And the 2024 Country Music Association Award for Album of the Year goes to…Cody Johnson, for the musical masterpiece he calls “Leather!” Let the record show that that’s Cody’s own roping hand on that album cover. This guy’s cowboy songs are legit, because he is one. And a win for him is a win for our entire Western world, because CoJo’s hell bent on keeping country in country music. 

“People have poured their passion—hearts and souls—into this album,” beamed the happy CMA champ, who was quick to credit others who gave all alongside him to “Leather.”

Johnson, who sang a duet of “I’m Gonna Love You” with Carrie Underwood at last night’s CMAs, team ropes every chance he gets when not performing center stage. He poured his heart and soul into another passion project in recent times. That resulted in the inaugural Cody Johnson Championship Event, which was a weeklong rope-a-thon in Belton, Texas in October. Andrew Ward and Jake Long left the first-ever CoJo Open $32,500 richer, and pulling brand new gooseneck stock combo Bloomer Trailers with shiny new Bill Fick Ford F-350 dually trucks. 

“Cody knows who we are, because he’s one of us,” added World Champion Team Roper Colby Lovell. “He lives it, and he means it when he sings about it. Cody’s our concrete cowboy with the power to stand up for rodeo, ranching and cowboys in places where people judge from the outside in. He’s worked his hands to the bone, so he’s not a guy who’s ever going to forget where he came from. Cody Johnson has brought the cowboy hat back.”

“Cody’s stayed true to himself, and stuck to his guns,” said World Champion Team Roper Kaleb Driggers. “He’s not afraid to get up on that stage and talk about his belief in God, love for America and everything we stand for as cowboys.” 

Cody Johnson lives it every day, and it shows.

“Team roping has all but consumed my life since 2020, and roping is what I do to get away from the smoke and lights,” Cody said. “When I’m out there horseback with a rope in my hand, I just get to be who I am at the core, and that’s a cowboy.”

Congratulations, CoJo!

The post One of Our Own Wins 2024 CMA Award: Congratulations to CoJo!  appeared first on The Team Roping Journal.

Today and every day, we offer our heartfelt thanks to the military veterans who’ve served our country. On occasion, we have the privilege of sharing their stories, along with the stories of the roping community members who rally around them. Here, we revisit a few of our readers’ favorites.

Thank you to Equinety for helping us share stories of military members, veterans and first responders in the team roping community.

Sgt. Greenlief Gets a Relentless Remuda War Horse

After surviving a deadly helicopter crash, it was a medical board decision that nearly killed USMC veteran Jake Greenlief. Now he’s building a barn of War Horses with proven bloodlines and talent to help others through horsemanship. Continue reading…

Call Sign 2.0: Phoenix

Idaho roper Todd Hornbuckle had a brilliant career as an Air Force and Navy pilot before a failed engine in 2016 forced an emergency landing with his daughter aboard. She survived unscathed while Hornbuckle suffered severe, life-altering burns. Now, his roping is helping him rise from the ashes. Continue reading…

Teams Ropers Rally for U.S. Marine John Tidwell

Only just a few months after finding a horse to head and heal on, Marine Corps veteran John Tidwell’s horse succumbed to a severe colic case. We asked the roping community for help, and he came in the form of “Johnny Ringo.” Continue reading…

USMC Veteran Rook Rawls Remembers 9/11 From Quantico

The name Rook Rawls might ring a fun-loving bell, but many may not know Rawls stepped away from roping in his 20s to volunteer his service to our country. Continue reading…

Travis Beck: All-Around Airman

In 2022, the Professional Armed Forces Rodeo Association held their annual World Finals and retired Airman Travis Beck won the heeling and the all-around titles, not to mention he clinched the chute-dogging championship as well. Continue reading…

—TRJ—

Thank you to Equinety for helping us share stories of military members, veterans and first responders in the team roping community.

The post 5 Stories of Team Ropers Who Served in the Military appeared first on The Team Roping Journal.

After a tremendous day of roping at an event he’d helped produce for the past six years, Randal “Randy” Crump of Clarendon, Texas, died suddenly in the company of some of his favorite people at the age of 56.

Though the community around Randy is still navigating the incredible loss, accounts of his passing suggest he left in the same manner he lived: without fanfare and with joy in his heart.

“I’m at one of my favorite places doing my favorite thing with some of my favorite people,” Randy reportedly told his dear friend, Tricia O’Gorman Stroope, in their final conversation that day. “This is the best day ever.”

On Sept. 1, Randy was in Erick, Oklahoma, producing the annual Dalton O’Gorman Memorial Roping with fellow roper and lifelong friend Ike Hanes. Though Hanes had to work this year and left the onsite duties to Randy, the two men had been partnering on the production since the untimely death of Michael Dalton O’Gorman, who passed away at the age of 20 in 2019.

“Randy was with him when he passed away,” Hanes said of O’Gorman. “We’ve given away about $90,000 so far in scholarships since we’ve been doing it.”

Randy had a few years on Hanes, but the two began roping together pretty much as soon as Hanes was able to join the ranks. 

“He grew up cowboy and pretty rough and poor, to be honest with you,” Hanes said of the man he also describes with humor as a hillbilly. “When you say someone would give you the shirt off their back, he was that kind of guy. But he did it his own way. I mean, he would come to an Open and he would put on his T-shirt, and he’d have on his weird boots and his Wranglers that were too tight. You’d see him over there and, if you didn’t know him, you’re like, I’m not roping with that guy. I mean, he just looked like a hillbilly. He’d have on a hat that looked like he’d been in a dryer—a flat cowboy hat that he’s had for 15 years—and just whip your butt.”

Ironically, in numerous Facebook tributes to Randy, ropers far and wide remember him as the guy who partnered with them first when no one else would, making sure to introduce them to more ropers to add to their partner pool, too. It seems that no matter what Randy was dealt, he was often able to do the greatest amount of good with it.

“One year at the Coors Finals, I was in college, but I was roping with him,” Hanes said of entering up with Randy some 17 years ago. “I remember him making it to the Coors Finals in a two-horse trailer, and he had an old Ford gasoline pickup. He was by himself and, when he showed up there, he had jugs of water in the back of that truck because that pickup was overheating. So, he’d had to pull over. He’d drive 50, 60 miles and it was hot—the Coors Finals was in July—and he would have to fill his radio up with the water and then that pickup would get hot and he’d have to fill his radiator up with the water. 

“He made it all the way to the Coors Finals like that, and then he won a bunch of money,” Hanes continued. “And that’s just kind of how he rolled forever. He didn’t care what you thought or how he was dressed. It’s just one of those deals; you just have to tell the truth. You don’t have to lie about guys like him.”

From the outside looking in, it’d be fair to question if any of the stories were made up, especially listening to his wife of 10 years, Buckie, describe the unicorn of a man she married. Not only was Randy an avid and talented team roper and a seven-time WRCA World Champion Ranch Rodeo qualifier, he was also an incredibly caring husband.

“I absolutely loved watching him rope,” Buckie offered. “I loved going with him, and he took such good care of me. We would get to roping early and especially if it was outdoors so he could get me a good place to sit so I could sit in the pickup. In fact, it’s been about three months now, and we went to Levelland and he roped. And anyway, we rode with a gentleman and the man parked way out in the parking lot and, in his defense, there were quite a few team ropers that day, but Randy, he went and got me something to eat for breakfast. 

“I looked at him and I said, ‘Baby, if all these men in here took care of their wives like you do me, these stands would be full.’ He said, ‘Well, if all these women took care of men like you do me.’ And he just was larger than life.”

In short, the two were good for each other. 

“When he met Buckie, things changed for him,” Hanes explained. “She brought him a different kind of peace.”

Another place Randy found his peace was in the roping arena. 

“I’m a nervous Nelly,” Buckie admitted. “He would back in the box, and I would just be up in the stand rocking, saying, ‘Father God, Father God, Father God;’ just a nervous Nelly. It never bothered him. He’d be laughing backing in the box; no biggie.”

“I mean, no situation was too big for him,” Hanes added. “And it didn’t matter if he was up for $10 or $10,000, he didn’t get nervous and he would just do anything for anyone.”

Randy did win plenty of checks over the years. He also won a truck just in time to have a good backup when his favorite ’06 Ford began showing signs of wear. And yet, he didn’t have many buckles.

“I said, ‘You don’t have any buckles,’” Buckie recalled. “He said, ‘Why do I need buckles?’ I said, ‘Well we go to so-and-so’s, and they’ve got all these buckles.’ He said, ‘I can only wear one at a time. Some kid at a roping worked hard running the chutes and pushing the cattle. If he hadn’t been doing what he was doing, then I couldn’t have won,’ and he’d just give him the buckle.”

One buckle that had eluded Randy, though, was from the Dalton O’Gorman Memorial Roping he and Hanes put on. 

“He called me the night before and asked me, ‘Do you think I should rope?’” Hanes recalled. “I said, ‘Yea, rope. Screw it. It’s a roping. If you win, you win. Who cares?’ He didn’t want to torch everybody in our own roping, but he’s had troubles at that roping. Me too. Me and him were high call one time and I slipped a leg, and we just had terrible troubles at that roping.” 

Buckie was shopping for a mother-of-the-bride dress for her daughter’s wedding, so she couldn’t make the event either, but she and Randy were in close contact throughout the day.

“I said, ‘If you can rope, you need to enter up and you need to rope, because since when do you not rope?’” Buckie told Randy. “Then he called back, and he said, ‘I won second and fourth and I won the fast time. I got you a buckle.’”

When Randy called Buckie next, he was getting ready to go swimming, proud to have fit into a borrowed pair of shorts belonging to Brice Bennett.

“I don’t know if you know Brice, but he’s a tall, skinny thing,” Buckie revealed, painting a humorous picture of a stout Randy modeling a perhaps not-quite-his-size pair of trunks to the pool. “They had sent me some videos and he had just been doing cannonballs off the diving board, trying to splash [the kids] and he was just cutting up. And they said he went off the last time, and that was it.”

The passing of Randy Crump is a loss the roping community will feel for a long time. He was employed by honest and unglamorous work at the feedyards and for TXDOT and he’d not had much success in his marriages before meeting Buckie, but Randy never burdened anyone around him with anything other than the good.

“He was always happy,” Hanes said. “He always had a smile on his face. And every time you saw him, he was never in a bad mood at a roping. I don’t think I ever met hardly anyone that truly loved to rope more than him.”

Loved to rope and loved his people, according to Buckie.

“I never heard him complain about getting up and going to work,” Buckie said. “Ever. He got up, he went to work, and he came in, ‘I’ve got to do so-and-so and so-and-so. You want to go? You want to get? Let’s go and do.’

“It was about us being together, about being with his family, his grandkids and his kids. That’s what life was about. And he said, ‘It’s about the person.’ I struggle with that because I like new shoes and I like purses. But stuff just wasn’t important to him. It was about being together with the ones you love and being happy.

—TRJ—

The post Randy Crump (1968-2024) Left a Legacy of Good appeared first on The Team Roping Journal.

It’s easy to be gracious when things are going your way. It’s life’s curveballs and challenges that test our true character. How many of you watched the last perf of the San Bernardino (California) Sheriff’s PRCA Rodeo with me from the very edge of your seats at this year’s regular rodeo season finish line on Sunday, September 29, because the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo teeter totter was in full swing? 

A 2024 trip to Vegas came down to one steer between a two-team buddy group. When it was over, three of the four friends—Erich Rogers, Paul Eaves and Derrick Begay—made the Top-15 cut. Colter Todd was the odd man out, and finished 16^th in the world on the heeling side. It’d be a big, fat yikes—if this wasn’t two of the coolest cowboys of all time we’re talking about here.

To set the stage for you, if you weren’t in that moment with the rest of us, the two teams pulled into San Bernardino with a mere $84 margin between them. 

“We had to beat them, regardless of what they did, for me to make it,” Colter explained, calm as ever when it was over. “But it was actually fun. It was like we were in the practice pen running one last steer to see who makes the Finals.

“The hardest pill for me to deal with mentally was that I felt like I was on the downhill slide, and had been doing bad instead of climbing and battling. In the end, I felt like I failed the last 30 days of the regular season.”

Rogers and Eaves rode in to rope the team before Begay and Todd this time. That was not the order they roped in most of the year when they buddied, but the way all the trades turned out it was how it was right there at the end. 

Rogers and Eaves stuck it on one in 5 flat to take the lead of the rodeo. So when Begay and Todd rode in next, the only play was to try and win it. Begay took his shot, but did not connect. That’s the understandable hard part for him. 

“I should have roped that steer all day,” said Begay, who does not do excuses. “My horse scored good. I had a good go. The steer was good, and the timing was there. That’s a steer I catch every time. Nothing was out of whack. It was an easy shot. Everything felt good, and I missed.”

That Begay would man up and own it was predictable. That Colter cared most about his header and best friend making it was also par for their cowboy course. 

“It went exactly how it was supposed to go,” said Todd, who won last year’s NFR average with Begay. “For me, it’s fine. I don’t rodeo for a living (he ranches). Not that I don’t care or have any emotions. But the way it ended up coming down to that last steer, it was bittersweet, but also cooler than heck.”

They rode out the back end at San Bernardino knowing the 500-mile drive back home to Arizona—Seba Dalkai for Begay, and Willcox for Colter—would be a long one. 

“Not much was said,” according to Begay. “I was bummed out. We got in the truck, and I started driving. We stopped at In-N-Out (Burger), then kept going. So many things were going through my head. A guy dreams about making the NFR. My wife is due December 21, so she’s probably not even going to go to the NFR. Now I’m not going to get to rope with my best friend. If I didn’t go, Jonathan Torres would get to rope with his partner (Nelson Wyatt, who finished 16^th on the heading side). 

“I finally said a few words. I told Colter, ‘The main reason I pro rodeo these days is because of you.’ The thought of going to the Finals without Colter did not make me happy.”

Naturally, Colter wasn’t having any of that. And he placed all the blame directly on his own two shoulders. 

“I just didn’t rope good enough,” Colter said. “To fail at the end is hard. After the second round at Sioux Falls and before we roped our steer at Mona, Utah, the heading was done and Begay was in. That meant so much to me. He roped good enough. He deserves to be there. 

“This is the first major failure I’ve had to deal with. It’s good for me, but it’s not easy. I had $94,000 won the first of August. To have that fall through does not feel very good. But I’m pumped for a guy like Tanner Braden, who’s been on the bubble a couple times. I’m not the guy who needed to make it the most, and I’m happy for everyone who did make it.” 

Of course he is. So Colter of him. Wyatt finished $3,081 behind Begay with $101,988 on the regular season. Todd ended up $3,843 behind Eaves with $105,069. They only went to 70-some rodeos, when team ropers can count 80.

“That the way it went was meant to be is the only way I can wrap my head around what happened here,” said Begay, who’ll head for Torres at Derrick’s 11^th NFR in December. “We were taking care of business. That it was meant to be is the only explanation that makes any sense. 

“We did have rodeos left, and could have gone to places like Pasadena, New Braunfels and Stephenville (Texas). But we’re supposed to make it with what we entered. We didn’t want to do anything stupid and force it. We went to all the good ones where we could ride our own horses.”

They did it their way, just like they live the rest of their lives. And their conversations haven’t returned to this subject since they were in that truck driving home from San Bernardino a month ago. 

“Fall’s a good time for cowboys,” Begay said. “And when you get home and back to your life, you get busy and forget about rodeo. Colter and I both do that. Being back home on the desert puts a good feel back in me. 

“I’ve been gathering cows. Colter came over this morning to preg check cows with me. Colter does the preg checking. We worked the cows and weaned the calves before heading to our (Turquoise) circuit finals, which starts tonight in Camp Verde (Arizona).”

These are family-first cowboys with life perspective.

“There was a time when I got nervous, and thought, ‘What if I don’t get Begay in?’” Colter said. “For me, it’s fine. I don’t rodeo for a living. It’s not that I don’t have emotions or care. There was no reason not to make it with what we won early. As a competitor, it was hard for me to lose ground until right there at the end. But the way we roped, Begay needed to make it. I obviously did not.

“It absolutely crossed my mind before we roped that last steer that those other guys rodeo for a living, and have sponsor contracts. They have to make the NFR. Bottom line is that it worked out exactly how it was supposed to.”

It’s all good for these guys. But still…

“It’s hard to let a friend down,” Begay said. “For me to make it and him not is a feeling I’ve never had before. It’s a letdown. But we both know we have to accept the outcome. 

“It’s disappointing, but it’s going to be OK. Because we’re best friends. Colter’s not just a team roping partner, and rodeoing isn’t our life. If rodeo is all that mattered to me, I’d move to Texas and rope all day. Cowboying is our life.”  

The post Best Friends First: Begay and Todd Make Sense of 2024 appeared first on The Team Roping Journal.

Bodie Mattson and Trae Smith picked up the 2024 Badlands Circuit Finals win Oct. 13, in Minot, North Dakota, after roping three steers in 17.7 seconds for $3,568 apiece.

The win marks Mattson’s first Badlands Circuit Finals team roping title and Smith’s second in a row. After going into Minot sixth in the standings, Mattson, 22, and Smith, 24, set their sights on the average title.

“We knew we were kind of back in the pack and honestly, in my mind, winning the average was a bigger deal for us than winning the year-end because all the money counts [toward the standings],” Mattson, of Sturgis, South Dakota, said. “We still got a spot to Colorado Springs. We got to rope at Colorado Springs last year with different partners and it was a good learning experience for us to realize how much money is available there.”

Hockey rink battle

Mattson and Smith kicked things off with a 6.5 in Round 1 to split third for $892 each. After watching some teams mess up in the first round, they knew they could set up their week early. 

“We were trying to knock the first one down in a timely manner, but not a stupid fashion,” Mattson said. “We made a smart run in the first round that set our week up to know whether we either had to step on it a little bit or be in a good spot just to ride that out.”

In the second round, they drew a steer that had taken another team out in Round 1. 

“That was really the only one that made me nervous,” admitted Smith, a Georgetown, Idaho, native. “Me and Bodie watched the video on him before we roped and went with the game plan of he was going to get the steer out of my way, and whenever I thought I could catch him, to take the chance.”

Mattson and Smith turned a tough steer into cash and picked up $595 a man for fourth in the round with a 5.7-second run. They came back to Sunday’s matinee leading the average on two head and sealed the deal with a 5.5 to also split second in the third round for $1,487 a man. Smith credits Mattson for setting steers up for him and making his job easy.

“Bodie is very consistent; with the way he handles cattle, I can ride to my spot and know where the cow’s going to be,” Smith, the 2019 Badlands Circuit year-end champion heeler, said. “I don’t have to guess where they’re going to go. It makes my job easier and helps me be more consistent.”

