Graves Leads Ralphie Program Into 50th Year
August 30, 2017 | General, Ralphie
BOULDER — University of Colorado alum John Graves should have guessed he had found his calling when he was awarded "Rookie of the Year" in 2007 — a title earned by running alongside one of college athletics' most famous mascots.
Ten years later, Graves is now program director of the Ralphie Program at CU, where he coaches handlers to run with Colorado's 1,200-pound female buffalo.
Ralphie has gained national attention as the one of the best live mascot in collegiate athletics, a tradition that has proven hard to beat as fans rush to their seats to make sure they don't miss the best entrance in college football. As the team prepares to run onto the field behind their beloved mascot, the loudspeaker announces, "Heeeerrrreee comes Rallllphieee!" and the Buffs rush onto Folsom Field, trailing Colorado's most beloved buffalo and her fearless handlers, trained to match her powerful stride while guiding her around the stadium in her custom-made harness, accompanied by the cheers of thousands.
This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Ralphie tradition. Graves has had a firsthand look at the tradition for 10 of those 50 years. He started as an fan in the stands.
"I was up in the stands with my girlfriend at the time — she is now my wife — and we were watching the football game and she was like, 'You should run with Ralphie' … So the following year I tried out and made it," Graves said. "I ran with Ralphie IV during the 2007 season, then trained Ralphie V, and ran with Ralphie V in 2008 and 2009."
Running with Ralphie wasn't Graves' first rodeo. He grew up around horses and his father is in the agriculture industry. He has always had a passion for animals and has continued to foster this love ever since.
"Each day and each year when I work with Ralphie I tell them one thing: I am here," he said. "I'm here for the buffalo. I'm here for you guys. That's really why I do it, because I care so much for the buffalo and I care so much for the handlers on the team and how much they enjoy running with Ralphie."
Ralphie is in good hands, as Graves has extensive knowledge of buffalo. After graduating from CU, he went on to earn his Master's of Agriculture at Colorado State. Outside of being the program director, he also works closely with the National Bison Association and the Rocky Mountain Buffalo Association.
"You can ask him any question about Ralphie and he would answer it right on the spot," said Rachel Edson, a second-year Ralphie handler. "He's really good at teaching us all about her, which I think is also important."
Graves has known Ralphie V since she was 6 months old. He played a big part in training her for game day runs, which consist of her completing a roughly 200-yard sprint around Folsom Field in approximately 25 seconds.
Ralphie V "joined" the CU program in January 2007. Over the course of the following summer, Graves and his team worked closely with Ralphie to get her used to interacting with people. They fed her in her trailer to ensure she felt comfortable being there. Whenever she would do something good, she would receive small treats or extra hay. Other than that, it's all about consistently doing practice runs over and over again.
However, they quickly learned that Ralphie V didn't need too many repetitions, as she was a natural.
"She just loves it. She loves her job," Graves said. "When we trained Ralphie V the first couple of months, we would practice running her once a week for a couple of weeks and she slowly started to develop it and understand what we were asking her to do...and then one day it just clicked. I kid you not, all of the sudden she was just running with us and enjoying it and she understood what we were asking her to do."
In the history of the Ralphie program, Ralphie V is the fastest buffalo so far. Now 10 years old, Ralphie is an experienced game day runner and it's up to the handlers to keep up.
"Ralphie is always in great shape, she's always ready to run," Graves said. "As humans, we've got to work hard to stay in shape."
Being able to keep up with Ralphie's speed isn't even the most important part. Due to the extensive learning process that goes into running with a live buffalo, the program seeks out handlers who not only possess athleticism but are coachable.
"Just because you have this amazing fast person does not mean you are going to be good with running with Ralphie," Graves said. "It takes so much more technique and skill going in the rest of your body to be able to run with her and stand up without falling down every time. Your lower body is jumping and sprinting at the same time and your upper body is hanging onto the rope, and having to keep your back tight because she's pulling you along as you are going as fast as you can. It's definitely a full body workout to be able to run with her."
