Campers at Sarasota City YMCA try their hand at throwing a lasso

By Ian Swaby
| 9:45 a.m. June 7, 2026

Sarasota
Neighbors

The lesson wasn't about tossing a lasso perfectly at the Sarasota City YMCA's summer camp on June 3.

Instead, local farmer and rancher Robbie Martin wanted to open kids' eyes to the work involved in agriculture.

He noted its importance to the food supply, and that today's kids will be future policymakers and legislators.

Martin, a deputy with the Agricultural Unit of the Sarasota County Sheriff's Office as well as president of the Sarasota County Farm Bureau, explained rope tricks to kids before allowing them to try their hand at lassoing a dummy.

He was accompanied by his son Chase Martin, who rode a horse, Slick, and brought a trailer with a recently born Brahman calf for which campers had the chance to suggest names.

Pamela Peters, membership coordinator at the Sarasota City YMCA, said with many campers this year from Title I schools serving under-resourced areas, the organization wanted to step up its offerings to give students experiences they would otherwise not enjoy.

"Farming may look easy, but it's not," Robbie Martin said. "It has its challenges. Roping can look easy if the right person is doing it, but when they get behind it, it's like, man, this is more difficult than I thought, so it's the same concept of having an appreciation for something somebody does."

Zeven Johnston, 4, and Uliana Aponchuk, 6, watch as the demonstration begins.

Seryn Sparks, 8, looks inside a trailer at the Brahman calf.

Vanessa Cruz, 5, suggests a name for the Brahman calf to Robbie Martin.

Parker Mast, 9, Clark Mast, 6, Antonella Rojas, 9, Daniel Bitter, 7, Leo Barnes 5, Peter Calnan, 6, Brody Jenkins, 10, prepare to try the lasso.

Daniel Bitter, 7, makes a successful toss.

Peter Calnan, 6 tries the lasso as Antonella Rojas, 9, waits for her turn.

Kids had the chance to suggest names for a Brahman calf.

author

Ian Swaby

Ian Swaby is the Sarasota neighbors writer for the Observer. Ian is a Florida State University graduate of Editing, Writing, and Media and previously worked in the publishing industry in the Cayman Islands.