All in all, they left the circuit finals with $6,542 each.

Minot horsepower

While the steers are good and the barrier is friendly, the setup at Minot is no walk in the park. With a hockey rink for an arena, the draw and horsepower play a huge part in success there. 

Mattson called on his main mount Let R Buck Pendleton, aka “Pendleton.” A been-there, done-that gelding, Mattson knew he could afford to give him some time off before the circuit finals.

“My horse was phenomenal up there,” Mattson said. “It was the best he’s worked all year. I got to come home and give him some time off. I didn’t rope on him for three weeks beforehand, except for the Wrangler Finals, and he made it really easy for us. He scored really good, left flat and seemed like I got some pretty good rolls and didn’t have to reach as much to keep him on a shorter rope and let Trae have the whole arena to work with.”

Smith, meanwhile, rode a horse of Brett Fleming’s after his good horse—who he’d won last year’s circuit finals on—underwent surgery for a bone chip in his fetlock following the Utah Days of ’47 Rodeo in Salt Lake City.

Back to Colorado

In 2022, Mattson and Smith won the inaugural Resistol Rookie Roundup. They decided to pair back up in 2024, thanks to common goals. 

“We both wanted to go more out of the circuit than our partners wanted to, and we thought it’d be a good pairing,” Mattson said. “We roped all year, and I finished just outside the top 50 and he was just inside the top 50. This was dang sure a good steppingstone for next year.”

Both Mattson—who is the reigning NFR Open tie-down roping champion—and Smith are looking forward to heading back to Colorado Springs in July.

“It’s an unbelievable rodeo,” Smith said. “To be able to go during that week and run at that much money can really help a guy’s year go from an OK year to a ‘We have a chance’ type of year.”

The post Bodie Mattson and Trae Smith Capture 2024 Badlands Circuit Finals  appeared first on The Team Roping Journal.

Kelsey Willis of Wagener, South Carolina, first ran across the pages of this magazine in the spring of 2022.

In that story about retired police officer Greg Ziel, Ziel had discovered Willis Performance Horses and was learning to rope and to ride—a daring combination that Willis, 37, specializes in. In the beginning, though, Willis was Texas-bound with big plans. 

Switching gears

“I [roped and] rode cutting horses, and I moved out to Texas after a year of college,” Willis said. “I was always into colt starting, and I had done a little bit of teaching.”

Willis then met and married his wife, Brittney, now a professional photographer who’s cutting her teeth shooting rodeo at Little Britches Rodeos, and became a father to daughter Riley, 11, and son Reese, 9.

“I became a paramedic,” Willis explained. “That is something that people in my family had done. So the fire service and EMS background, it was something that I kind of fell into because I needed insurance when I was training horses, and I grew to love that, so I got out of roping for a few years.”

Making connections

With a bit of family life under their belts, the Willises built a home facility and began training and offering lessons for a whole range of riders and rodeo up-and-comers, including Ziel, who was readying to rope at Charly Crawford’s American Hero Celebration in Decatur, Texas, in 2022. After, Willis submitted his own application for entry into the Horns N’ Heroes Clinic with Crawford and Trey Johnson and was accepted into the 2023 program as a heeler.

“From a coaching aspect, Trey helped me so much with my heeling,” Willis said. “He’s probably one of the coolest teachers that I’ve ever been around because he simplifies things. For my own teaching, it was really cool to see the drills they used and kind of the way they broke things down.

“Especially with some of my younger students, I get so technical,” Willis admitted. “That’s probably the single biggest thing—how they were able to take all the technical jargon and really slow it down and make it something that people could understand. That’s what I hope to have accomplished with my teaching.”

But sometimes it also just takes a real-world experience to really light a fire.

Future champions

“We had six of the students that I coach, including my two kids, qualify for the National Little Britches Finals in Oklahoma in July,” Willis reported. “Pretty much all my kids got the pants beat off ’em, but it was their first time out and it was really good. 

“I told them, ‘This is the pinnacle of junior rodeo between this and the high school finals. So when you’re here, you need to take something from it.’ Just like I decided when I was at Charly’s and Trey’s I was going to get everything I could from it. So that’s what we focused on instead of them getting discouraged because they were getting beat by kids who had been there and done that. What they ended up doing is they let it burn a fire in them.”

Since that inaugural finals experience, Willis’ kids have anteed up. His own two were saddling up twice a day, every day to prep for their next rodeo,

“They went to our first Little Britches Rodeo, and they won every single event, and each of them won the all-around,” Willis stated proudly. “Riley won the junior girls all-around for the weekend, and Reese won the junior boys all-around. And they’ve kept it up. They’ve had four rodeos so far, and Reese in one of his events is ranked seventh in the country right now and Riley’s 14^th.”

Back at it

For his own roping, Willis has found a practice buddy in the BFI’s first onsite veterinarian, Andy Clark, DVM, who, according to Willis, paid his way through veterinary school in California as a PRCA header who roped with the likes of Walt Woodard and the Camarillos and company. In the spring, Clark and Willis entered up for an IPRA rodeo in the area.

“I entered him and he said, ‘This is the first rodeo I’ve entered since Salinas in 1980,’” Willis said. 

Willis is tentatively eyeing up a run at the 2025 International Finals Rodeo (IFR55), but he won’t be mad about it if the timing isn’t right for him because his kids and clients are making their own goes.

“We’re going,” Kelsey stated. “And I was really thinking that I was going to regret that and be like, ‘Oh man, what if this or that?’ But I have so much fun going to these junior rodeos and hauling these kids around. I wouldn’t trade it for the world.”

Attn: South Carolina Ropers: Join the Ziels and Willis Performance Horses to support a great cause

—TRJ—

Thank you to Equinety for helping us share stories of military members, veterans and first responders in the team roping community.

The post Unanswered Prayers appeared first on The Team Roping Journal.

When Hurricane Helene hit North Carolina, the Toberer family sprang into action with the help of volunteers and a pack of mules. 

The parents of four ropers —Zack (26), Jet (21), Gracie (19) and Faith (14) —Mike and Michele run Mountain Mule Packer Ranch in Mount Ulla, North Carolina, which specializes in teaching troops (and civilians) how to pack mules into rough and difficult terrains. After regaining their own power at home, they saw the devastation Helene inflicted and got to work.

“We went over to eat at [my parents’] house that Sunday (Sept. 29), and [Dad] was like, ‘I’m going up there to Asheville in the morning,’” Zack, who just won the JX2 Virginia Fall Classic #13.5 WSTR, explained. “[My dad] took a few guys up there, and that’s what he’s been doing pretty much since then.”

Mike, a private military contractor, moved to North Carolina from California to work with Special Forces. With over 30 years of packing experience from his days as a guide in Northern California, he was well-equipped for the task in North Carolina.

“I’m pretty confident in them,” said their youngest son Jet, who lives in Lipan, Texas, and recently won the #14.5 at the WSTR Abilene Special.” My dad’s been doing this his whole life—he used to pack mules for the Forest Service in California and help with fires and stuff, and then that’s what he does now. He trains the military, Special Forces and Navy. His program also sells [mules] to the military, and then he has a course that he’ll train teams to pack mules.”

The delivery

Armed with a string of about 10 mules and one draft cross, Mike and Michele began orchestrating supply drop-offs where the surrounding communities came together to fill horse trailers with supplies. They set up a staging area in Montreat Sept. 30, and the following morning rode into the Black Mountain area, 20 minutes east of Ashville, with the supplies.

With devastation all across Western North Carolina, the Mountain Mule Packers focused primarily on inaccessible areas since the mules are so well-equipped for that hard terrain. From food and water to toiletries and medical supplies, the list of supplies they were able to bring in is a mile long. 

“We had hauled a load of supplies up there, like food, waters and stuff for everybody,” Zack said. “Some parts are different than others, but a lot of it the roads are blocked in from landslides and stuff, so there’s no way to get oxygen or insulin and stuff like that there unless it’s through helicopter. That’s where my dad kind of came in with the mules.”

Zack joined the team Oct. 2, and helped out for four or five days during the heat of the battle. The Mountain Mule Packers also had the help of Cajun Navy 2016, a nonprofit search and rescue group from Watson, Louisiana, aiding in their drop-off efforts and giving them insights as for where they needed to go.

“We can go over it like a side-by-side or something couldn’t,” Zack said. “A lot of the roads were hollow—the ground had washed out from underneath. That was little bit sketchy. [We’d] just pack loads in there and give them to people. All the people he was working with, the Cajun Navy, they kind of gave him places to go, that way we kind of knew where we were going.”

With Hurricane Helene leaving the areas looking warzone-like, the surefooted mules were best for the job. But it still took strategy in navigating the closet starting points and not wasting the mules’ energy in terrain accessible by car.

“It kind of depended on the day,” Zack said. “A lot of it’s trying to find and then get as close to where you’re going, so you’re not just taking off riding 30 miles in a day when you could have drove 20 of it. You try and get as close as you can, but they’re all little mountain roads, so some of it was kind of tight driving.”

The Mountain Mule Packers and crew packed supplies to Black Mountain, Swannanoa, Burnsville, Spruce Pine and parts of Tennessee during their 10-day trek and hauled in at least three, 40-foot trailer loads full of donations. Despite the horrific conditions, they were always met with gratitude. 

“I think there was one time they sent us up to a helicopter pad to drop stuff off, but other than that, you’d pretty much meet everybody up there,” Zack said. “They were pretty happy to see you, too. Even people who could get out and go to town and stuff, we ate dinner with them; they invited us over for dinner. Everybody’s just super grateful that you’re there.”

The communities continue to rally

As more and more equipment enters the area to continue clearing roads, the crew was able to go home briefly on Wednesday, Oct. 9. But as of Oct. 11, they are back in the mountains.

“Everybody’s up there without a home and stuff, and I really think the churches need the most help now,” Zack said. “Because they’ve been up there taking care of their community, feeding and cooking for everybody, taking donations and taking care of a pretty good-sized group of people; but the people doing that, they more than likely lost their house also. They probably lost everything and are still taking care of everybody else.”

While the devastation is overwhelming, watching multiple communities come together and people from across the country donate to the cause is a glimmer of hope in dark time. 

“That was probably the neatest part about it all, seeing everybody just come together and help,” Zack said. “I’ve never seen anything like that before. From all over the state and even South Carolina; there’s so many people up there wanting to help, and there were a lot of people brought equipment up there clearing roads. Everybody’s just helping out however they can, and I think that’s probably in times like that, what you should do.”

Michele continues to organize donation drops, and interested parties can keep up with the locations on their Facebook page. Michele’s Venmo is also available for monetary donations.

The post Mule Power: How this Team Roping Family is Delivering Aid After Hurricane Helene appeared first on The Team Roping Journal.

After a slow start to 2024, it took Tyler Tryan until early summer to take the lead in the 2024 Resistol Rookie Header of the Year race. Armed with lessons learned this first year out on the hot and dusty, the son of three-time World Champion Header Clay Tryan, who’s 18 and calls Lipan, Texas, home, is ready to take on his sophomore season as a professional header. 

Q: Take us through the first three seasons of your freshman pro rodeo year, with fall yet to play out at press time at the end of August.

A: I didn’t get to buy my card until my birthday on February 28, so I just jackpotted this winter. I won the first (pro) rodeo I entered (he and Logan Moore were 4.4) in Bryan, Texas, to fill my permit, then took off for the spring rodeos in California, which didn’t go very good. The summer went good, but it could always be better. I just want to get better out here, realize what I’m doing wrong and try to fix it.

Q: Who all have you roped with this year? 

A: I started with Logan Moore, then roped with Denton Dunning for two weeks in June. I started roping with Denton again at Caldwell in August.

Q: How many different horses have you had out there this year, and do you share head horses with your dad? 

A: I’ve had three horses out there with me. The main two (Johnson’s the 19-year-old sorrel and Butters is the 8-year-old palomino) are my dad’s, and I have a red roan of my own, Roan, who’s 10. 

Q: What’s been your favorite rodeo so far?

A: I thought Reno and St. Paul were really cool. Reno was my first really big crowd. Same with St Paul. Packed house, loud, and those trees in the arena and the shape of it are just unique. 

Q: For those who haven’t gotten close enough to notice, when did you lose your right thumb, and how has that impacted your roping style? 

A: I cut off my thumb on February 28, 2022, which was my 16^th birthday, at the Patriot Finals at the John Justin Arena in Fort Worth. I was roping with Denton Dunning, and we were no good on our first steer. Then I reached a pretty good ways for our second one. I remember my hand going numb and looking down. That’s about all I can remember. I don’t feel like I’ve changed anything. I could have, but I was out for such a long time that once I started roping again, I just learned to grab my rope like I do now and started roping.

READ: Rodeo Thumb – Research on Whether to Save or Amputate

Q: Was it a bigger physical or mental challenge to rebound from that? 

A: I’d probably say more mental. I was out a year and a half. I didn’t get to swing a rope, and had 10 major surgeries on my right hand. The hardest part was just sitting there watching the ropings. There was a lot of waiting. It sucked, but waiting for the best possible outcome was the best option for me. 

Q: How long have you known you wanted to rope for a living?

A: Since I was a little kid. I’ve always been the kid in the way at the ropings, who roped the dummy all day. It’s about all I’ve wanted to do, and that hasn’t changed.

Q: What are the advantages of coming from such a famous roping family?

A: You grow up in it, so you’ve already lived it. There are advantages, but you still have to work to get it done on your own.

Q: Are there any downsides, pressure from extra expectations included?

A: I don’t see any. I don’t see it that way. 

Q: On the Tryan side, there’s your dad, NFR header Uncle Travis, NFR header Uncle Brady, NFR heeler Grandpa Dennis, NFR barrel racer Grandma Terri Kaye Kirkland and NFR heeler cousin Chase Tryan. Have they all impacted your young career?

A: Yes, they’ve all given me advice at some point. I spent a lot of time in Montana with my grandpa as a kid. He watches me rope and points out things he thinks I need to work on. But he doesn’t say much. He likes to let me figure it out on my own as much as possible. 

Q: Your mom, Bobbie, is from another well-known roping family from Montana, the Robertsons, which include her NFR heeler brother, Matt Robertson, and sister, Arena de la Cruz, married to NFR heeler Cesar. Does your mom still rope?

A: Her whole family ropes. When my mom was younger, she got in a bad horse wreck and hurt her hip. It hurts when she tries to rope, so she doesn’t rope much anymore. 

Q: Do your little brothers rope, too?

A: Braylon heels, and he’s already a 9 at 16. He’s going to be legit. Dash ropes, but he’s more into golf and baseball right now. 

Q: What else do you like to do besides rope?

A: I play a little basketball at the house, and play a little golf. It’s a little bit disappointing when your 10-year-old brother (Dash) is five times better than you at golf. My fun is spending hours in the goat arena, roping the Shorty, and anything that involves a rope. The best way to stay sharp out here rodeoing when you don’t get to practice much is roping the dummy.

WATCH ON ROPING.COM: Full Heading Dummy Roping Lesson
WATCH ON ROPING.COM: Full Heeling Dummy Roping Lesson

Q: Is rodeoing full time what you expected? 

A: Yeah, pretty much. You’ve got to get good enough to do it full-time and as a career, but that’s the plan. The entering and trading never end. Getting to compete is the best part by far. All the driving is the worst part, but I’m getting more used to it.

Q: Who do you get the most advice from?

A: My dad, by far. He doesn’t say too much. He mostly talks to me about how to keep my horses working good, and helps me with little things like my swing when I’m struggling or which horse to ride where. 

Q: What were your goals for 2024 going into this season?

A: To get better. The NFR was a long shot, because I didn’t have anything won to start the summer with. So the goal was to get out here, see where I was at and try to get better. I also wanted to make sure I got into next year’s winter rodeos to give myself a better chance. 

Q: What do your biggest roping hopes and dreams look like now?

A: I want to make the NFR. I need to get a lot better pretty fast to do that. These guys are awesome out here. They head so good, it’s unbelievable. You have to keep evolving with the game to make it out here.

—TRJ—

The post Tyler Tryan Talks Rookie Year Reflections, Rodeo Family and Dash’s Golf Game appeared first on The Team Roping Journal.

I’ve had a lot of help along the way, and I’ll never forget the special people who changed my life and career. I give Popeye and Jan Boultinghouse so much credit. I was just a little country hick college kid from Bloomfield, New Mexico, who didn’t have two nickels to rub together when they took me in. We lost Popeye to cancer in August. Jan asked me to speak at his service, and I couldn’t stop crying. Popeye was like a father and a brother to me all in one. We were family. 

When I was graduating from Bloomfield High School in 1977, I was like, “Now what do I do?” I ended up getting a rodeo scholarship to go to Eastern New Mexico University in Portales. I was 17 years old and had no idea where my life was going. I just loved to team rope, and it was starting to catch on in Texas and New Mexico, especially on the jackpotting side. None of the major rodeos had team roping back then. 

I hooked up with a group of guys, and we became the kings down there. Dan Fisher took me under his wing, and showed me some things about heading. Don Beasley was one of the great heelers in South Texas. Tee Woolman was down there. Clay (Cooper) and Bret (Beach) would come. Back in the day, those ropings were enter up. That’s when Clay and I started roping, and we clicked and won pretty good right off the bat. 

At the end of my third year of college, Don Beasley set it up for me to go stay with Popeye and Jan in Cherokee, Texas, while we were amateur rodeoing. It was go twice at the rodeos, and I was roping with Dan Fisher as my first partner and Don Beasley second. Don was Tee’s first partner, and Dan was his second partner.  

Tee and I were competitors climbing the ranks. He joined the PRCA in 1980, and he and Leo (Camarillo) caught fire. One day in June that year, I was at the barn and Jan whistled, then yelled, “Jake, you have a phone call.” It was Allen Bach. I’d never met him, but he was the reigning world champ from 1979 and was asking me to rope. I thought it was a prank. I’d never traveled or rodeoed. 

Allen finally convinced me it was really him. I told him I needed to think about it. I didn’t have any money. I was comfortable down there at the amateur rodeos, but I was a mad bomber back then and my horses ducked so bad. I told Popeye and Jan at dinner that night that I wasn’t sure I was ready. They told me I might regret saying no later in life, and convinced me to go try it. I called Allen back, and told him I’d do it. 

At that time, all it took was three people to sign for your card, basically vouching that you were good enough. I went and got on the first airplane of my life in Austin, got to Colorado Springs, took my first cab to the PRCA office and bought my card. 

Then I went back to Cherokee to load up my stuff. I had an old worn-out truck. So Jan got a new truck and gave me the one she’d been driving. In those days, a dually crew cab 454 gas engine that got five miles a gallon was where it was at. My first rodeo with Allen was North Platte, Nebraska, in June 1980. I made my first NFR that year. 