A total of 15 carefully selected handlers who are coachable, athletic and personable make up the team each year. The handlers train year round, taking off the months of December — only if there are no postseason games — and May. During the football season, they will average around 30 hours of training a week.
They spend most of their time in the weight room, completing lifts led by Graves, who is a certified strength and conditioning coach. They also do sprints, practice runs with Ralphie, and watch film of previous runs.
"During football season we have workouts in the weight room on Mondays and Wednesdays for two hours," Edson said. "Then Tuesdays and Fridays we're practicing with Ralphie on Prentup Field … Then Saturday is usually game day where we go and pick her up from her ranch and bring her to Boulder."
One of the biggest keys to completing a successful game day run with Ralphie is trust. Trust between the handlers and the buffalo.
Gaining Ralphie's trust may be the hardest.
"Buffalo are very intelligent, so they know what's going on," Graves said. "So each year when we bring on the new rookies, Ralphie V, she's like, 'Uh you're not really my friend yet. I'm going to stay over here and you're going to stay over there and we're going to be good.'"
Over the rookie year of training, Ralphie begins to soften up.
"You never expect a buffalo to be super friendly but she's honestly a sweetheart," Colton Behr, a veteran handler said. "From your rookie year when you first meet her, she's kind of uncomfortable with you … As you get to know her, she'll let you pet her more and interact with her. If she lets you pet her butt that's how you know she's really comfortable with you."
During the hectic rush of adrenaline and unsettling nerves on game days, the handlers and Ralphie can lean on each other to get the job done.
There are five handlers strategically positioned to guide Ralphie around the field. The two handlers up front are in charge of steering her. Behind them are the next two handlers, who are there to help steer and help slow her down. They act as a safety in case any of the two front-runners fall.
Finally, the fifth handler is in the back and uses all his strength to pull back on Ralphie to slow her down. The rest of the handlers are positioned around the field to keep the path clear and make sure both the buffalo and their fellow handlers are safe.
"We have such a tight bond amongst ourselves because it takes everyone to be able to run Ralphie," Graves said. "It's not one person that's out there running with Ralphie. It takes everyone."
For Ralphie and her handlers, it is indeed "Shoulder to Shoulder," as they sprint around Folsom Field to continue one of the greatest traditions in all of college football.
Ten years later, Graves is now program director of the Ralphie Program at CU, where he coaches handlers to run with Colorado's 1,200-pound female buffalo.
Ralphie has gained national attention as the one of the best live mascot in collegiate athletics, a tradition that has proven hard to beat as fans rush to their seats to make sure they don't miss the best entrance in college football. As the team prepares to run onto the field behind their beloved mascot, the loudspeaker announces, "Heeeerrrreee comes Rallllphieee!" and the Buffs rush onto Folsom Field, trailing Colorado's most beloved buffalo and her fearless handlers, trained to match her powerful stride while guiding her around the stadium in her custom-made harness, accompanied by the cheers of thousands.
This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Ralphie tradition. Graves has had a firsthand look at the tradition for 10 of those 50 years. He started as an fan in the stands.
"I was up in the stands with my girlfriend at the time — she is now my wife — and we were watching the football game and she was like, 'You should run with Ralphie' … So the following year I tried out and made it," Graves said. "I ran with Ralphie IV during the 2007 season, then trained Ralphie V, and ran with Ralphie V in 2008 and 2009."
Running with Ralphie wasn't Graves' first rodeo. He grew up around horses and his father is in the agriculture industry. He has always had a passion for animals and has continued to foster this love ever since.
"Each day and each year when I work with Ralphie I tell them one thing: I am here," he said. "I'm here for the buffalo. I'm here for you guys. That's really why I do it, because I care so much for the buffalo and I care so much for the handlers on the team and how much they enjoy running with Ralphie."
Ralphie is in good hands, as Graves has extensive knowledge of buffalo. After graduating from CU, he went on to earn his Master's of Agriculture at Colorado State. Outside of being the program director, he also works closely with the National Bison Association and the Rocky Mountain Buffalo Association.
"You can ask him any question about Ralphie and he would answer it right on the spot," said Rachel Edson, a second-year Ralphie handler. "He's really good at teaching us all about her, which I think is also important."
