10-16-2003, 11:57 AM
And Yeepee for the Parisee..<br>
HUNTSVILLE, Texas (AP) -- Five years ago Yvan Jayne stepped off a plane from France as a skinny exchange student who dreamed of becoming a cowboy - something he quickly shared with his host family.<br>
Since then a transformation has taken place and Jayne has become a professional rider with a slew of awards, including a new buckle he won over the weekend, to go along with his boots and hats.<br>
"We're just riders in France," Jayne, 21, said as he prepared for the final day of competition Saturday at the Sam Houston State University Regional Rodeo where he won the All-Around competition after impressing crowds with his bareback and saddle bronc riding.<br>
Now that Jayne has survived his share of bruises, broken bones and throws from wild, bucking horses he might be from France but he's also a cowboy - something that shocks many, he said.<br>
"People just kind of stop for a second. They don't say anything," he said before competition began at the Walker County Fair Grounds. "They don't believe me ... at first, then they ask me to talk in French."<br>
Jayne's French is convincing, but his English or "Texan" as he likes to call it, can be deceiving. Many mistake him for just another Texas cowboy and when they hear he's from Paris automatically think Paris, Texas, not Paris, France, his host father, Mark Rigby said.<br>
"You don't hear too many people say 'Y'all' with a French accent, but Yvan is one of them," Rigby said. "I think he was taught a lot more proper English than we speak."<br>
Rigby said when he first picked Jayne up from a Houston airport in 1998 and drove him back home to Magnolia, it was a long ride because Rigby didn't speak French and Jayne couldn't understand his English.<br>
"To compensate for not being able to communicate I just yelled louder," Rigby said. "I think one time he told me he was French, not deaf."<br>
When Rigby, who works as a vet, learned Jayne was interested in becoming a cowboy, he figured he would allow him to show one of the family's halter mares. It was named grand champion.<br>
"He came out of the ring and I said, 'Congratulations!'" Rigby said, laughing as he recounted Jayne's response. "He said, 'I am sorry, but that is not being a cowboy. Can I get on her and see if she'll buck?'"<br>
Rigby then realized Jayne was serious about becoming a cowboy and enrolled him in rodeo school.<br>
"It was very, very obvious from the first rodeo school that he went to that this was more than just a kid's dream, that he was real serious about this and something that he also had a lot of talent for," Rigby said.<br>
As an exchange student, Jayne was only allowed to attend public school in the U.S. for a year. Rigby, who never before had considered allowing an exchange student to stay beyond the year commitment, talked with school counselors and decided to pay for Jayne to attend a private school in Houston so he could continue pursuing his dream.<br>
"He had potential here that he probably would not have had in France, both academically and through rodeo as well." Rigby said. "He became absolutely a part of our family."<br>
Jayne, who said he had a poor relationship with his birth father in France, said he needed Rigby, who he refers to as his American dad.<br>
"I know I wouldn't be here today if it wasn't for him," he said. "He paid for my first rodeo school and he really helped me to get started. ... He is my hero. He is who I look up to."<br>
After completing his first rodeo school, Jayne began competing within the Texas High School Rodeo Association. He was named the association's state champion in 2000.<br>
College rodeo scholarship offers from around the country began flooding in, but Jayne said he opted to attend Sam Houston so he could remain close to Rigby.<br>
"He's one of our top point getters," Sam Houston Rodeo Coach Roger Hanagriff said of Jayne, who is set to graduate in December and plans to continue competing in the professional circuit while he pursues a master's degree in education.<br>
Jayne said his life in Texas has fulfilled a lifelong dream. Every time he gets atop a bucking bronc, it's almost as if the horse challenges him to show what he has, he said.<br>
"Your brain explodes and your heart comes out of your chest and you see colors everywhere," he said. "Toward the end of the ride you start coming back to the real world, but for about five seconds you are really somewhere else." <p></p><i></i>
HUNTSVILLE, Texas (AP) -- Five years ago Yvan Jayne stepped off a plane from France as a skinny exchange student who dreamed of becoming a cowboy - something he quickly shared with his host family.<br>
Since then a transformation has taken place and Jayne has become a professional rider with a slew of awards, including a new buckle he won over the weekend, to go along with his boots and hats.<br>
"We're just riders in France," Jayne, 21, said as he prepared for the final day of competition Saturday at the Sam Houston State University Regional Rodeo where he won the All-Around competition after impressing crowds with his bareback and saddle bronc riding.<br>
Now that Jayne has survived his share of bruises, broken bones and throws from wild, bucking horses he might be from France but he's also a cowboy - something that shocks many, he said.<br>
"People just kind of stop for a second. They don't say anything," he said before competition began at the Walker County Fair Grounds. "They don't believe me ... at first, then they ask me to talk in French."<br>
Jayne's French is convincing, but his English or "Texan" as he likes to call it, can be deceiving. Many mistake him for just another Texas cowboy and when they hear he's from Paris automatically think Paris, Texas, not Paris, France, his host father, Mark Rigby said.<br>
"You don't hear too many people say 'Y'all' with a French accent, but Yvan is one of them," Rigby said. "I think he was taught a lot more proper English than we speak."<br>
Rigby said when he first picked Jayne up from a Houston airport in 1998 and drove him back home to Magnolia, it was a long ride because Rigby didn't speak French and Jayne couldn't understand his English.<br>
"To compensate for not being able to communicate I just yelled louder," Rigby said. "I think one time he told me he was French, not deaf."<br>
When Rigby, who works as a vet, learned Jayne was interested in becoming a cowboy, he figured he would allow him to show one of the family's halter mares. It was named grand champion.<br>
"He came out of the ring and I said, 'Congratulations!'" Rigby said, laughing as he recounted Jayne's response. "He said, 'I am sorry, but that is not being a cowboy. Can I get on her and see if she'll buck?'"<br>
Rigby then realized Jayne was serious about becoming a cowboy and enrolled him in rodeo school.<br>
"It was very, very obvious from the first rodeo school that he went to that this was more than just a kid's dream, that he was real serious about this and something that he also had a lot of talent for," Rigby said.<br>
As an exchange student, Jayne was only allowed to attend public school in the U.S. for a year. Rigby, who never before had considered allowing an exchange student to stay beyond the year commitment, talked with school counselors and decided to pay for Jayne to attend a private school in Houston so he could continue pursuing his dream.<br>
"He had potential here that he probably would not have had in France, both academically and through rodeo as well." Rigby said. "He became absolutely a part of our family."<br>
Jayne, who said he had a poor relationship with his birth father in France, said he needed Rigby, who he refers to as his American dad.<br>
"I know I wouldn't be here today if it wasn't for him," he said. "He paid for my first rodeo school and he really helped me to get started. ... He is my hero. He is who I look up to."<br>
After completing his first rodeo school, Jayne began competing within the Texas High School Rodeo Association. He was named the association's state champion in 2000.<br>
College rodeo scholarship offers from around the country began flooding in, but Jayne said he opted to attend Sam Houston so he could remain close to Rigby.<br>
"He's one of our top point getters," Sam Houston Rodeo Coach Roger Hanagriff said of Jayne, who is set to graduate in December and plans to continue competing in the professional circuit while he pursues a master's degree in education.<br>
Jayne said his life in Texas has fulfilled a lifelong dream. Every time he gets atop a bucking bronc, it's almost as if the horse challenges him to show what he has, he said.<br>
"Your brain explodes and your heart comes out of your chest and you see colors everywhere," he said. "Toward the end of the ride you start coming back to the real world, but for about five seconds you are really somewhere else." <p></p><i></i>