Popeye always had a lot of steers and good horses. My first experience riding a good horse was on one of Popeye’s, and I rode a couple of his horses at the NFR. Popeye Boultinghouse was the ultimate coach, and he used to tell me, “Jake, if you ever want to be a good roper, you’ve got to develop a good left hand. You can’t just be reaching and ducking all the time.” Popeye taught me about riding better horses, and how to keep them working. 

Popeye Boultinghouse was the one-swing king, whether it was a one-header or a 10-steer average. But his greatest contribution was how he always harped on and helped guys like me and Tee, Speed (Williams) and Rich (Skelton), Bobby Harris and Clay. The door was always open, and he expected nothing in return.

—TRJ—

The post Remembering Popeye: The Mentor Who Changed My Life and Roping Career appeared first on The Team Roping Journal.

There really haven’t been many days when Eric “Rook” Rawls couldn’t be found in the roping arena—except for the four years he volunteered to be a United States Marine. In that time, Rawls, then stationed just 35 miles south of the Pentagon, witnessed both the worst assault on American soil in modern history and, then, our country’s greatest day as a united nation.

Roping roots

A native of Earlsboro, Oklahoma, Rawls grew up roping with his dad and his younger siblings.

“When I was a kid, everybody was calf roping and team roping had just kind of gotten popular,” Rawls said. “My dad thought, ‘Man, if I don’t have to get off and get dirty, I’ll be clean when we go to the bar, so I’m going to start team roping.’”

Rawls swears that’s the true story of how he became a roper. Though a header these days, as the oldest of three and the son of a longtime calf roper, he paid his penance as a heeler to start, even qualifying for the National High School Finals Rodeo. Then he joined the Marines.

“I didn’t join until I was 21, and the only reason I joined is I was doing the same thing that I was doing when I was 18, and I needed some structure and discipline,” Rawls said. “I’d won two trailers roping and thought I was going to be the next thing. And that never happened. So I decided that I needed to make a change.”

Pushed to the limit

Change was delivered in spades. Rawls left home in September of 1998 weighing in at 217 pounds. When he graduated boot camp 13 weeks later, he weighed 150. In the pre-smart-phone era when hand-written letters were still a widely accepted form of communication, Rawls’ physical appearance between his departure and his visit home was so radical his family and friends thought he was ill. In reality, though, Rawls was discovering strengths he didn’t know he possessed. 

“Things I didn’t know I could do mentally or physically,” Rawls remembered. “They teach you how to push yourself to limits that you’ve never dreamt of or wanted to think of. … It’s a lot like the slack for a bulldogging: People cheer you; they help you. They want you to succeed because all you’ve got is each other.”

Having survived harsh drill sergeants and sucking down toothpaste in the middle of the night just to put something more in his stomach, Rawls was then stationed in Quantico, Virginia. 

“I was selected to drive for the battalion commander of the largest battalion in the Marines. They based that off my age because they knew that if I needed to make a decision, if the colonel had a meeting or needed to do something, it wouldn’t bother me to interrupt or, ‘Hey, we’ve got a schedule to keep,’ and not be intimidated, because Quantico is an officer heavy duty station.”

He also had a gunnery sergeant who made sure Rawls was set up for success.

“Gunnery Sgt. Anthony. By far one of the top three greatest men I’ve ever met in my life. He taught me what it was to be a leader, to be a man, to be a Marine. And I mean, I loved it. I was actually good at being a Marine.”

That success and confidence served Rawls well when the whole world changed on Sept. 11, 2001.

“When 9/11 hits, they send me down to Armory to get an M16A2 service rifle machine gun and all my gear, and I’m standing at the battalion and when someone walks in, I point a gun at them. It’s [someone] I know and, ‘Halt. Show me your ID.’ Then, if you don’t have your ID, ‘I have orders to shoot or you have to turn around and leave.’ Because no one knew what to expect.”

Rawls describes the next three weeks the fleet spent on lockdown like a bizarre fever dream—“something you only see in the movies anymore.” But the day after 9/11 is the one he’ll never forget.

“In my lifetime, Sept. 12, 2001, was one of the most patriotic, proud to be an American type of day ever because we came together.”

“In my lifetime, Sept. 12, 2001, was one of the most patriotic, proud to be an American type of day ever because we came together.”

Father and son

With the end of his enlistment coming due, Rawls was offered opportunities most Marines only dream of, especially in the face of an imminent war: Spain, Germany or serving the President of the United States.

Employing the same gumption that allowed him to tell a colonel to hurry it up, Rawls countered with a request for something in Oklahoma, near his family. But as fate would have it, none of those decisions would need made.

“I got sick in March of ’02,” Rawls stated. “I found out I had a stomach disease and was medically retired.”

Arriving home, Rawls was showered with patriotic praise and gestures from the community. It was a stark difference from the welcome home his father Troy—also a Marine—received coming home from Vietnam. But that didn’t stand in the way of the father and son discovering a bond that still holds them close today.

“When I came home on leave from boot camp, we went to have a beer and he was asking me stuff,” Rawls remembered. “And I was like, ‘We’ve never talked about this.’ He said, ‘What were you going to know about it? You didn’t know anything about the Marine Corps.’ And I never dreamt that I could have a tighter bond with him.”

In 2006, Rawls spent a lot of the year helping his best friend Nick Sartain cover pavement throughout the rodeo season. When Sartain made his first NFR with heeler Shannon Frascht, they won rounds 5 and 7 and called Rawls to the stage at the Gold Coast that second night.

“Nick said, ‘If you don’t wear this buckle, I’m not going to give it to you. People are going to talk about us if you wear another dude’s buckle, but I wouldn’t have made it here if it wasn’t for you helping me.’ To this day, I wear that buckle.”

But it’s the 2016 jackpot buckle Rawls won with his dad that he reveres.

“I was heeling for my dad, and I think we were high back and just needed to catch,” Rawls said. “And I don’t know how far Daniel Boon tracked things, but I know I went around that arena a lot, swinging my lasso, scared to throw because I was worried I was going to hit him in the ass and miss for my dad. I think I covered him up maybe on the third corner, and then I just hang this big old floater out there and he jumps in it.

“It was damn near 20 years ago, and I still wear the Montana Silversmith 7^th Go Round NFR buckle,” Rawls continued. “And yet, the one with my dad is in a case in our house, and I won’t put it on. Our daughter wears one of my World Series buckles. My wife wears a World Series buckle. I don’t know if I’ll ever take that NFR buckle off. I know I’ll never wear the one of my dad’s.”

Done with purpose

From driving high-ranking USMC commanders to driving NFR ropers, Rawls and JR, his “red-haired, blue-eyed smoke show” wife of 22 years, continue to play integral roles in the community. He’s the stall manager at the Spicer Gripp; he chaperones the judges at some of Amarillo’s cutting events; and he’s been an all-in supporter of Charly Crawford’s American Hero Celebration since his introduction to the program in 2021. 

Rawls has twice taken second place in the AHC’s Pro-Military roping—he headed for Jake Long in 2021 and for Jonathon Torres in 2023—but he has yet to attend the clinic Crawford hosts for veterans and first responders.

“I don’t want to take a spot from a veteran when I can call you and come to your house,” Rawls told Crawford. “I would rather just come down and help. If I need to work chutes or push steers or drive the dummy around, I want to help.”

Rawls’ desire to lead a purposeful life is an inarguable holdout from his time in the Corps, and it’s the reasons the roping community cherishes him as it does—though his fun factor sure counts, too.

“I’ve gone through more jobs that people would love to have because I didn’t have a sense of purpose,” Rawls said. “So I’d just quit, go do something else just because I longed for that feeling of knowing I was making a difference. There’s order and regulation in the Marine Corps. The structure and discipline part, I know that it doesn’t appear that way, but that’s how I function. I’m very regimented. 

“Don’t get wrong: I’m the wildest and most fun-having person in this world, but when there’s something that we’ve got to do, we do,” Rawls asserted. “What I learned [in the Marine Corps], there is no money that can touch it.”

—TRJ—

Thank you to Equinety for helping us share stories of military members, veterans and first responders in the team roping community.

The post USMC Veteran Rook Rawls Remembers 9/11 From Quantico appeared first on The Team Roping Journal.

There’s this tiny town in the Cajun country of Calcasieu Parish called Iowa. That’s Iowa, Louisiana—population 3,121, and Iowa’s pronounced with a “hard A” on the end. But this quaint little community is only that big and booming when all the rodeo rigs pull back into their hometown driveways on Denison Road, down in “the country part of Iowa that’s north of I-10” that they call LeBleu Settlement. Imagine the block-party barbecues being planned there this week, as two native sons and a daughter just crossed the National Finals finish line ranked among the Top 15 in the world and are headed to Vegas. 

Cyle Denison will head for Oklahoma’s Tanner Braden in Cowboy Town, and both will be wearing their first Wrangler National Finals Rodeo back numbers. Cyle was an absolute longshot who had to come from way outside the Top 15 at last week’s Cinch Playoff Series Championship in Sioux Falls to make the cut. He and his gray, Gravy, came a slingin’ straight over the chute, and they were 3.9 twice, for second in Round 1 and first in Round 2. And yes, Denison Road was named after his family—momma Carmen’s grandparents—who were the first to live there. Her parents have lived on rural Denison Road for more than 60 years now.

Zack Jongbloed will rope calves at his second NFR, after also qualifying in 2022. Zack’s the son of Karen and Mike Jongbloed, and has a couple of NFR steer wrestler uncles, Jeff Corbello and Joey Roberts, and an NFR bulldogger cousin, John Fontenot, who also live right around there. Corbello is Karen’s brother; Roberts is Karen’s brother-in-law and married to Karen’s sister, Sheryl; and Fontenot is Karen’s cousin. 

Then there’s Karen’s other sister, Shelly Duhon (no relation to Hall of Fame Steer Wrestler Steve). Oh, and Sheryl and Joey Roberts run Rodeo Sports Network, which for the last 30 years has served as the central entry system for all kinds of amateur and open rodeo associations. 

I’ve heard some great old bulldogger stories about cowboys from the Denison Road neighborhood from my steer wrestler sweetheart, Ote Berry, who at times traveled with Corbello and Fontenot back in the day. Fontenot tied the arena record at the Daddy of ’em All in Cheyenne one year in the 1990s riding Ote’s horse App, with Ote over on the hazing side. 

App was actually a registered Appaloosa who looked like a straight sorrel, with only a white diamond on his head and traces of white down around his ankles. Ote made John buy him a picture of that record run, and it’s still in his photo album in the Steer Wrestling Capital of the World—Checotah, Oklahoma—where Ote lives. 

Cyle and Zack are both 25 now, but they grew up across the road from each other and were inseparable as boys. Zack’s little sister, Maddie, also had a built-in bestie in Josie Conner, who’s the daughter of Jade and Wendi Conner and also lives on Denison Road. 

Josie, who turned 21 yesterday (October 2), will rope at her third-straight Wrangler National Finals Breakaway Roping, December 3-4 at the South Point this year. And naturally, there’s another family tie here. Carmen Denison’s grandfather and Wendi Conner’s grandmother were brother and sister. 

Learn from Josie on Roping.com HERE.

Cyle can’t seem to forget that Halloween when he was 4 and worried about Wendi and that great big belly of hers. Jade’s explanation still impacts his eating habits.

“I remember going to Jade and Wendi’s to trick or treat when Wendi was about to pop with Josie,” Cyle said. “I had no idea what was wrong with her. Jade told me she swallowed a watermelon seed, and was growing a watermelon in her belly. I’ve been afraid of watermelon seeds my whole life, because I didn’t want that to happen to me.”

It hasn’t—yet. But it did happen to Cyle’s wife, Christeena. Their happy ending is a baby girl by the name of Swayzee, who’s 7 months old now. 

There was a joyous celebratory lunch/Denison Road gathering at the Texas Roadhouse in Sioux Falls last Saturday, when Cyle, Zack and Josie all closed their NFR deals. It was also attended by honorary Denison Roader and reigning World Champion Tie-Down Roper Riley Webb, who’s Josie’s love. Zack’s breakaway roping best girl, Tacy Kay Webb, is also in and out of Denison Road every chance she gets, but has been staying beyond busy being an ICU nurse and taking next medical-career steps in school. 

KS: So, LeBleu Settlement Elementary School grads, what was it like growing up on Denison Road?

Cyle: Zack and I grew up 500 yards across the pasture from each other. We were just little country kids, and everyone around us roped. Zack’s dad used to head for my grandfather at the ropings, so we grew up practicing at their house or ours. Zack and I had a brown nanny goat named Big Momma. We rode her, roped her, and turned her loose and chased her through the woods barefoot in our underwear with kid ropes. 

Zack: Very eventful, that’s for sure. Cyle was always running through the pasture, and we roped at each other’s houses all the time. Josie was right down the road, and I’d go rope with Jade a lot. My little sister, Maddie, and Josie have been best friends and inseparable all their lives. 

Josie: Zack and Cyle were and still are best friends, and I’ve lived on Denison Road my whole life. Zack’s sister, Maddie, is my first and forever best friend. Our house is the first one on Denison Road, so Cyle and Zack both had to pass my house to go anywhere. Let’s just say I’ve seen a lot of them all my life. I started home schooling in sixth grade, but I was in kindergarten at the school that’s a couple miles from the house when Zack and Cyle were in fifth grade. 

KS: Describe this Denison Road bond you all share.

Cyle: Zack and I were more like brothers growing up than anything. We rode to school and back together, then roped the goat or the Fast Lane after school together pretending to be Speed (Williams) and Rich (Skelton). At one time, Zack’s family had a dry cleaners in Iowa, and we kept a Super Goat in the parking lot. Josie and I are related, too, from way back, and she’s been like a little sister. 

Zack: Cyle and I are more like brothers, for sure. My mom took us to school every morning, and either his mom or grandma brought us home every day. Then we roped together after school every day. Josie and my little sister were born a month apart and are best friends, so she was either at our house or I was down at their house roping with Jade.  

Josie: Growing up across the road from each other, Zack and Cyle were always together. And Maddie and I would go to the arena when they were out there practicing. We were always very close, more like family than friends. 

KS: How far back did your NFR dreams begin?

Cyle: We’ve dreamed about it and worked for this our whole lives. 

Since Zack and I were old enough to watch the NFR on TV, we’ve pretended to be roping at the NFR inside the house and out in the arena. We always roped and practiced together, in our arenas and Jade’s covered calf lane. Zack and I team roped, then Jade got us both started calf roping. I headed for Zack in junior high. (Fun Fact: Cyle was the 2013 National Junior High all-around and boys goat tying champ, who also placed in two rounds of the team roping heading for Zack and in the ribbon roping with Cassie Bellard. Zack was that year’s reserve junior high all-around champ with team roping and tie-down points. That year’s ribbon roping champs were 2020 World Tie-Down Roping Champ and current world leader Shad Mayfield and his little sister, Shelby.) By the time we got to high school, Zack was all-in in the calf roping and had cobwebs on his heel ropes, and I was all-in in the team roping with a rope bag full of Classic Ropes.

Zack: Cyle and I always dreamed of making the NFR growing up. But after junior high, I mainly roped calves and bulldogged, and didn’t team roping much. 

Josie: Breakaway roping didn’t have the opportunities it does now when we were really young, so making the National Finals sort of felt out of reach when I was a little girl. To think of how far it’s come so fast is amazing.

KS: How much more special is it to be headed to Vegas together?

Cyle: Unless Denison Road was in Stephenville (Texas) today or Oakdale (California) back in the day, I’d say the odds of three of us from right here making the Finals together were one in a million. We’re all neighbors, but at the end of the day we’re family and have been for as long as I can remember. 

Zack: It’s a dream come true to get to go together. It’s pretty wild. It’s common for everybody in Stephenville to make the NFR. But not three people from one little road in Louisiana. The grand entry with Cyle is going to be fun. He’s going to be crazy. 

Josie: It’s so cool, because our families have all been here together forever. We all grew up together, and we have so much support in our little community. There are definitely a lot of people in our neighborhood watching the Cowboy Channel these days.

KS: This year’s NFR will run December 5-14 at the Thomas & Mack Center. That means NFR back number night is Tuesday, December 3 at the South Point. Do you daydream about what NFR back number night will be like for Team Denison Road?

Cyle: Absolutely. I’d be lying if I said it’s not something I’ve dreamed about my whole life. The thought of just holding that rascal (back number), that hasn’t really sunk in for me. This is a lifelong dream, so it still feels surreal. 

Zack: It’s going to be awesome. I’m sure we’ll have us a limo ready after we get our back numbers to go celebrate. It could be a once-in-a-lifetime experience getting to be there with my best friend, so we’re going to enjoy it. 

Josie: I’ll be at NFR back number night for Riley, too. It’ll be a blast to all be there together. (Josie’ll be there looking like a runway model, even though she’s the girl who orders the filet, loaded sweet potato complete with butter, brown sugar and marshmallows, and a salad with ranch dressing every time they eat at Texas Roadhouse.)

Congratulations to Team Denison Road, and everyone who had a hand in bringing this rodeo dream team together and to the top. 

The post Let the NFR Celebration Begin Down on Denison Road appeared first on The Team Roping Journal.

Kolton Hunter and Aaron Stout topped the Riata #8.5 with a time of 44.16 on four head, winning $25,000 aboard two horses sired by Show Me A Song Joes.

On the head side, Kolton Hunter was aboard Show Joe Duchess, an 8-year-old gelding by Show Me A Song Joes and out of Red Eyed Dutchess. On the heel side, Aaron Stout rode Quest Two Best, a 10-year-old stallion by Show Me A Song Joes and out of Miss Trippers Red.

Although they are both from Utah, Hunter and Stout had never roped together prior to arriving at the Lazy E.

“We had never met until yesterday,” Stout said. “We roped for the first time together in the #9.5 yesterday.”

Stout’s family owns Stout Performance Horses, owners of the stallion, Quest Two Best, that Stout rode in the #8.5. Stout Performance Horses also owns the gelding Hunter rode, Show Joe Duchess.

The stallion Stout rode in the #8.5 is a half-brother to 2021 AQHA Heading World Champion, CT Show Me Your Guns, and the full brother to standing Pitzer Ranch stallion, Oh Hell Yes.

“Pitzer Ranch owned and showed him (Show Me A Song Joes),” Stout said. “They showed him at the World Show and won the world on him in the heading. Both Show Me A Song Joes we have are very similar in the way they act and their mannerisms. They’re both built very similar, too. They both are really good, strong to the horn, let you handle them in the bridle.”

