The two men, both rodeo athletes, will be team roping together in the Aballah Shrine Rodeo May 25 and 26 in Tonganoxie.

Phillips, Tonganoxie High School graduate as of Saturday, and his cousin Bo Pursel, a 2012 graduate of Lansing High School, pair up with their horses and their ropes and head to area rodeos to compete in the team roping. Phillips is the header: the cowboy who ropes the steer’s head. Pursel, his cousin on his dad’s side, is the heeler, the cowboy who ropes the steer’s back heels.

Living 5 miles apart, the two of them are able to practice a lot. Both have arenas at their homes, and they practice three or four nights a week, depending on the weather. It makes for better times (and thus, more winnings and paychecks) when they live close enough to practice.

“If you’re getting to rope behind the same person time and time again,” Pursel said, “you get a feel for the way they do things. I feel like I have an advantage getting to enter with the person I rope with every day.”

Both men have been roping since they were children, Phillips since “I was old enough to know what a rope was.” Their dads: Bennie Phillips and Mike Pursel, team roped together until their children, who also include Garrett’s younger brother, Cooper, and Bo’s older sister, Shelby, began rodeo and the men were taking their kids to rodeos.

Both men competed in Missouri High School Rodeo, Pursel finishing in the top four in the state to go on to compete at the National High School Finals Rodeo in 2012. Phillips has qualified for his fourth Missouri High School Finals, and last year, made it to the National High School Finals. Pursel wrestled in high school; Phillips competed in football, basketball and baseball as a freshman and sophomore before focusing solely on rodeo.

Pursel just finished an apprenticeship as a lineman, and hopes to get a job close to home. Phillips will attend Fort Scott Community College where he will compete on the rodeo team and work towards a business degree. After that, he’d like to get his Pro Rodeo Cowboys Association card and team rope professionally.

Phillips has roped with his younger brother Cooper at the Shrine Rodeo twice but has never had a qualified time there. Two years ago, Pursel roped with another local team roper, Aaron Harvey, and finished in fourth place.

Rodeo provides a sense of fellowship and friendship, and Phillips and Pursel appreciate that. “I enjoy the camaraderie,” Phillips said, “not necessarily wanting to beat another person. In rodeo, you’ll see someone make a good run, and the guy he just beat is giving him a high five. Everybody wants everybody to do good. The friendships you make up and down the road, you can’t compare them to anything else.”

When the men compete in Tonganoxie at the Shrine Rodeo, their families and friends will be there to watch, and that makes it special, Pursel said. “I like being in front of the hometown crowd. We rope all summer, and your buddies from town don’t get to see you because you’re always going down the road. It’s good to come back, and they get to watch you.”

Phillips and Pursel, along with several scores of other cowboys and cowgirls, will be on hand in Tonganoxie May 25-26 to compete. The Shrine Rodeo is May 25-26, with the demo derby to follow on May 27. Rodeo tickets are $12 for adults and $4 for children ages 4-12. Demo derby tickets are $12 for everyone ages 6 and up.

Tickets can be purchased online at ShrineRodeo.com, at Brothers Market in Tonganoxie, and at the gate.

The rodeo and demo derby starts at 7 p.m. each night. For more information, visit the website (ShrineRodeo.com) or call 913-362-5300.