounding success.
“I think people really liked her. She’s just so unique, something that isn’t seen,” he said.
To keep up with Calamity, follow BarJLHorseTraining on their various social media.