Hunter and Stout switched ends in both the #8.5 and #9.5 to maximize their entries.

“I stayed on Quest Two Best, our stud and he (Stout) stayed on Show Joe Duchess,” Hunter said. “We just kept switching back and forth on each end. These horses are just so nice.”

The Utah team roped four head in 44.16, roping a leg in the third round.

“We came out and caught the first one,” Stout said. “We were clean on him and good. On our second one, we caught and were clean. On the third one, I legged him. I thought I missed him, so I was glad to see I at least got a leg.”

On the head side, Hunter knew he needed to stay clean to come back to the final round.

“I wasn’t going to miss one today,” Hunter said. I knew I needed to give Aaron a chance because he would clean it up. I just tried to make sure I got him roped around the horns. I slowed a few down for Aaron (Stout) too much but he was patient with me. The horses worked good, so it was awesome.”

Hunter is the son of two-time NFR qualifier Nancy Hunter. Nancy qualified for the Finals in 2014 and 2015, but shortly after her last NFR qualification, she was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Nancy lost her battle with cancer in 2016.

“My mom was very successful,” Hunter said. “My dad has been a horse trainer his whole life and has had some really nice horses. He still has nice horses. I have to thank Riata for all you guys are doing. I think it’s very important that this is about the horse, that’s the coolest part.”

As for the $25,000 the team won, they haven’t quite decided what to do with it yet.

“I don’t know what I’m going to do with the money, I haven’t got that far yet,” Stout said. “It’s a nice chunk of change. I will probably feed some horses, pay some bills, but I know we’re going to dinner to celebrate.”

The money will come in handy for the Stouts, who ranch in Utah.

“My wife trains horses full-time, and I help her a little bit,” Stout said. “I also day work on ranches and build some fence. I also have a welding business. I just do whatever I can to keep the lights on.”

Hunter, for his part, is the associate vice president of instruction at a technical college.

“So, I help in education,” Hunter said. “We teach all kinds of trades at our school that are so important. I help the instructors in education at the technical college.”

The post Kolton Hunter and Aaron Stout Win the Riata #8.5 for $25K Aboard Show Me A Song Joes Horses appeared first on The Team Roping Journal.

Less than two weeks remain in the 2024 ProRodeo season, and while the opportunities are slowing down, there’s still an abundance of money to be won in the Resistol Rookie of the Year race. But is it enough?

Tyler Tryan and Logan Moore both continue to lead the Resistol Rookie of the Year race, Tryan with a record $78,203.38 and Moore with $64,148.74. Tryan has a $40,050.32 lead over Brayden Schmidt at second, but Moore is only $6,000.41 ahead of second-place heeler Denton Dunning.

The Team Roping Journal dug into the remaining rodeos and how much they paid to win in 2023 to see if Schmidt and Dunning are really still alive in the Resistol Rookie of the Year race.

Remaining rodeos and their 2023 first-place payout

Springhill PRCA Rodeo: Sept. 19-21

Purse: $5,000/side

The Springhill, Louisiana, rodeo has $5,000 added on both sides in the team roping, and in 2023 it paid $2,633 a piece to winners Ty Arnold and reigning Resistol Rookie of the Year Kaden Profili.

Amarillo Tri-State Fair And Rodeo: Sept. 19-21

Purse: $6,000/side

In 2024, the Amarillo, Texas, rodeo increased the purse on both ends in the team roping to $6,000. With $5,000 added in 2023, the rodeo paid out $3,226 a man to winners Cash Duty and Boogie Ray.

Western Heritage PRCA Rodeo: Sept. 19

Purse: $1,000/side

The rodeo held in Goldthwaite, Texas, is new in 2024 and has a $1,000 purse on both the head and heel side.

Pasadena Livestock Show & Rodeo: Sept. 20-26

Purse: $6,500/side

A famous stop for bubble teams at the end of the season, Pasadena, Texas, has $6,500 added on both sides. In 2023, the rounds paid $1,338 a man and the average paid $2,007 a piece.

Omaha River City Rodeo: Sept. 20-21

Purse: $5,000/side

In 2023, Omaha, Nebraska, paid $1,957 a man to its winners with its $5,000-per-side purse.

Buffalo Pro Rodeo presented by Bill Fick Ford: Sept. 20-21

Purse: $1,500/side

Buffalo, Texas, had a purse of $1,500 on each side in 2023 as well and paid $1,547 a man to win it.

Gaines County Riding Club Pro Rodeo: Sept. 20-21

Purse: $1,000/side

The Seminole, Texas, rodeo has a purse of $1,000 on both ends, and in 2023 it paid $940 a piece to win.

Comanche PRCA Rodeo: Sept. 20

Purse: $1,000/side

The Comanche, Texas, rodeo is new in 2024 and has $1,000 added on each side.

Western Heritage PRCA Rodeo: Sept. 20

Purse: $1,000

The rodeo held in Goldthwaite, Texas, is new in 2024 and has a $1,000 purse on both the head and heel side.

Cowtown Rodeo: Sept. 21

Purse: $1,000/side

On the East Coast, Woodstown Pilesgrove, New Jersey, has $1,000 added on each side, and in 2023 it paid $988 a piece to its winners.

Comanche PRCA Rodeo: Sept. 21

Purse: $1,000/side

The Comanche, Texas, rodeo is new in 2024 and has $1,000 added on each side.

Wing & Barrel Western Days: Sept. 21-22

Purse: $5,500/side

Sonoma, California, has increased its team roping purse from $5,000 per side to $5,500 a side in 2024. Last year the winners won $2,516 each.

Western Heritage PRCA Rodeo: Sept. 21

Purse: $1,000

The rodeo held in Goldthwaite, Texas, is new in 2024 and has a $1,000 purse on both the head and heel side.

Cumberland County Fair Rodeo: Sept. 25

Purse: $900/side

Another potential stop for bubble teams, Cumberland, Maine, also had $900 added on each side in 2023. Last year the winning team pocketed $827 a piece.

Cumberland County Fair Rodeo: Sept. 26

Purse: $900/side

Cumberland offers two rodeos with $900 added on each side in the team roping. The winners of the second Cumberland County Fair Rodeo in 2023 took home $757 a man as there was a tie for the win.

Comal County Fair & Rodeo: Sept. 26-28

Purse: $2,000/side

In 2023, New Braunfels, Texas, paid its winners $1,602 a piece, also with a purse of $2,000 on each end in the team roping.

Cowboy Capital Of The World PRCA Rodeo: Sept. 27-29

Purse: $4,000/side

Another final hit of each rodeo season, Stephenville, Texas, adds $4,000 on each side, and in 2023 the team roping paid $2,647 a man as there was a tie for first.

Decatur PRCA Rodeo: Sept. 27

Purse: $1,000/side

Another new rodeo in 2024, Decatur, Texas, has $1,000 added on both sides in the team roping.

Poway Rodeo: Sept. 27-28

Purse: $6,000/side

Poway, California, is one of the best end-of-season hits, and in 2024 they’ve increase their team roping purse from $5,000 per side to $6,000 per side. In 2023, Derrick Begay and Colter Todd pocketed $2,381 a man for the win.

Kern County Fair & Rodeo: Sept. 27-28

Purse: $2,250/side

Bakersfield, California, has also increased its added money from $1,600 per side in 2023 to $2,250 per side in 2024. The winners last year walked away with $1,084 each.

Southern NM State Fair & Rodeo: Sept. 27-28

Purse: $1,250/side

The rodeo in Las Cruces, New Mexico, has a purse of $1,250 on both ends in the team roping. In 2023, the team roping paid $879 a piece to its winners.

Young Living’s Last Chance Rodeo: Sept. 27-28

Purse: $7,000/side

Mona, Utah, is also in on the end-of-season action. With $7,000 added on both sides in 2023 and 2024, last year’s champs took home $2,143 each.

Sheriff’s PRCA Rodeo: Sept. 27-29

Purse: $12,000/side

San Bernardino, California, has the largest purse of the final two weeks, and they’ve increased their added money to $12,000 on each end in the team roping in 2024. Last year the rodeo has $10,000 on both sides and paid $3,356 a man to win it.

Flagler County Pro Rodeo: Sept. 27

Purse: $1,000/side

There are multiple opportunities for money in Bunnell, Florida, at the end of the season. Bunnell has increased its 2024 added money to $1,000 per side, as opposed to the $500 on each end in 2023. Last year it paid $873 a man to win.

Decatur PRCA Rodeo: Sept. 28

Purse: $1,000/side

Another new rodeo in 2024, Decatur, Texas, has $1,000 added on both sides in the team roping.

Flagler County Pro Rodeo: Sept. 28

Purse: $1,000/side

The final Bunnell rodeo of the year has increased its 2024 added money to $1,000 per side, as opposed to the $500 on each end in 2023. Last year it paid $834 a man to win.

Cowtown Rodeo: Sept. 28

Purse: $1,000/side

On the East Coast, Woodstown Pilesgrove, New Jersey, has $1,000 added on each side, and in 2023 it paid $954 a piece to its winners.

1st Annual Twizted R Pro Rodeo: Sept. 29

Purse: $1,000/side

Jasper, Alabama, is new in 2024 and has a purse of $1,000 a side in the team roping.

So, what’s that mean?

Total first-place payout at the remaining rodeos in 2023: $35,489

With new rodeos added in 2024 and increased payouts at some, it is possible a team roper could pocket more than $35,000 this year, depending on how many entries each rodeo gets and if they were to win first at every remaining rodeo. With that being an extremely difficult task as many of the rodeos overlap, it is unlikely Tryan will be passed on the head side. Moore, on the other hand, is catchable by Dunning.

Bonus

North Dakota Roughrider Cup: Sept. 20-22

Purse: $60,000/side

The North Dakota Roughrider Cup in Mandan is new in 2024 and has a $60,000 purse on each end in the team roping. The top 32 in the team roping world standings, plus the winners of four specific Badlands Circuit rodeos, are invited, and Tryan and Moore are the only rookies in the team roping. This qualification potentially gives Tryan and Moore an advantage over the other Resistol Rookie of the Year candidates.

The post Can Anyone Catch Tyler Tryan and Logan Moore in the Resistol Rookie Race? appeared first on The Team Roping Journal.

It’s tight at the top of the 2024 Turquoise Circuit heading standings, but Arizona’s Trey Blackmore leads the fight with $12,641.76 won on the year in pursuit of his second year-end title.

The 30-year-old sits just $1,657.68 ahead of Corey Whinnery at second place as the end of the season approaches. Blackmore won his first Turquoise Circuit title in 2019—as well as the average title—and wants to prove it wasn’t just a one-time deal.

 “I know it sounds dumb, but I’ve always had the mentality anybody could do something once but doing it a second time makes it mean a little more,” Blackmore said.

Blackmore’s season with Rookie contender Peterson

Blackmore paired up with young gun and longtime acquaintance Whip Peterson in 2024— a plan they made at the end of the 2023 season. 

“I think our run works best when we’re not trying to go too fast, but still trying to be aggressive,” explained Blackmore,  who works on the family ranch in Hillside where they run around 900 cows. “And at this point, we’ve roped together long enough and roped enough steers together, we kind of know what the other one’s going to do. We also have a good attitude—when it works, it works, and if not, we’re going to go to another one.”

Despite feeling like they haven’t had any major hits this year, Blackmore and Peterson kicked off 2024 in the early spring winning $4,505 a man going into April. 

“We just placed a lot at the circuit rodeos, and we had a really good winter and spring,” Blackmore said. “The circuit front went really good, and then we went to California and actually did pretty good out there.”

The team decided to venture out of the circuit for the summer to give Peterson, 20, a shot at winning the Resistol Rookie Heeler of the Year title. When they left for the Reno Rodeo at the end of June, they stayed out of the circuit until the Lea County PRCA Rodeo in Lovington, New Mexico, Aug. 7-10.

Despite being gone for nearly two months, Blackmore left for the summer leading the circuit with $11,369.94 won on the year and returned still at No. 1 as a portion of the top teams also left for the summer. 

“We were gone most of the same time that a lot of the other top guys were gone, too,” Blackmore said. “We’d kind of been battling all spring and winter with Choc Westcott and Clinton Groff, but they were our buddy team the whole time. We had a good deal going, and our two teams left together and went up north.”

Having its fair share of NFR teams like Derrick Begay and Colter Todd and Erich Rogers and Paul Eaves, the Turquoise Circuit isn’t lacking in talent, either.

“I think there is a lot of talent that people kind of forget about,” Blackmore said. “The thing about our circuit that makes it kind of tough is a lot of those guys—like Derrick, Erich, JP (James Arviso) and all those guys—is they miss a lot of circuit rodeos because they’re out there rodeoing trying to make the Finals. So, a lot of times, their toughest deal is just making the circuit count.”

Since his late season return to the Turquoise Circuit, Blackmore picked up $1,272 between the Annual World’s Oldest Continuous Rodeo in Payson, Arizona, and the co-approved Stagecoach Days in Banning, California.

Eyes on the circuit finals

While there’s still plenty of opportunity left in the Turquoise Circuit with six rodeos remaining (including co-approved), Blackmore and Peterson decided not to enter deep these last two weeks of the 2024 season.

The team will finish out the year at California’s co-approved Poway Rodeo the final weekend of September. While entering the circuit finals in first would be nice, Blackmore isn’t too concerned with his starting position.

“I think I’ve been to the circuit finals six or seven times now, and it’s always made me nervous because It seems like the person that goes in leading it never wins it,” Blackmore said with a laugh. “I almost was like, ‘Dang, I wish somebody passed me by $5 or $10 right before we go in.’ Not actually, but that’s always kind of how I’ve been; I kind of like to come from the back.”

The Turquoise Circuit Finals will hit Camp Verde, Arizona, Nov. 1-2, and regardless of what spot he goes in, Blackmore looks forward to a chance at another title.

“We’ve got a little while, but I’m excited about it,” Blackmore said. “I’ve tried not to build it up too big, going in with the lead, because there’s so much money to be won at the circuit finals. Really, it’s anybody’s game still. It seems I’ve got a different attitude about it this year. I’m not going to try to be safe and just catch three, really. I’m going to try to stay aggressive and win something in the rounds, too.”

The post Trey Blackmore Leads Turquoise Circuit Knife Fight in Pursuit of Second Title appeared first on The Team Roping Journal.

Here comes the 2024 regular-season finish line. One last mad dash for the weary rodeo road warriors who’ve been out there all year working toward the golden Top 15 ticket to rope at the Thomas & Mack Center in December.

Ever seen someone who’s just run a marathon dig deep enough to sprint the last few hundred yards to try and eke out the win? That’s exactly how every guy within reach of this year’s Wrangler National Finals Rodeo cut feels right now. Time to step on the gas, and some tanks are running on fumes. As we head down the backstretch, we thought it would be fun to have a few longtime Top 15 regulars weigh in on their Finals philosophies, complete with words of wisdom for this year’s bubble boys.  

Tee Woolman, Clay Cooper and Walt Woodard have 95 National Finals back numbers and 12 gold buckles between them. Woolman’s National Finals count alone is 46, including 27 in the team roping and 19 in the steer roping. Cooper’s heeled at 29 NFRs and Woodard’s been there and done that 20 times…and counting.   

Tee Woolman

How big a deal is it to make the Finals when you’re out there rodeoing?

“It’s the biggest deal,” said three-time World Champion Team Roper Woolman, who’s 67 and now calls Stephenville, Texas home. “If that’s what you set out to do, that’s what you have to do. If you’re rodeoing for a living, you’ve got to make the Finals, bottom line.” 

What’s the difference between a Top 20 guy and a Top 15 guy?

“Probably about two rodeos. Maybe one. That’s what it boils down to. It’s the guy who gets the break when you’re battling for a spot at those last couple rodeos when the 20^th guy can move up to 15^th and vice versa.”

What can the Top 20 types do to get over the hump?

“I think it’s all about your mindset all year long. And at the end, when you’re tired and dragging, you have to be more focused and on point than ever. You don’t want to put pressure on yourself, but you have to do your best and outperform the other guys.” 

Did you ever get to where you took making the Finals for granted? 

“I don’t think I ever took it for granted; I went at it with daily goals to win rodeos, and those stair-stepped up to the fact that my ultimate goal was always to win a world championship. I had to make the Finals to have a chance to do that. In my mind, there was never any doubt I’d make the Finals, because I was the best there was and always had the best heelers. It didn’t always go that way, but that’s how I thought about it.”

What was your closest call to not making it?

“The year a horse fell on me during Dodge City and broke my left wrist and dislocated my clavicle. I was out for six weeks in August and September, and when I started back, I was behind. When I got hurt, I was roping with Tyler Magnus. But from there, I rodeoed all over the place with everybody, including Matt Zancanella and Tim Fryar. My back was against the wall, and I barely made it, maybe 14^th or 15^th. But I never doubted I was going to make it.”

What’s your best advice to guys on the bubble right now?

“Buckle up. Let’s get after it. Stay positive, push forward and be gung ho about it. Remember that you’re competing against every steer, not the people. And there can be no negativity.”

Clay Cooper

How important is it to make the cut when you rope for a living?

“It’s everything, especially back in the day, because there were only a few places throughout the year where you could win a big check that was significant enough to pay something off or invest in a place,” said Cooper, who’s 63, won seven gold buckles with Jake Barnes and lives in Gardnerville, Nevada. “When I was competing, it was huge. There are a lot more opportunities to win good money, but it’s still very important because everything costs so much more and you can win $150,000 to $200,000 at the Finals now.”

What’s the secret to being a perennial NFR qualifier?

“It’s just a mindset that that’s just what you’re going to do. You need to stay prepared and equipped to win, with the right partner combination and horses. When that’s all in place, you expect to make it.

“I was down in South Texas 20 years ago in the wintertime. It was about Houston time, after Denver, San Antonio and San Angelo, and none of the regulars were in the standings. One of the new guys commented that he guessed the tide was changing because the old guys couldn’t cut it anymore. I laughed. By the start of the summer, none of those new guys were in the standings anymore, and they were filled up with the regulars.”

What sets those NFR regulars apart from the rest?

“I think once you reach that upper-level threshold, that gives you confidence. And rightly so, because you’re one of the elite guys, and you know you can do it. You have the experience and know-how, and you know not to panic on a day-to-day basis and that it’s a long grind. You learn to just go do your job, and that in the end the cream ultimately rises to the top.” 

What are the most important things you can do to not get left behind?

“That’s a complex equation because you have two guys, two horses and the draw factored in. You can find yourself in the perfect storm either way—kicking butt or not doing as well as you’d like. You have to mentally flip that switch, not panic and go execute your run. Guys who try to do more than they can do tend to fail more. Being too conservative is not the answer, either. Go make your run.” 