Graves has known Ralphie V since she was 6 months old. He played a big part in training her for game day runs, which consist of her completing a roughly 200-yard sprint around Folsom Field in approximately 25 seconds.
Ralphie V "joined" the CU program in January 2007. Over the course of the following summer, Graves and his team worked closely with Ralphie to get her used to interacting with people. They fed her in her trailer to ensure she felt comfortable being there. Whenever she would do something good, she would receive small treats or extra hay. Other than that, it's all about consistently doing practice runs over and over again.
However, they quickly learned that Ralphie V didn't need too many repetitions, as she was a natural.
"She just loves it. She loves her job," Graves said. "When we trained Ralphie V the first couple of months, we would practice running her once a week for a couple of weeks and she slowly started to develop it and understand what we were asking her to do...and then one day it just clicked. I kid you not, all of the sudden she was just running with us and enjoying it and she understood what we were asking her to do."
In the history of the Ralphie program, Ralphie V is the fastest buffalo so far. Now 10 years old, Ralphie is an experienced game day runner and it's up to the handlers to keep up.
"Ralphie is always in great shape, she's always ready to run," Graves said. "As humans, we've got to work hard to stay in shape."
Being able to keep up with Ralphie's speed isn't even the most important part. Due to the extensive learning process that goes into running with a live buffalo, the program seeks out handlers who not only possess athleticism but are coachable.
"Just because you have this amazing fast person does not mean you are going to be good with running with Ralphie," Graves said. "It takes so much more technique and skill going in the rest of your body to be able to run with her and stand up without falling down every time. Your lower body is jumping and sprinting at the same time and your upper body is hanging onto the rope, and having to keep your back tight because she's pulling you along as you are going as fast as you can. It's definitely a full body workout to be able to run with her."
A total of 15 carefully selected handlers who are coachable, athletic and personable make up the team each year. The handlers train year round, taking off the months of December — only if there are no postseason games — and May. During the football season, they will average around 30 hours of training a week.
They spend most of their time in the weight room, completing lifts led by Graves, who is a certified strength and conditioning coach. They also do sprints, practice runs with Ralphie, and watch film of previous runs.
"During football season we have workouts in the weight room on Mondays and Wednesdays for two hours," Edson said. "Then Tuesdays and Fridays we're practicing with Ralphie on Prentup Field … Then Saturday is usually game day where we go and pick her up from her ranch and bring her to Boulder."
One of the biggest keys to completing a successful game day run with Ralphie is trust. Trust between the handlers and the buffalo.
Gaining Ralphie's trust may be the hardest.
"Buffalo are very intelligent, so they know what's going on," Graves said. "So each year when we bring on the new rookies, Ralphie V, she's like, 'Uh you're not really my friend yet. I'm going to stay over here and you're going to stay over there and we're going to be good.'"
Over the rookie year of training, Ralphie begins to soften up.
"You never expect a buffalo to be super friendly but she's honestly a sweetheart," Colton Behr, a veteran handler said. "From your rookie year when you first meet her, she's kind of uncomfortable with you … As you get to know her, she'll let you pet her more and interact with her. If she lets you pet her butt that's how you know she's really comfortable with you."
During the hectic rush of adrenaline and unsettling nerves on game days, the handlers and Ralphie can lean on each other to get the job done.
There are five handlers strategically positioned to guide Ralphie around the field. The two handlers up front are in charge of steering her. Behind them are the next two handlers, who are there to help steer and help slow her down. They act as a safety in case any of the two front-runners fall.
Finally, the fifth handler is in the back and uses all his strength to pull back on Ralphie to slow her down. The rest of the handlers are positioned around the field to keep the path clear and make sure both the buffalo and their fellow handlers are safe.
"We have such a tight bond amongst ourselves because it takes everyone to be able to run Ralphie," Graves said. "It's not one person that's out there running with Ralphie. It takes everyone."
For Ralphie and her handlers, it is indeed "Shoulder to Shoulder," as they sprint around Folsom Field to continue one of the greatest traditions in all of college football.
Players Mentioned
/ Ralphie
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