Did you ever come to expect making the Finals every year?

“I think I did, yes, because I made it so many times in a row. Then a couple times toward the end of my career, I made it right there at the tail end. I chose to rodeo my way, not as hard, and just kind of had the mindset that it’d happen if it was supposed to—and I made it. You have to override your mind when it wants to panic with the wisdom of all you know. It’s a mind-management game, and you can crater or you can rise.

“There were a few years I pulled up early, because I didn’t want to fight the fight all the way down to the end. I wasn’t roping good enough, or I didn’t have enough confidence in my horse or partner. It wasn’t as important to me as when I was younger, and I knew I’d be a lot happier if I went home and started over at the buildings the next year.”

Tell us about the years you barely made it.

“I squeaked in at the end twice. In 2013, Justin Davis and I flattened off in the middle of the summer and I’d made a deal with him that I was going home every six weeks, and taking two weeks off. That hit during Caldwell (Idaho), so he made a change. My first rodeo back was San Juan Capistrano (California), and I won it with Spinny (Aaron Tsinigine). I barely made it in 14^th or 15^th, and Justin made it in 15^th, so we ended up roping together at the Finals that year anyway.

“In 2014, I was roping with Chad (Masters) the second time. The first year we roped together was a storybook season, but the second time was a struggle all year long. It got right down to the wire, and we were on the bubble with only Omaha and three rodeos in California left. Our backs were against the wall, but we did good in Omaha and that got me in. That was the big controversy year, when it went back and forth between Chad and Tom Richards 25 times over rodeo counts. What a fiasco. I ended up roping with Spinigine at the Finals that year, because Chad had to sit it out.”

What’s your advice to guys on the bubble right now?

“Stay hooked mentally, and keep executing runs. You can only control what you do, so back in there with the intent of repeating your run. That’s the goal, and that’s the only thing that’s going to get you there.”

Walt Woodard

You’ve had the NFR-cut ball bounce both ways, haven’t you?

“Absolutely,” said California native Woodard, 68, who won world titles 26 years apart in 1981 and 2007, and now lives in Stephenville, Texas. “I missed at the Cow Palace one year to make it. It’s not always a Cinderella story. And when you don’t make it, you want to go to Bangladesh, so hopefully they don’t have television and you don’t have to see it on TV, because you don’t think they can have it without you. You don’t ever want to feel that way again.”

All the talk is about the regular-season backstretch, but you have other ideas on that, don’t you?

“Yes, I do. A lot of people put so much importance on the end, but what about Reno? And Greeley? And that time you overslept, and weren’t really prepared to run that one steer? Maybe you didn’t have a great winter, or had a subpar spring. Be honest. Did you really try hard enough all year long? When you don’t make it, it comes down to the failures throughout the year. What you should be thinking is, ‘How did I put myself in this position? I should not be here.’ Making it is about giving it all you have all the time. No one comes through every time, but you have to try.”

What’s different about the guys who make it year after year, and how do you handle the disappointment of not getting it done?

“Great champions have great focus. They eliminate all the doubts, distractions and fears. I’ve always been interested in watching people under pressure, like relief pitchers. I’ve asked Madison Bumgarner how he handles having his entire team counting on him, then a guy hits it over the fence and they lose the game. The way he looked at it was the best hitters in the world are going to hit it over the fence sometimes, no matter who’s on the mound.

“I listened to an older baseball player talk about the same thing one time, and he had a cabin in a beautiful place he went to in the off-season. How he handled it was saying to himself, ‘If they hit it over the fence, the worst thing that happens is they cancel my contract and I get to go to the cabin.’ Those are the thoughts you need to cling to, so you don’t bury yourself in self-doubt. Stop. That will kill you.”

What do you say to the guys who don’t make it this year?

“Jake Barnes said it best, ‘You either win something or learn something.’ (A quote Jake credits to Ty Murray.) That’s one of the greatest lines of all time. Worst-case scenario, you’re going to hate watching it on TV. You can let that motivate you or destroy you. Your choice.  If you know you have the ability, make some adjustments and work harder.

“When I won second (in the world) in 2006 (behind his header Matt Sherwood), that drove me. I thought, ‘If I can beat all but one guy who ropes in the PRCA, surely I can beat one more guy.’ And I did. I came back in 2007 (heeling for Clay Tryan), made some adjustments—including riding stronger position going down the arena and adding more swing speed on my rope—and won the championship in 2007. I took little pieces from guys who are great, added them to my own style and got it done.”

Final words of wisdom for this year’s bubble boys, please. 

“Leo (Camarillo) said one time, ‘You have to challenge every steer, and win what you can win on him. You can’t rope against someone else, what’s the matter with you?’ That was so helpful to me. I benefitted from Leo so much, because what he said was true, even when it was hard to hear.

“This game is about being mentally strong. When you back in that box, you are alone. All by yourself. It’s up to you to either be strong and come through or fail. This is either important enough to you to figure out what you need to do to make it, or not. Just remember that if you do fail, no one cares. That should surely take some of the pressure off of you.”

—TRJ—

The post Fight for the NFR Finish Line appeared first on The Team Roping Journal.

Tennessee’s Quinton Parchman sits fourth in the 2024 Resistol Rookie Header of the Year race, but his year hasn’t been smooth sailing. Though the 29-year-old has $29,061.81 won on his rookie season, Parchman had to shift his focus from hitting the open road to prioritizing the circuit front. 

The Team Roping Journal: You’re a two-time IPRA world champion (2017 and 2019). Were you amateur rodeoing this year as well or just ProRodeoing?

QP: We’ve been to a couple of amateur rodeos. It’s the Lone Star Rodeo Association, they co-sanction with the IPRA. But I wouldn’t say we’re actively trying to make the IRA Finals, but with the WCRA and their format, we’re trying to qualify through that at Rodeo North Carolina.

TRJ: How did you get into roping growing up in Tennessee?

Quinton Parchman: My dad got into team roping in the late ’80s when he met Bobby Masters and Chad Masters. Chad was really young at the time, obviously, but my brother Kelsey and Chad grew up roping around each other, so as I was growing up, I was always around it and those guys. I was just born into it, I guess.

TRJ: Chad’s a two-time world champion, that’s not a bad group to be around.

QP: Oh, I know it. They weren’t but maybe 30 minutes down the road from us. We’d either rope at their place or they’d come rope at our place—we’d always swap back and forth.

TRJ: You were on your PRCA permit a few years ago. At 29, what made you decide to focus on ProRodeo this year and go for the Resistol Rookie of the Year title?

QP: It was a timing thing for me. Ever since I got done with my permit, I never really felt like I was prepared or that I had the horses under me that I needed. I wanted to make sure the time was right before I bought my card, and I had two pretty decent horses this year. One was a little younger and one was what I consider my good horse. It was all about timing. I definitely took my time; I didn’t want to be a 29-year-old rookie, but I’d rather be prepared.

TRJ: You claimed the Great Lakes Circuit this year and stayed closer to the circuit front. Was that always the plan?

QP: That wasn’t the plan, but my good horse went down during the BFI. I started to figure out something was wrong there. That was the end of March, beginning of April, and she’s been down ever since. This October I should have her back. It definitely put a damper on what we were trying to do.

TRJ: That’s a tough blow, especially as a rookie. How did you handle that this year?

QP: At the time, I was trying to sell the younger horse I had when [my good one] went down. I was in a little bit of a panic to find another one. I knew I wasn’t going to get her back in time to rodeo as much as we’d like, so I borrowed a horse here and there and rode my younger horse at most of them. I just planned on getting through it; I knew it wasn’t going to work out how I wanted, so I tried not to be too hard on myself.

TRJ: Despite the challenges, how have you felt about your rookie year? You’re also fourth in the Great Lakes Circuit.

QP: I roped with Garrett Smith; he is one of my good buddies, so I was pretty excited to be able to rope with him this year. We’ve amateur rodeoed as second partners a little bit, but we’ve never been first partners. We started out the year really good but then we both had some horse troubles midway through and toward the end of the season. I wouldn’t say we performed how we’d expected, but I don’t think everything went as planned, either, as far as what we were riding and what we were dealing with.

TRJ: Do you feel learning the ropes your rookie year a little closer to home was beneficial in any way?

QP: For sure, but I think the Rookie of the Year award is a very prestigious thing in the PRCA, and you only get one shot at it. So, if I had to tell somebody who’s looking to buy their rookie card, if you want to learn the ropes, maybe do that on your permit or buy an amateur card with either the IPRA or the UPRA. That way you can get more of a feel of what it’s like to actually rodeo. You can stay on for months at a time at the IPRAs, and that helps you deal with not getting to practice every day but still trying to win. I think that’s more of a mental thing. If you were to do the UPRA rodeos in the summer, they have a ProRodeo feel to them. I think when you buy your (PRCA) card the first time, you definitely need to go all in and try to win it. 

The post Adapt and Overcome: Quinton Parchman Rides Waves of 2024 Resistol Rookie Year appeared first on The Team Roping Journal.

In 2011, the Texas House passed a resolution in celebration of Isora DeRacy Young’s 106^th birthday, as well as her accomplishments in and out of the rodeo arena. Born on her family’s ranch near Pecos, the rodeo there was blessed to host the only two women calf ropers in history at the time in her and fellow female roper Jewel Frost Duncan.

In her motherhood years, Young worked for “the Reeves County sheriff’s department, collecting taxes with a pearl-handled revolver at her side,” the state resolution reads. But, with her daughter grown, she again returned to rodeo and traveled the country with her husband, I. W. “Dub” Young, roping and running barrels. 

In 2023, the WPRA celebrated the 75^th anniversary of its first Girls Rodeo Association meeting, held Feb. 28, 1948, where Young was among the 38 ranch women who arrived in San Angelo to give rodeo’s better half an official place in the arena. 

Throughout September, Women in Rodeo month, we highlight the stories of women who have most impacted the sport of rodeo, as well as those who’ve lobbied alongside them for equality of opportunity. The vision of the American West has always been that of freedom, of grit and of limitless possibility, and the advocates and athletes we honor in September exemplify those values. Here’s to the Cowgirl.

The post Isora DeRacy Young appeared first on The Team Roping Journal.

At 35, Tanner Braden is making a charge at his first Wrangler National Finals Rodeo back number. The Prairie Circuit cowboy, who makes his home in Dewey, Oklahoma, with his wife, Jade, and kids, Lexi, 12, Rian, 9, and Brenten, 4, is hoping this is the year he clears the hurdle between him and the bright lights of Vegas in December.

Q: When did you start roping, and who got you started on the right track?

A: I’ve been around it my whole life. My dad (Bucky) used to trip steers, and was 16^th a time or two. My whole family—my mom’s side, too—ropes calves. So I grew up in it. I’ve always ridden a horse, and started roping competitively when I was 6 or 7. 

Q: When did heeling become job one?

A: I actually headed all the way up to high school. I roped with Cody Doescher in high school, but as soon as we left the (National) High School Finals my senior year, I decided I wanted to try the heeling side. By my freshman year in college, I was a heeler, and heeling for my brother, Colt, at the (Prairie) Circuit rodeos. 

Q: What’s rodeo life like in the Prairie Circuit? 

A: We’ve got quite a few NFR qualifiers in our circuit. Even the guys who haven’t made it yet all rope unbelievable, so our rodeos are pretty tough. 

Q: Have you lived in Oklahoma all your life, and was there a lot of roping activity in the area where you grew up? 

A: Yes, I was born in Ponca City, but we’ve lived in Dewey for as long as I can remember. There are a bunch of junior rodeo associations, and my parents got me to all of them. There are a lot of jackpots in our area, too, so if you didn’t go anywhere it was your own fault. 

Q: What’s Dewey like?

A: Dewey’s a small town with a couple gas stations that’s a suburb of Bartlesville. Our mascot is the bulldoggers, and there’s a bulldogger getting down on a steer on our basketball court. 

Q: You heeled for Paul David Tierney the last several years before now. How hard did the two of you hit the trail, and weren’t there years you got close to making the Finals?

A: We roped about four years together, and came close a couple times (Tanner finished 19^th in 2022). Paul David and I were good friends before we were roping partners, so there was never any tension. He wanted to stay closer to home this year is why I’m doing something different.

Q: Who all have you roped with in 2024?

A: I started the season with Bubba Buckaloo at Odessa, Fort Worth and Tucson. Then I roped with Ty Arnold at Austin, Cory Kidd at San Angelo, Guymon and Kansas City, Claremore with Jake Clay, and Andrew Ward at San Antonio and Houston. I started roping with Cyle Denison at Mount Pleasant (Texas) the first part of June, and we plan to finish the year together.

Q: How was your connection with Cyle made?

A: I’ve seen him rope for years, and knew he roped good. Tyler Wade is who told me I needed to give him a call. It’s gone great, and I’m excited to be roping with him. 

Q: With $21,037 a man, you and Cyle were the second high-money-winning team over this year’s Cowboy Christmas run behind only Kaleb Driggers and Junior Nogueira, who won a team roping record $47,275. Hit the highlights for us on your 2024 Fourth of July run.

A: We won Red Lodge (Montana), and won rounds at Greeley (Colorado) and Prescott (Arizona). We also placed at Livingston (Montana), St. Paul (Oregon) and Oakley (Utah). It was the best Fourth I’ve ever had. We buddied with Clint Summers and Jake Long, so we got to go to more rodeos than I ever have in the past. 

Q: What do you do when you’re not out there rodeoing?

A: I put on some small jackpots in an indoor arena near where we live in the wintertime. And Jake Clay and I have a big New Year’s Eve and Day roping in the Tulsa area. 

Q: What’s been the favorite win of your career so far?

A: I would have to say Red Lodge, because it’s over the Fourth and the best in the world were there. But all the rodeos are pretty special, and a guy always needs to win. 

Q: What’s been the best, most valuable lesson you’ve learned rodeoing over the years that would most help a young rookie coming in?

A: To not get too down on yourself. You can have the greatest week you’ve ever had, then the next week can be the worst. It can change in an instant, so don’t get too down or too negative. 

Q: How much of rodeoing for a living is mental, and how natural has handling the highs and lows been for you?

A: It’s dang sure 80% mental. If you don’t believe in yourself, nobody else will either. I feel like I’ve always been pretty good about not letting a whole lot bother me. I’ve had a lot of people in my corner that I’ve learned from who’ve helped me. So I don’t ever get too worked up. 

Q: What’s your ultimate goal as a team roper?

A: To be successful at the sport. If I’m going to be away from my family as many days and months as we are, it needs to be worth it. 

Q: How much do you love this rodeo life, and what do you see your life looking like after rodeo?

A: I love it. We get to see and do more things than some people ever will. But it’s tough when my family can’t come. It’s all about family now, and it will be then, too.

—TRJ—

The post Tanner Braden’s Breakthrough Year appeared first on The Team Roping Journal.

Conner Herren may only be on his permit, but he’s given the veteran Mountain States Circuit ropers a run for their money as he leads the 2024 heeling standings with $29,333.08 won on the year. 

Herren, who turns 20 this month, has a $6,474.53 lead over the No. 2 heeler—reigning and three-time circuit champion Cullen Teller—as the regular season ends for the Mountain States Circuit. 

“I think it’d be really cool to win the circuit and go to the NFR Open,” Herren said. “That kind of was the goal at the start of the year with Garrett, just trying to teach me and get me to a point where I can get a really good run in the next couple of years and get into the NFR Open [this year].”

For the South Dakota kid, his lead is even more impressive considering he first picked up a rope just five or six years ago. When his sister got into riding horses, Herren bought a rope and put in the work. No beginner escapes some struggles, but between his desire to win and trips to Arizona, where he roped around some of the best in the game, he excelled quickly. 

“I didn’t like to lose, and I just kind of progressed in the last couple of years fast,” Herren said. “But I just worked as hard as I could to do it, and I just lighted up I guess.”

Learning the ropes 

While on his last permit year, Herren knew staying on the circuit front was a good way to get his feet wet in the ProRodeo world.

“It’s just so different than jackpotting,” said Herren, who has seen plenty of success in the jackpot arenas, including a third-place finish heeling for two-time World Champion Kaleb Driggers in the USTRC National Finals #16.5 this past April. “I think getting an older header that’s there to just rope and staying out of the other parts—a lot of young guys go out and party—so just getting with a guy that is there to rope and just there to do your job.”

Out on the rodeo trail, Herren had the help of a seasoned veteran who’s seen the bright lights of Vegas twice in his career to help show him the ropes: Garrett Tonozzi.

A year ago, a friend of Herren heard that Tonozzi was looking for someone to heel for him every day and lined it out for Herren while he was in Texas last fall.

“I went over there and roped with him a bunch, and I just talked to him about maybe roping the next year,” Herren said. “And we did good together in Texas and roped good together, and we decided to try it out.”

Tonozzi and Herren partnered up in the Mountain States Circuit this year and, while Tonozzi did all the entering, he’s helped Herren with perfecting the finer details of roping.

“When I make a mistake like hazing or little things like that that help your header, he doesn’t get mad, but he’ll try to correct it as fast as possible,” Herren said of Tonozzi. “He’ll tell me you can’t do that because this is going to cost you when you’re trying to make the Finals or whatever. If you’re out rodeoing and you need to win, you just got to make sure to execute little things. Executing the little things is I think one of the biggest things he’s taught me.”

Making it count

Herren spent his first year on his permit in his native Badlands Circuit. Not only did switching circuits bring him an NFR mentor, it also fit his style well. 

“It just seems like in the Mountain States, there’s a lot more big rodeos,” Herren said. “It’s less spread out and a lot more two- and three-headers. There’s hardly any two- and three-headers in the Badlands, if there even is any. We did a lot better at the three-headers.”

Not to mention those two- and three-headers are also some of the largest rodeos in the circuit. Tonozzi and Herren pocketed $6,878 a man at the Greeley Stampede in July after winning the short round and second in the average. They also picked up $3,938 a piece at the Central Wyoming Fair & PRCA Rodeo in Casper between their round finishes and taking fourth in the average. 

Being able to win at not only the bigger circuit rodeos but some of the major summer rodeosfor Herren.

“It’s just cool to win at the bigger rodeos,” Herren said. “I mean, honestly, I’ve always kind of excelled at the bigger rodeos. Even last year, I always did better at bigger rodeos than small rodeos. I like big slacks when you get to hang out with all the better guys and talk to them, kind of pick their brains and then rope against them. It’s pretty cool.”

As the Mountain States Circuit has wrapped up, Herren heads next to the Mountain States Circuit Finals Oct. 25-26, in Loveland, Colorado. For his rookie year in 2025, Herren’s looking outside the circuit front.

“We’re going to go to some of the winter rodeos and stuff if we can get in and all that,” Herren said. “But we’re going to try to do that and, if we have a good winter, we’ll go.”

The post Who’s the Young Gun Leading the Mountain States Circuit? appeared first on The Team Roping Journal.

Lucille Mulhall (1885–1940) was born on the family ranch near Guthrie, Oklahoma, plumb in the middle of the first rodeos in history popping up across the American West. Her father Zack was a roper and the producer of Mulhall’s Congress of Rough Riders and Ropers and raised Lucille to be worthy of the premier billing she received.

By 1900, already having performed in front of crowds numbering in the thousands, Zack Mulhall bet $10,000 his 15-year-old daughter could out-rope the cowboys in El Paso, Texas.

Mulhall did just that, and it’s reported her brother had to save her from an angry cowboy mob who suddenly doubted her femininity, though she was that, too. She was well educated, an accomplished pianist and a famous Vaudeville performer and producer, but when Theodore Roosevelt was a guest at the Mulhall Ranch and shared an interest in wolves, it was also Mulhall who took her good horse to catch a live one and kill it with her bare hands as a gift to the soon-to-be president.

She was often billed as “the only lady roper in the world,” “champion lady steer roper” or “the world’s greatest woman roper,” and she won tens of thousands in prize money for feats like setting the world record in steer roping.

“Lucille roped, snubbed broncs and hazed for bulldoggers, but it was her direct competition, roping against the men, that set her apart and earned her the most respect,” wrote Tracey Hanshew in her 2014 article for “The Chronicles of Oklahoma” published by The Oklahoma Historical Society. 

Prior to her untimely death in 1940, Mulhall performed and competed across a still-forming country and in Europe, and her successes earned her inductions into the Rodeo Hall of Fame in 1975 and into the National Cowgirl Hall of Fame in 1977. She was a member of the rodeo community and a competitive roper since rodeo’s very first iterations, and she undoubtedly played a role in paving the way for the next century of women ropers. 

Throughout September, Women in Rodeo month, we highlight the stories of women who have most impacted the sport of rodeo, as well as those who’ve lobbied alongside them for equality of opportunity. The vision of the American West has always been that of freedom, of grit and of limitless possibility, and the advocates and athletes we honor in September exemplify those values. Here’s to the Cowgirl.

The post Lucille Mulhall: “The World’s Greatest Woman Roper” appeared first on The Team Roping Journal.

Winning the Resistol Rookie Heeler of the Year title was Scott Lauaki’s plan, but 2024 proved to him the growth in your rookie year is a win in itself.

The 23-year-old from Springville, Utah, sits fifth in the Resistol Rookie of the Year heeling standings with $21,995.77 won on the year but is $34,227.69 behind standings leader Logan Moore. With a little over five weeks left in the season, Lauaki is staying home on the circuit front, content with a year of learning the ropes and overcoming the obstacles thrown his way.

“For the circumstances, I think it’s been ok,” Lauaki said. “Not the greatest we could have done, but it definitely was a good learning curve to figure it out. I mean, from partner changes and, then, from good to green horses—everything in between kind of got thrown at me this year. But I think there’s no better year for it.”

While Lauaki knows winning the Resistol Rookie of the Year title is a significant milestone, he’s also aware it doesn’t define you or your career.

“I don’t think it was make or break to my career,” Lauaki said. “I did have big goals on making it and winning it at the [beginning,] but then when I started roping with my cousin, we kind of went to, ‘Let’s just both do the best we can and see if we can’t get into the top 50 or 30 and go from there.”

Partner swaps and everything in between

Lauaki grew up on a ranch in Utah, riding and training horses. But it wasn’t until around high school that he caught the team roping bug. When the opportunity to rope full-time with Ben Jordan arose, the two set out on their permits for two years before deciding that 2024 would be the year they went at the Resistol Rookie of the Year title.

“We roped together mostly those two years, and so we just thought no better year than the year you have to buy it,” Lauaki said with a laugh. “We’d been going together anyway. It would be good to go everywhere you can and give yourself the best opportunity you could for your rookie year.”

Jordan and Lauaki kicked off their rookie season picking up a $1,184-a-man go-round check at the National Western Stock Show and Rodeo in Denver and $1,550 a piece at the High Desert Stampede in Redmond, Oregon. 

Like most, they went out West in the spring and they picked up $4,044 a man between the Clovis Rodeo (California) and Redding Rodeo. They also took home the Resistol Rookie Roundup title, pocketing $3,136 each. Come the beginning of June, however, they decided to part ways, and Lauaki started roping with his cousin, Howard Hutchings. Lauaki also decided it was a good time to prioritize exposing some green horses to the world. 

“I’ve always been alright with some changing, as far as horses and trying something new,” explained Lauaki. “When me and Ben split, I started roping on a bunch of colts and younger horses to where it was, more or less, I was trying to help my horsepower out and get it more ready for the future instead of worry about the rookie year right now.”

Best foot forward

As the 2024 season winds down, Lauaki sees the value in shifting his efforts from winning to growing. As he learned this year, horsepower is vital to rodeoing professionally, so it’s emerged as a priority for him moving forward.

“I’m trying to get a couple horses together because it takes a lot of horsepower to be able to stay on the road and keep them sound and wanting to work for you,” Lauaki said. 

In the Wilderness Circuit standings, Lauaki is currently 14^th with $8,699.12. Just $780.53 separates him from 12^th, so he’s staying closer to home to give himself a shot at qualifying for the circuit finals.

“We’re keeping it home now,” Lauaki said. “We’re entered in six rodeos from here to the end of the year—we’ll end in Mona, Utah (Sept. 27-28). So that’s really close, and we’re just going to really focus on some horsepower, regrouping and getting ready to hit it hard there in Denver in January.”

Being home also gives him more time to up his game in every aspect. 

“I’m also trying to improve my roping and my horsemanship skills to where I can be better at that,” Lauaki said. “You don’t really get to work on it on the road as much, so kind of taking advantage of the time you get home. I want to give it a shot and I kind of just want to get all the small stuff prepared where I can be ready hopefully in a year, maybe two years.”

The post Lessons from the Resistol Rookie Road with Scott Lauaki appeared first on The Team Roping Journal.

Kaden Profili won over $50,000 his first year in professional rodeo to take top honors in the 2023 Resistol Heeling Rookie of the Year race. The 22-year-old young gun—who calls Jacksonville, Texas, home—won the 2024 College National Finals Rodeo in June to stick another feather in his cowboy cap, and plans to keep climbing the roping ladder. 

Q: Who taught you to rope, and what’s been that person’s most important piece of advice to you?

A: My grandpa, Kevin Blackwell, who’s my mom’s dad, taught me how to rope. Probably the most important thing he tells me is to never take a bad shot. Catch the steer when you know you can, he always says. 

Q: You had a great rookie rodeo season heeling for Ty Arnold last year, then won the Resistol Rookie Roundup behind Cole Thomas. Describe you and Ty’s secret 2023 team sauce, and tell us why and how you and Cole connected for the Rookie Roundup in Fort Worth.

A: Ty’s always laid back, doesn’t ever get mad, and is easy to get along with and go with. He’s such a great guy, and is always helping me. Cole and I roped together at the Rookie Roundup, because Ty wasn’t a rookie. 

Q: Was winning Rookie of the Year a specific goal? 

A: Yes, it was. That was my main goal for last year. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, so it was pretty important to me to get that rookie title. 

Q: Have you always heeled? 

A: When I was younger, I started out heading. I won a truck heading when I was 10 years old. Then when I got big enough to heel and dally, at about 12 or 13, they let me start heeling. 

Q: In June, you won the National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association team roping title roping with Hill College’s James Arviso. How fun was that, and what’s been your major at Texas A&M-Commerce?

A: It was pretty awesome. The college title is something I’ve always wanted to win. I’m an ag leadership and communication major, this was my fourth year at the College Finals, and I’d never had any luck there before. It was pretty awesome to finally win it, and retire a champion in the college rodeo world.

Q: Did stepping out onto that Thomas & Mack Center dirt with the rest of the 2023 rookies of the year last December, after finishing 39^th in the 2023 world heeling standings, light a fire in you to return to Vegas and rope there yourself?

A: Yes. Just getting in there and feeling that energy and all those people in that building makes you want to rope there so bad. It’s something I’ve never felt before. There’s nothing like that arena. 

Q: You’re heeling for Brenten Hall at the rodeos this year. When did the two of you join forces, and what do you like best about your team?

A:: My first rodeo with Brenten was Odessa (in January) this year. Brenten’s been there and done it (qualified for the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo) three times now. He knows which rodeos to go to, he’s a laid-back, good dude, and he’s always happy, win or lose. He’s really easy to heel behind, too. 

Q: At press time in the middle of June*, you two were a top-10 team in the world with about $50,000 each in 2024 earnings. That’s about what you won all of last year. What’s the goal for 2024, and how excited are you about the year you’ve been having?

A: The goal is to get in that yellow arena—to make the Finals—and I’m pretty excited. It’s been a great year. We went to 80 rodeos last year, and won $50,000. To have that won before the summer even started this year makes me feel like we have a pretty good chance, and just have to keep winning. 

*As of Aug. 21, the date of digital publication, Kaden Profili sits at No. 12 with $92,227.

Q: Who’s your main mount in 2024?

A: I have three horses right now. The most special one would be the sorrel mare I call Grace. She’s 7, and is just a good horse. She’s fast, and always gives me a good shot. Ty had her when she was 4. I rode her when she was young, and wasn’t sure about her. Then I bought her when she was 6, and rodeoed on her last year. She took it like an old veteran from the start. She’d never seen the crowds and music before, and handled it like an old pro. Grace is the horse I won the CNFR on this year. 

Q: What do you like to do to kill time out on the road?

A: We’ll play a little golf. But mainly, me and Brenten play baseball on the Play Station in our down time, when we aren’t driving. Brenten’s pretty dang good at it. He’s been playing a little bit longer than I have, so he’s hard to beat.

—TRJ—

The post Kaden Profili: Big Wins, Big Moves, Big Goals appeared first on The Team Roping Journal.

Resistol Rookies may be young guns hitting the road for the first time, learning the game, but they know how to bring in some money. 

Jeff Flenniken, the 2018 Resistol Rookie Header of the Year, and Junior Nogueira, 2014’s Resistol Rookie Heeler of the Year, hold the record for the most impressive rookie season earnings over the last decade.

We look at how far the 2024 Resistol Rookie of the Year leaders, Tyler Tryan and Logan Moore, are from crushing the earnings of the top five Resistol Rookies of the Year of the last decade.

Current Resistol Rookie of the Year leaders

Team roping partners Tyler Tryan and Logan Moore currently lead the race with $57,675.66 won on the year for Tryan and $51,266.02 for Moore.

Headers

5. Nelson Wyatt, 2017: $52,011.81

Tryan surpassed Nelson Wyatt’s 2017 rookie season by $5,663.85. Tryan won $4,518 a man Aug. 2-4, at the Douglas County Fair and Rodeo in Castle Rock, Colorado, to pass the two-time NFR header’s rookie earnings.

4. Cody Snow, 2015: $56,301.75

Tryan has passed 2015 Resistol Rookie Header of the Year Cody Snow’s rookie earnings by $1,373.91. Tryan’s second-place finish at the Cache County Fair and Rodeo in Logan, Utah, for $3,371 a man Aug. 7-10, likely pushed him past seven-time NFR header Snow’s rookie season.

3. Dustin Egusquiza, 2016: $58,692.10

Six-time NFR header Dustin Egusquiza cashed in $58,692.10 his rookie season to take home the coveted Resistol Rookie of the Year title. Tryan has almost surpassed Egusquiza and is just $1,016.44 behind Egusquiza’s rookie earnings. Of Tryan’s 12 money-earning weeks this year, each week has brought in over $1,016.44. Tryan has also had 18 runs in 2024 that won over $1,016.44. 

2. Cole Thomas, 2023: $59,480.67

Cole Thomas is the most recent Resistol Rookie Header of the Year, and Tryan is $1,805.01 behind his $59,480.67 rookie season. Tryan has had roughly 12 weeks of money flow in his 2024 season, and of those 12, 10 have resulted in over $1,805.01. In terms of individual runs, Tryan has had 12 runs worth over $1,805.01.

1. Jeff Flenniken, 2018: $61,825.58

Jeff Flenniken won the 2018 Resistol Rookie Header of the Year title with $61,825.58 before going on to qualify for the 2020 NFR. Flenniken had the richest rookie year of the last decade, but Tryan is inching up on his 2018 earnings. Currently, Tryan has $57,675.66 won on his rookie season—just $4,149.92 behind Flenniken’s rookie earnings. Tryan has had five weeks where he has won over $4,149.92 and has made three individual runs worth over $4,149.92. 

Heelers

5. Kaden Profili, 2023: $51,048.09

Moore has just barely passed 2023 Resistol Rookie Heeler of the Year Kaden Profili’s rookie earnings. Moore is $217.93 over Profili’s earnings, and he passed it recently with his $501 check for 10th at Montana’s Cascade Pro Rodeo Aug. 9-10.

4. Caleb Hendrix, 2021: $58,355.06

In order to catch 2021 Resistol Rookie Heeler of the Year Caleb Hendrix’s earnings, Moore needs to win $7,098.04. Of his rookie year, Moore has had two weeks surpassing that amount. Per week, Moore would need to win $1,183.01 to catch Hendrix’s earnings. Moore has had 12 weeks cashing in more than $1,183.01. 

3. Quinn Kesler, 2015: $65,839.97

Moore is currently $14,573.95 behind late NFR qualifier Quinn Kesler’s rookie earnings. Moore would need to win $2,428.99 a week these last six to catch Kesler. Moore has had nine weeks above the $2,428.99 mark this season.

2. Paden Bray, 2019: $67,014.24

Paden Bray won the 2019 Resistol Rookie Heeler of the Year title with $67,014.24. Moore is $15,748.22 behind Bray’s rookie earnings. In terms of the last six weeks, Moore would need to win roughly $2,624.70 a week from here on out to reach the 2020 NFR champ’s rookie earnings. Moore has had nine weeks this year winning over $2,624.70.

1. Junior Nogueira, 2014: $138,036

Of the last decade, Junior Nogueira had the richest rookie season, winning the 2014 Resistol Rookie Heeler of the Year title and qualifying for his first NFR that same year. The now three-time world champion finished his rookie season with $138,036, including his NFR earnings. Currently, Moore is $86,769.98 behind Nogueira’s rookie earnings. With roughly six weeks left in the 2024 season, Moore would have to win $14,461.67 a week to catch Noguiera’s rookie earnings.

The post Will Tyler Tryan and Logan Moore be the Richest Resistol Rookies of the Last Decade? appeared first on The Team Roping Journal.

Professional rodeo is a grind—one that requires complete dedication to the craft. The hours in the practice pen, the time away from the wife and kids and the stress of needing to win all make rodeo not for the faint. The pursuit of a gold buckle—and a childhood dream to make a living with a rope—will keep the best in the world on the trail for a while.

But sooner or later, everyone needs a break. Is it retirement? No, nobody ever really retires from rodeo. And none of these guys are quitters. But at some point, even rodeo cowboys need a change of pace. What finally pushed them over the edge to send them home?

________________________

When and why did you step away from ProRodeo?

I actually did it twice. I did it in 2003 for about four years. Then I came back in ’07 and I rodeoed till ’13, the last year I made it. The first time, it was more of a burnout-type deal. At that time, my oldest daughter, Gabby, was probably starting junior high, and she wanted me to be around the house a little bit more. I think I actually ended up 16th that year, and you know how that is—that will burn a guy out. 

What made you go back in 2007?

A few things. I got a great horse, Spiderman, from Justin Davis and his dad. Then, Allen Bach asked me to take Joel around some. He was in high school and he roped really well. I’d pick him up on Thursday and drop him off Saturday night. Then I jackpotted with JoJo LeMond, and he asked me to go that next winter. We just kept winning, and we made the Finals, and then Luke Brown and I started. I had more success with Luke than I’d ever had. I was energized. I was practicing with the younger guys and I got better. 

What made you decide to finally be done?

I didn’t really crave being gone that much anymore. The whole grind, the whole process, I wasn’t as eaten up by it as I had been. I didn’t want to put in the extra anymore. There was so much I missed with my older daughter that I didn’t want to sacrifice the second time around. 

________________________

When did you know it was time to quit?

I know exactly where I was and what I was thinking. It was 2019, and I was roping with Trey Yates. We were up in Canada. We went over the Fourth of July and we were buddied with Erich Rogers and Paden Bray, two of my best friends. We’d got to one of my favorite rodeos—St. Paul, Oregon—and we roped that afternoon and that night. 

We get done, we’re having a beer and we’re having a pretty good time there. I walked outside, and I remember thinking, ‘This is it; I know this is it, I’m done. Because this is one of the funnest rodeos, traveling with the best people, and all I want to do is go home and see my kids and be with my family.’ So I knew right then I was done. I would finish out the rodeos I was going to, but I knew that was it. 

Do you have any bucket-list rodeos you still want to win?

Ponoka and Pendleton. Those are two rodeos I want to win before I call it a career. 

Do you think you’ll ever rodeo again? 

When the boys are a little bit older, maybe, but it takes up so much of my time to go and to be competitive. I have to put in a little more work to be good. I have to work harder at it now since I’m older and slower. When I’m practicing for me, I feel like I’m missing out on time with my boys where I could actually be helping them rope. I feel like it’s selfish of me to keep going and going and going instead of being a dad. 

Practicing and roping just aren’t that high on the priority list anymore. I have too many other things that I need to get done, so I can’t make practicing a priority like it used to be. I’d get home from rodeoing and I’d just want to go to the practice pen. Now when I get home, there are too many things that need to be done. 

________________________

When and why did you decide to slow down?

I slowed down in 2010, but I went back in 2015 to rope at the Finals with Junior Nogueira. 

What helped you decide to step away?

My kids were getting to an age where I felt like they needed the same opportunity that I had with my dad focusing on my roping. And I wanted to be there for my wife. I didn’t feel like it was fair to my wife working a job and me off running around, kind of playing. Also, my dad wasn’t in the greatest health and was getting older. And, I never really loved rodeoing. 

I love to compete and I love to rope, but I don’t like the traveling and the downtime of rodeoing. I love to ride horses—doing the cowboy things. When you’re rodeoing, it’s not really a cowboy thing. It’s about as far away as you can get from it. You’re either locked in a living quarters trailer or a pickup. You get to play cowboy for just a few minutes every night and I wanted to do it all day every day.

 I didn’t like the person rodeoing was making me. My dad was a very good man—he was a very hard man, but he was a good man. He showed me how to love and I just felt like I was being drug away from my beliefs as far as my religion. I was making decisions that I shouldn’t make, whether it was partying too much or having to sell things that I shouldn’t have. I just wasn’t in love with the person that it made me, and I felt like almost a selfish prick in a way.

Was it hard to transition to life at home after rodeoing?

I dealt with depression and anxiety and everything else in there. I quit, but I’d never known anything else besides roping to make a living. That’s how I made a living for my family from the time I was 11 years old. And when I quit, I had the best horse I’d ever had—Goose, my gray—and that made it even harder for me to accept the fact that I was going home without any way to make a living. 

Will anything get you back out on the road? 

Maybe in four or five years, if my youngest wants to go, I’ll take him around some. But not until I don’t have any more kids at home. We’re showing a lot in the cutting, and it’s a whole-family deal. I just have to learn how to compete in the cutting, but I love it. 

________________________

What made you hang it up this year?

To put it short, I wasn’t willing to do the stuff I had to do anymore to the people I had to do it to, to make it how I wanted to do it. To rodeo how I would want to rodeo, I just wasn’t willing to make the sacrifices anymore to do it. And if I’m not going to do that, then I’m not going to rodeo.

What did those sacrifices look like?

Just the time of every day. It’s just all about you—the whole world revolves around you making the NFR. When your kids are little, it’s not as big a deal. But now my kids are old enough that they’re doing their own stuff, and that’s time you can’t get back. I’m young enough that if I want to rodeo again, I’ll just do it after my kids are grown. I didn’t want to wait until that point in my life when I wanted to be done, but then my kids are grown and they’re not home anymore and it’s too late. This might sound stupid, too, but I always kind of had it in my head that I didn’t want the game to retire me. I physically still feel good. If I wanted to do it, I feel like I could still do it. 

Do you have anything left you want to win? 

I’d like to win the BFI. It doesn’t really bother me as much as people talk about or think it does, but it’s just the fact that it’s a really good jackpot. It’s the best jackpot. I want to win the best jackpot. 

Who haven’t you roped with that you’d like to before you call it quits for good?

I would have liked to rope with Luke (Brown). We always talked about it. I’ve won as much with Luke as I’ve won with anybody. We second partnered for a long time. And it just seems like every time me and Luke rope together, we do good. Luke or (Derrick) Begay, or Trevor (Brazile). 

Even though you’re not rodeoing this year, you’ve still won quite a bit.

Cody Snow and I won $50-some-thousand rodeoing, and I won a little jackpotting, and I was gone all year. Who knows what I spent trying to win that $50,000. This year, I’ve won like $80,000, and I’ve been to five places. And I didn’t have to spend anything to get it. The WCRAs have been great for that. I nominated Oklahoma City for the American qualifier when I roped with Kaleb Driggers and Bubba Buckaloo. I nominated the Lone Star Shootout and the BFI, and I won like $49,000 just at those WCRA events I got into.

________________________

Two-time World Champion Kaleb Driggers is at the top of his game, with a massive horse program headlined by stallion Metallic Payday and a pool of standout mares—but even Driggers is considering a day in the future when rodeo won’t be his sole focus:

“I don’t know that retirement is something you dwell on, but I think you know when the time feels right. I do know that my dad was there for me when I wanted to rope, and I plan to do the same for Ledger. It also feels easier for me to say that having him at 34, so 40 doesn’t sound like that bad of a time to hang it up and be there for him in whatever hobby he chooses.” 

________________________

Want more stories like this? We interviewed Cole Davison, Nick Sartain and Kory Koontz, too, about their decisions to step away from ProRodeo, and their full interviews are rolling out on “The Score” podcast all summer long.

—TRJ—

The post When the Road Ends appeared first on The Team Roping Journal.

In November 2023, Delane Haynes made his Cowboy Channel debut.

“I wear a Gus hat with a mule-kick and my bright shirts, and my dad said, ‘I wasn’t even close to the TV, and I seen you,”’ Haynes said.

Haynes, 56, had earned three berths into Fort Worth’s Cowtown Coliseum competing in Charly Crawford’s American Hero Celebration—the annual event hosted by the Liberty & Loyalty Foundation that honors and supports team ropers from the military and first responder communities. In the preceding days, the burgeoning roper earned his first qualification roping with reigning PAFRA world champion heeler Clint McMurtry, but also by getting on two qualifying ranch rodeo teams and competing in the team penning.

Ranch raised

Haynes grew up in the ranching lifestyle in and around Wheatland, Wyoming, and adopted his dad’s commitment to putting in long days every day, but he was never at an operation that leaned heavily on rope work. Good using horses that can gather, cut and sort, yes, but not roping. So it wasn’t until the early 2020s when Haynes’ wife, Tracie, told him he needed to get a hobby and quit spending so much time with his nose to the grind did he find himself under the tutelage of his neighbor and friend, Sergio Mireles.

“Sergio and I were at the arena most every night,” Haynes said, chuckling at how Tracie probably didn’t anticipate him getting hooked the way he did. “I bought about six roping steers, and I wore them out.”

Since his Wheatland start, Haynes had moved to Kansas and joined the Kansas National Guard in 1989 and started his trucking company, Delane Haynes Trucking, in 1996. With his return to Wyoming, he joined the 133^rd Engineer Company of the Wyoming National Guard.

“I slowed down in the trucking and went to work for the Department of Corrections in 2000,” said Haynes, who is now a resident of Upton, Wyoming. “And while I was working for them, we got mobilized.”

The man in charge

As Haynes was readying to deploy from Fort Lewis Army Base in Washington State, he received a promotion he wasn’t quite prepared for. 

“I marched my platoon down to the armory to draw our weapons so that we could go get on an airplane and go overseas,” Haynes explained. “And while I’m standing there with my guys drawing weapons, my company commander comes up to me with a 9 mm pistol holster, handed me the holster and said, ‘Draw your weapon, First Sergeant.’

“We finished drawing our weapons and we had a formation that night. They promoted me to First Sergeant and, that night, we got on an airplane and went to the Sandbox.”

In a matter of minutes, Haynes had gone from being responsible for the 32 soldiers in his platoon to being in charge of 152 troops. 

“I don’t think I slept for a week after that.”

In a miraculous feat, however, Haynes and his 152 soldiers all returned home nearly a year later.

“We flew over Bagdad, New Year’s Eve, stroke of midnight,” Haynes said of his arrival in theater. “We rung in 2005 over Bagdad, and then we touched down in Kuwait. Then, I think we left theater Dec. 11.”

In that time, Haynes’ company was recognized as the key to success for the battalion of 790 troops under which they operated. 

“At the end of the year, that little engineer company with 152 soldiers completed more projects, moved more earth, hauled more water than the battalion did,” Haynes said. “Gen. Welch out of Tennessee and Command Sgt. Maj. Jones got the commander and I and said, ‘Your unit is the reason that the battalion and the brigade is getting this unit citation.’ He said, ‘That unit just outperformed anybody in theater.’”

Finding a new focus

As is often the challenge for service members, it’s the coming home part that presents the unforeseen battles. While Haynes is rightfully proud to have brought all 152 troops home, it devastates him to report that four have succumbed to suicide in the years since. 

Haynes would continue serving the 133^rd until 2009, marking a 20-year commitment to the Guard and, after his time overseas, he returned to his family and his work.

“What I’d done with the Department of Corrections was a boot camp program,” Haynes explained. “I used my Army training to help these young, juvenile males, and I enjoyed that because the majority of these kids was on drugs or alcohol or something when they’d committed a crime…. I had kids that were 7 years old when their mom handed them their first joint.”

But while Haynes was overseas, the program had shifted to the purview of Wyoming Law Enforcement and underwent changes that challenged its efficacy in Haynes’ opinion, so he went to work for the Sheriff’s Office until 2014, when the trucking business was booming.

“I stayed on their reserve status and, anytime that I could and the sheriff’s office was shorthanded, I would still come back,” Haynes said. “I would patrol and help them do whatever they needed, just help them out when I could. And then it was  either ’19 or ’20 I went back to work full time.”

Haynes again encountered challenging changes that had taken place in his absence, prompting Tracie and her best friend, Susan—maker of the iconic Western shirts Haynes competes in—to convince Haynes to find another focus. 

With Mireles as a coach and his roping steers at the ready, Haynes put his ranch horses to work in the team roping arena. Predictably, he introduced a few bad habits as he went, learning and training at the same time, but ultimately, his horses proved capable and valuable partners. 

Roping from the northeast corner of Wyoming, Haynes’ roping endeavors went full swing by 2022, which he spent competing in the Wrangler Team Roping Championships after discovering success in their Cactus Challenge in 2021. Tracie and Susan found themselves hauling Haynes and the horses across North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming and Montana, and even to Wickenburg at the suggestion of another roping partner. 

Entering up

By the time the crew made it to the WTRC National Finals in Billings, Montana, that fall, Haynes was in contention to win multiple Challenges. 

“Out of six Challenges, I won four, took second in one and, I think, sixth place in the sixth one. So I was in the top six of all six Challenges. I ended up with 30 Fast Back Ropes and 20-some more Cactus Ropes, four saddles, a Priefert chute, a Smarty Xtreme and Wrangler shirts and pants. 

“I had to have my daughter bring an extra pickup and small trailer to Billings that year to haul it all home,” Haynes continued. “Without my girls, I wouldn’t have been able to make it to the ropings that allowed 584 entries. You might out-rope me, but you won’t out-enter me!”

In February 2023, Haynes detached his bicep pulling the ramp out from one of his trucks, and was perusing this magazine. 

“I was reading an issue of The Team Roping Journal, and there’s an article about Charly Crawford and this program he’s got going on, and I’m like, that’s amazing. I think maybe I’ll put in for it.”

Haynes made the cut and, following the Horns ‘N Heroes clinic with Crawford and Trey Johnson, he hit up a Wyoming benefit roping after his Cowboy Channel debut. He won a good check to give back to the family in need, thanks to Crawford’s helpful coaching.

“There are so many things,” Haynes said of the guidance Crawford offered. “He refreshed my memory on horsemanship. That’s my big struggle. I get out there, and I’m wanting to go left all the time. Charly worked with me on setting up my heeler.”

It seemed to click in time for his run with McMurtry, too, and now Haynes is also a proud member of the Professional Armed Forces Rodeo Association. 

“Hopefully I’ll be all healed up, and we’ll go rope in Clovis, New Mexico, at the end of September,” said Haynes, who’s now recovering from a recent hip surgery.

Either way, he’s looking forward to supporting the efforts of organizations like the Liberty & Loyalty Foundation and PAFRA, and is hoping to contribute through sponsorship opportunities, too.

“I sponsored a dinner with the trucking company last year, and I’m hoping to sponsor a back number this year.”

Haynes is also enjoying watching his granddaughters take to the rodeo arena and develop into handy horsewomen. 

“I can’t talk enough about those grandkids,” Haynes confirmed.

—TRJ—

Thank you to Equinety for helping us share stories of military members, veterans and first responders in the team roping community.

The post Army and Law Enforcement Veteran Delane Haynes Discovers Team Roping appeared first on The Team Roping Journal.

Popeye Boultinghouse passed peacefully at 86 on Aug. 1, 2024, in Temple, Texas. He didn’t take up team roping until he was 37, but his style earned him billing as “the one-swing king.” Popeye and his wife of 55 years, Jan, opened the doors to their home, arena and hearts to countless cowboys over the years. Four of them—Jake Barnes, Tee Woolman, Rich Skelton and Bobby Harris—just served as honorary pallbearers at Popeye’s memorial service and cowboy sendoff in Llano.

Pretty cool if you start counting gold buckles Popeye had a hand in. Between Jake and Clay (Cooper), Speed (Williams) and Rich, Tee and Bobby, the world team roping title count is 34. Thanks, Popeye. And Jan.

Jake Barnes

“Popeye had a lot of steers and good horses, and he and Jan took me in like family when I was just a little country hick from Bloomfield, New Mexico, who didn’t have two nickels to rub together,” Jake said. “The end of my third year of college, I was staying there with Popeye and Jan when Jan whistled at me down at the barn that I had a phone call. It was Allen Bach. I’d never met Allen, and he was the reigning 1979 world champ. I thought it was a prank. 

“At dinner that night, I told Popeye and Jan I wasn’t sure I was ready. They convinced me to go try, and told me I might regret it later in life if I didn’t. I got on the first plane of my life to Colorado Springs, and took my first cab to the PRCA (Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association) office and bought my card (that was back before you had to fill your permit, and just needed three signatures vouching for your competence to join the PRCA). 

“I give Popeye and Jan all the credit. I’m not saying I never would have made it without them, but without their support and help along the way, I don’t know that I even would have tried it. The first time I experienced riding a good horse was on one of Popeye’s horses. And Popeye was the ultimate coach.”

Tee Woolman

“Popeye and Jan didn’t adopt me, they inherited me,” Tee said. “I lived with them for five or six years, starting when I was 18 or 19. Popeye was like a father/big brother to me, and I looked up to him with respect. He didn’t really lecture me, but he was game to do whatever I wanted to do and help me do it better.

“Popeye was opinionated. He always had an answer for you, no matter what. You could ask him about anything. In the roping world, he was the king of one swing. Always. One steer or 10. That’s just the way he roped. And he had great horses. I rode Popeye’s horses all the time. Popeye was a very influential person in my life. He was one phone call away from anything you needed.” 

Bobby Harris

“When I really connected with Popeye was in 1985, when I started roping with Tee,” Bobby said. “He was a helping hand. Popeye and Jan had open arms if you needed anything—a horse, or if your truck was broke down, it didn’t matter, they were there to help. Popeye was just a supportive friend, and the way he treated you made you feel like you’d known him forever. 

“You can’t even name how many people Popeye helped, starting with two of the greatest headers of all time in Tee and Jake, who lived there with him and Jan. Jake and Tee were Popeye’s guys—two of his greatest achievements. Popeye was like a dad to them, and Jan was like a mom. 

“Popeye loved team roping. And team ropers. And good horses. When team roping started down there in South Texas, Popeye was right in the middle of it. He loved to break it down, and was always coaching on us. Going all the way back, he always told me, ‘Take care of that roan (Roany); one day you’ll miss him.’ He was right, and we laughed about that again a couple weeks before he died. Popeye knew good horses. And he helped so many guys. Don Beasley spent a lot of time there. Guys like Monty Joe Petska. Too many to count. Popeye loved everything about roping, and Popeye was just a great friend.”

Rich Skelton

“I moved in with Tee a few years before we started roping together, and got to know Popeye and Jan through him,” Rich said. “Popeye had a lot of steers and a lot of horses, and we roped there a lot. We were always welcome there, and Popeye helped me with my roping. 

“That was all back before cell phones and all the videos we have now. I could call Popeye if I got to roping bad, and he could talk me through it. Popeye could coach you through anything. He would always tell me to ride my horse down the arena and keep speed on my rope. When I was having trouble, those two things were usually part of the problem. 

“Popeye studied everything about roping. He understood the mechanics, and told me to watch guys like Don Beasley and Clay. He could help you with your heading or your heeling, it didn’t matter. I rode a lot of Popeye’s heel horses, and we ran a lot of steers in his arena. He had great horses, and he was generous with them. A lot of cowboys owe a lot to Popeye Boultinghouse. Me included.”

Thanks, Popeye. 

The post Remembering One-Swing King Popeye Boultinghouse appeared first on The Team Roping Journal.

Jade Corkill, now a three-time PRCA world champion heeler, was 20 when he won RodeoHouston in 2008 with Chad Masters, propelling him to his first National Finals Rodeo qualification that year.

Masters and Corkill had started roping earlier that winter for the first time, but their run at Houston was the last one they’d make until the summer. 

“Chad had torn his knee up getting ready for the (Cinch) Timed Event (Championship),” Corkill said. “He was roping at Houston, and then he got surgery and was out until Reno.”

They made the most of it, taking the RodeoHouston saddles, buckles and $50,000 payday. But the win occurred back before RodeoHouston paid equal money in the team roping, so each man walked away with $25,000. 

“We were the last team to go, I think, and Travis Tryan and Michael Jones were 5.2 and they were winning it (on Walt and Jackyl),” Corkill said. “What I remember is I don’t know if we had the best steer, but we had one that we thought tried a little bit. Chad nailed the barrier and reached, and the steer checked off a little bit and made it to where I had a shot to throw. We were 4.3 and won the rodeo.”

Corkill—who years later won his first world title on Jackyl five years later—was aboard IceCube, the grade sorrel gelding the heeler made his living on for a decade. 

“I was probably confident, but I probably shouldn’t have been,” Corkill remembered. “When I got Chad, I thought that gave me the confidence that someone like him was roping with me. At that time in my life I wanted to be high call every time.”

Corkill roped with Masters upon his return that summer, then heeled for Brandon Beers in the Northwest that fall, finally roping at his first Finals with Luke Brown. It was also Brown’s first NFR, and they placed in seven of 10 rounds to win second in the average. Corkill finished that season with $166,673 won.

—TRJ—

The post Big Break: Jade Corkill’s 2008 RodeoHouston Win appeared first on The Team Roping Journal.

In late 2023 the men at War Horses for Veterans got a call—Trevor Brazile and Miles Baker had a Relentless Remuda horse that might fit their program.

“Ty Smith with Solo Select heard that Trevor Brazile was looking to donate a horse and wanted to know the right place for it to go,” said medically retired Marine Sgt. Jake Greenlief, who is the War Horses for Veterans Ranch Manager and Director of Equine Management.

The WHFV program was founded in 2014, three years before Greenlief completed his 10 years of service. Based in Stilwell, Kansas, its mission is to empower and equip “veterans and first responders who experienced life-disrupting trauma to recover” through exceptional horsemanship. Emphasis on exceptional horsemanship.

Any program that’s introducing people who’ve maybe never touched a horse to the experience requires good-minded horses, which War Horses definitely has. But they also have papers.

Western community connections

The WHFV Board of Directors is heavy with people of note, including Wayne Hanson, president of R.E. Lewis Refrigeration, which services the U.S. food processing and distribution industries. Hanson is also a player in the cow horse arena. 

“Wayne owns Hanson Quarter Horses with his wife, Michelle,” Greenlief explained. “They owned [$4 million sire] Mr Dual Pep. They introduced us to Ty, and Ty and Melanie [Smith] both have helped us out a lot with breedings and stuff like that.”

Through that network, Greenlief and WHFV Media Director and U.S. Army veteran Jay Williams found themselves sitting in the Relentless Remuda office in Decatur, Texas, this past winter.

“Talk about intimidating,” Greenlief admitted. “They asked, ‘What do you guys do for feed up there?’ and I [stalled]. Then I was like, ‘Hey dummy, you know what you feed your horses,’ but I was kind of just dumbfounded being around those guys.”

Despite their social anxieties, the Relentless Remuda’s “Scotch” was shipped to Kansas in December to begin his service as a WHFV horse.

The finest Scotch

Of course, Scotch isn’t a fit for everyone in the program. He is a certified Relentless Remuda graduate, possessing the kind of horsepower and talent that earned him his cheek brand. But in a program that values empowering people by putting them aboard well-trained talent, getting to ride Scotch marks a victory for the ropers who ride with WHFV.

“My favorite experience from War Horses for Veterans was roping off Scotch,” said retired Police Sgt. Greg Ziel, who The Team Roping Journal first wrote about in May 2022. “Holy smokes, that horse flies!”

In a demonstration of the power of these programs and the lives they touch, Ziel and Greenlief are examples of how one network can change the course of multiple lives for years to come. 

Working backward, Ziel roped off Scotch when he participated in a program at WHFV, where Greenlief began working in 2021. The two originally met when Ziel was acquiring his horse, Midnight, which was Greenlief’s own first horse in his path to recovery that he acquired with the help of the Charlie Five organization. Charlie Five was founded by Jeremy Svejcar, a U.S. Army veteran who found his calling after participating in programs like the Semper Fi and America’s Fund Jinx McCain Horsemanship Program, the same program Greenlief credits for saving his life.

The tough stuff

“John and the Jinx McCain program got me back on horses,” Greenlief said, referring to the program’s foreman, retired Marine Col. John Mayer. 

The SFAF discontinued the JMHP in 2024, but Mayer is continuing his mission to tap into the hearts of his fellow warriors by getting them horseback and out of their heads.  

“I was battling a lot of demons,” Greenlief said of when he first signed up with the JMHP to work cattle on the historic Kokernot 06 Ranch in West Texas’ Davis Mountains.

WATCH: The Drive to Brotherhood — Sgt. Greelief continues to heal on a 2021 cattle drive with the JMHP in Wyoming’s Big Horn mountains. Watch as he, from atop the dark paint, narrates cutting cattle from the herd (and slinging a few friendly jabs) around 17:30.

Greenlief grew up around horses but hadn’t touched them since he joined the Marine Corps in 2008. Instead, he deployed four times and when he returned stateside to Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, he was training to become Helicopter Ropes and Suspensions Techniques Master. Then it came crashing down, literally.

“I’ve been on four deployments with the Marines, the infantry,” Greenlief said. “I’ve been to Afghanistan. If you remember the tsunami that hit Japan, I was there for that. There was a ferry that sank off the coast of Korea with a bunch of high school kids—responded to that. I mean, a whole slew of things and I never really had an issue with anything, I think because I was so busy.

“I kept myself busy until the helicopter crash and it wrecked me, no pun intended. I’d made it through a lot of other situations in my life unscathed and, here I was in the United States on a training mission. We were doing nighttime training inserts—repel inserts into LZs (landing zones). I was part of a Helo Raid Company, and I was riding in a helicopter, and it crashed.”

The Sept. 2, 2015, event initiated a cataclysmic shift in Greenlief’s life. As he spent the next two years recovering in the Wounded Warrior Battalion—including 28 weeks in the Traumatic Brain Injury Center—with severe balance issues, Greenlief was dealt a decision by a medical board that nearly ended him.

“They originally said it was not a service-related incident. There are a few people in my life who know this and it’s the closest I’ve ever been to suicide. My wife, CC, was the only thing that kept me alive because they were going to separate me from the Marine Corps and give me like $15,000. They said I had 0% service-related injuries.

“I was at the peak of my career doing phenomenal things, going places that were new to the Marine Corps and having a lot of fun. My career ended and I went to the Wounded Warrior Battalion where everyone, at the time, was either blown up or shot … and was feeling like I shouldn’t be there because everybody else was legitimately combat wounded, mostly.”

Credibly, Greenlief fought the medical board and has since decided that the initial decision of a few people managing paperwork shouldn’t minimize the rest of his time in service, but it’s taken years and work and grace to gain that perspective. 

A hand up

Once medically retired, Greenlief returned to his hometown and took a job with the sheriff’s office. 

“If you want to get personal, I was in a really bad spot in my life,” Greenlief said of the timing, which coincided with sincere civic unrest and, oftentimes, riots in our urban city centers. “Law enforcement was not a great transition out of the military for me. 

“In all honesty and in fairness to the law enforcement agency that I was with, I wasn’t mentally okay to take over and deal with the stress that it took.”  

After a year and a half, Greenlief burned out and took up some farming work. Feeling better, he returned to law enforcement and became a detective working crimes against children and then became the lead homicide investigator.

From the military board trying to rid its hands of Greenlief to navigating through police retaliation threats and trying to manage the chaos bred by a culture of crime, Greenlief was ready for an assist when the SFAF, which had provided support to his family through his medical recovery, put him in touch with Mayer and bought him a plane ticket—his first since the helo wreck—to Texas. Overcoming the fear he’d developed proved worth it.

“Rod Devoll came up to me at the end of it,” Greenlief said of the Kokernot 06’s foreman and wagon boss. “He said, ‘Man, you would make a good hand.’ And that, to me … it kind of felt like being accepted again.”

Ready for more roping

At Charly Crawford’s and Trey Johnson’s Horns N’ Heroes roping clinic this past November, Greenlief brought a good dose of horsemanship and cow horse know-how to the table, but he stepped into the roping arena with a square-one approach to his heeling. In a few short days, he gained enough to earn the award for Most Improved, and he also discovered an opportunity to reconnect with God.

“I think I have a better appreciation for what it is,” Greenlief said of the sport. “I have a better knowledge and way of explaining things. Most of my time was spent with Trey on the heel side and the way he explains things and how he brings it back to God is honestly the best thing about being at [the clinic].”

When Johnson was able to spend a day at the WHFV clinic this April, another door opened for Greenlief. 

“At the end of the day, [Trey] said he’d love for me to come down to the … American Hero Celebration and just spend a day doing horsemanship.”

Greenlief hopes it works out, but thinks he’ll be at this year’s AHC regardless.

“We’ve got a few guys from War Horses who are putting applications in to go down and do that and use War Horses horses to rope off of.”

Meanwhile, Greenlief will be looking for good horseflesh to purchase for a program that creates the same path to healing he discovered horseback.

—TRJ—

Thank you to Equinety for helping us share stories of military members, veterans and first responders in the team roping community.

The post Sgt. Greenlief Gets a Relentless Remuda War Horse appeared first on The Team Roping Journal.

A year ago this month, Kirby Blankenship won the Daddy of ’em All in Cheyenne heeling for Billy Bob Brown. The 25-year-old Lampasas, Texas, cowboy has since had a change of plans. As much as he loves to rope, he recently graduated from college and took a job he also adores that comes with a weekly paycheck.

Q: Where is Lampasas, and what’s it like there?

A: Lampasas is on (Highway) 281 between Hamilton and Austin. It’s about an hour north of Austin, and an hour and a half south of Stephenville. I was born in Stephenville and raised in Lampasas, which is a bigger town that still has small-time vibes. Everybody in Lampasas wants to see you do good.

Q: Reigning World Champion Barrel Racer Brittany Pozzi Tonozzi and her National Finals Rodeo header husband, Garrett, also live in Lampasas. Are you neighbors and friends?

A: Yes. Garrett and I are great friends, and I go rope there as much as I can. We just cooked steaks for them before Garrett headed to Colorado for the summer, and Brittany took off rodeoing again. 

Q: Congratulations on your recent graduation from Sul Ross State University. Tell us why you’re on the older side for graduating from college. 

A: My mom’s a loan officer who’s president at a credit office in Lampasas. She went back to school like I did, and always told me I’d feel better if I finished. She said to just get it done because you never know what opportunities might be possible. 

Q: Where else did you go to college?

A: I previously rodeoed under (NFR tie-down roper) Johnny Emmons at Weatherford College, and roped with (NFR header) Coy Rahlmann one year. I went to Weatherford for three straight years, then one at Sul Ross. I took a break before finishing up at Sul Ross this year. 

Q: You were out of college rodeo eligibility, but went back anyway?

A: Yes, I took my mom’s advice, and didn’t want to limit my career possibilities to only a rope. I was able to finish school online. 

Q: Weatherford’s Emmons and Sul Ross’s CJ Aragon were highly respected contestants. Has that carried over to their coaching?

A: Absolutely. The two guys I got to college rodeo under both rodeoed for a living. They know all about backing in the box to eat, and I learned a lot from both of them. They were super helpful, and also so understanding about me wanting to circuit rodeo on the side. Johnny and CJ both have good attitudes and winning mentalities and truly care about the young people in their programs. You’re not just another guy on their rodeo roster. 

Q: What do you consider your career highlight to date, and why? 

A: Winning Cheyenne last summer was something a lot of people who rope better than I do will never get to experience. Cheyenne’s not an easy rodeo, and a lot of things can go wrong. We drew good, and it was a win I’ll never forget. 

Q: You roped with Junior Dees at San Antonio and Billy Bob at Houston this year, but haven’t been seen around much lately. Where’ve you been?

A: I told Billy Bob early on this year that I was going to stay home, work and amateur rodeo. I went to the BFI, and hope to circuit rodeo next year. I have a really good job now working for a construction company in Austin. We build residential subdivisions, and I work for the dirt side of the business building roads. I’m on the job by 7 in the morning and done by 4:30 or 5 most days. I work Saturday sometimes, too. 

Q: Your current career goals?

A: I wanted to go see it (the rodeo trail), and got to do that. Now I’m trying to build a backbone for me and when I have a family one day. For me, there’s a bigger picture to life than just living on the road. I love to rope, but my whole life does not revolve around swinging a rope. I respect every person who’s ever done good in rodeo, but there’s a lot of gambling in the rodeo business. I’d like to have something built up before I gamble too much. 

Q: You sound happy with your decision.

A: I am. My parents never told me not to rodeo. But my dad and grandpa told me taking this job was smart, and that they’re proud of me. There’s a paycheck every Friday, and that’s really nice. This is a massive company with 800 employees, and there’s a lot to learn in this business, too. 

Q: Tell us about Kirby Blankenship Performance Horses. 

A: I had a bunch of horses before I got this job, and now only ride as many as I have time for. I love the process of horse training. I learned a lot about horses riding young ones at a young age. My dad always said, “If we’re going to feed a horse, he’s either going to make money or last a long time.” I like making jackpot horses anybody can ride and win on. 

Q: Who has most influenced your roping and horsemanship?

A: A lot of people have helped me. Early on, my grandpa built some of Rich Skelton’s places. I went with my grandpa, and Rich helped me and never charged me. Our neighbor Hamp Conlan had good roping fundamentals and helped me as a kid with mine. He knew a lot about horsemanship, position and approach, which is 90% of heeling. Hamp always said, “Don’t watch me, listen to me.” I worked for Clay Logan almost two years, and he introduced me to the horse show side of this business, and taking pride in how horses look and work. 

Q: Who do you practice with most now?

A: I rope with one of my bosses, Kyle Kates, and Garrett the most now. Both live about 15 minutes from me, and we rope at their houses or mine. 

Q: Describe your heeling style.

A: I’m a position heeler. I like to be in my spot, and I’m a second-hop heeler. I’m not conservative, but I don’t throw on the corner every time. I just try to be as fast as I can while still staying smooth and correct. 

Q: Which heelers do you watch the closest, and why?

A: Everyone out there does something cool that works. I love the simplicity of how Jade (Corkill) rides a perfect corner every time. And it’s pretty cool how fast (Wesley) Thorp gets a steer. He dallies on a short rope every time. 

Q: Final word on how roping fits into your life now…

A: Roping has done so much for me. I don’t take it for granted like I did when that’s all I did. I respect how long it takes to get good at it, and I’ll always love to rope. It’s also nice to know it’s not the only thing there is to life.

—TRJ—

The post Kirby Blankenship: Life Beyond the Rodeo Road appeared first on The Team Roping Journal.

The sweetest thing happened under a shade tree on the patio of the ProRodeo Hall of Fame on Friday night. It was about 30 minutes before they opened the doors on the ProRodeo Hall of Fame Cowboy Ball, which kicked off this year’s 45^th annual induction festivities in Colorado Springs. There they were, the guy they call The Godfather of Team Roping, Bob Feist, who this year was honored with the Ken Stemler Pioneer Award, and 1968 World Champion Team Roper Art Arnold, who was just inducted with the Class of 2024 on Saturday. 

They were sitting there visiting about the good old days when it was all dally team roping in Feist’s California home country, team tying in Arnold’s native Arizona and 50-50 every other round at the National Finals Rodeo when Feist whips out a copy of the first-ever issue of Ropers Sports News, dated December 1968. And there he was, Art Arnold, lead photo on page 1 for winning the world.

“The Ropers Sports News was where we got our roping news, and we all looked forward to it showing up in our mailbox every month,” Arnold said of the four-page folded paper pioneer of roping publications. “Us ropers owe a lot to this guy right here.”

READ: Team Roping Triples Down in ProRodeo Hall of Fame Class of 2024

That’s a fact. The Bob Feist Invitational Team Roping Classic (BFI) started it all for world-class team roping jackpots, and the RSN did the same for team roping pubs. Pretty cool to see a couple of old cowboy friends first joined by a big dream for team ropers and a gold buckle circle back 56 years later to be honored on the same grand occasion. 

Mad respect, thank you and great big congratulations, cowboys!

The post Bob Feist and Art Arnold Reminisce on Good Old Days at 2024 ProRodeo Hall of Fame Cowboy Ball appeared first on The Team Roping Journal.

The cowboy career J.D. Yates has put together has exceeded every expectation he ever dreamed about. This youngest National Finals Rodeo qualifier of all time—J.D. heeled for Daddy Dick at his first Finals almost 50 years ago in 1975, when he was but a 15-year-old boy—has 21 NFR back numbers and 11 from the National Finals Steer Roping on the trophy room wall in Pueblo, Colorado. J.D.’s also won 47 American Quarter Horse Association world championships. Inductions into both the ProRodeo Hall of Fame this summer and the AQHA Hall of Fame this fall will make this a most memorable year of lifetime achievement recognition. But fame and fortune are nothing next to family for Team Yates. 

“It’s kind of unbelievable,” said J.D., who’s 63 now. “I didn’t set out in this world to get into a hall of fame. Getting there after all these years is very gratifying, and a pretty amazing feeling. I never thought being a hall of famer was an option, much less two this big in one year. 

“The most incredible year of my career was in 1984, when my dad, my sister (Kelly) and me all made the Finals together. I rodeoed with my dad, my mom (Jan) went with my sister, and we all got there. That was 40 years ago now, and it’s still very special to me. Always will be, because we are a tight family.”

It all started with patriarch Dick and matriarch Jan, who headed to Heaven in the spring of 2019. In the early going, times were tough and they really did live on love. 

Daddy Dick

Dick Yates headed at 13 NFRs—J.D.’s first 13. As cool as that was and still is, it was all business inside the arena. They couldn’t survive on the sentimentality of how sweet it was for a dad to rope with his son. 

“Jan and I started off with very little,” said Dick, who’s 86 now and placed at the last roping he entered earlier this year with J.D. “We rodeoed as a business, and if it wasn’t feasible for us to make money, we didn’t go. One of the reasons J.D. was never a world champion team roper or all-around champ was because if, say, winning at a rodeo in the fall didn’t more than cover our expenses, we didn’t go. We were building and accumulating from poor folks to people who made our way. It had to pencil. 

“I was working for the state as a brand inspector a lot of those years, and when I was working, we only went to about 35 rodeos a year. As rodeo got bigger and it took more money to make the Finals, we went to a few more. But in the summertime, we went to a lot of rodeos where we were back home that night.”

Their practice arena was J.D. and Kelly’s playpen. But fun and games were for recess. 

“J.D. and I roped together as a business,” Dick said. “A lot of fathers and sons fuss and don’t get along, especially in the roping pen and when they’re working together. That was never a problem at our camp. We talked about things, but there was never any feuding or fussing about horses or missing. We went out there to work at it and get better, so we could win money. 

“Building a good reputation was always important to me, whether I was roping or training and selling horses. J.D. went everywhere with me when he was a little guy and I was (brand) inspecting. He went with me to the sale barn, and grew up around ranchers and didn’t ever get to play with other kids. He grew up around grownups, so he could talk to anybody about anything when he was just a little old kid.” 

J.D.’s been inducted into a number of rodeo halls now, including Dodge City, Cheyenne, Ellensburg and Pendleton.

“The first rodeo hall they put him in was Dodge City, and J.D. has more Dodge City buckles than anyone,” Dick said. “We won the team roping there twice, he’s won the calf roping and the all-around I don’t know how many times.

“If you enjoy what you’re doing and work hard at it, you generally accomplish quite a bit. Trey (J.D.’s son) fits right in. He gets up early and works hard, just like his dad. I’m proud of my family. I’m still mad at old Jan for leaving so soon. She handled the books, paid all the bills and did all the cooking, and we miss her. But it’s been a good ride for my family and me.” 

Sister Kelly

Kelly Yates is an NFR barrel racer and renowned barrel horse trainer and jockey. She’s also J.D.’s big sister. 

“Mom was the core—the center of our family,” Kelly said. “We all always helped each other. We shared a close bond, and we all pitched in and did whatever it took to make it all work. 

“J.D. and I always fussed at each other when we were little. I always won, because I’d bite him. But J.D. was never mean back. The only thing I can remember him doing was roping me by two feet and jerking me down when I was 10 and Mom was secretarying a college rodeo. I chased him, but he ran into the men’s room and got away. 

“I wasn’t a mean child, just a wild child and go, go, go. J.D. just minded his own business and played in the dirt. We’ve always supported each other, and even more so as we’ve gotten older and matured. I love to rope, too, and I headed for J.D. at the high school rodeos my senior year. We’ve roped at a lot of mixed ropings, too. J.D. is a very loyal brother, and I’m proud of all he’s done. He’s accomplished so much, and a lot of it at a very young age.”

Son Trey

Trey Yates is a three-time NFR heeler who won his first Finals with Aaron Tsinigine in 2018. 

“We have a very close-knit bond in our family, and we’re very fortunate that we all enjoy roping, which brings us together even more,” said Trey, who also won the 2018 National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association title heeling for Kellan Johnson; Trey’s NIRA and NFR saddles sit side-by-side next to J.D.’s in the family trophy room. “My granddad and grandma hauled me around as a kid when my dad was showing a lot of horses. Kelly would take me at times also. Cousin Jay Lynn (Wadhams) was always there, and helped me a lot with my roping, too. 

“We’re fortunate most of all to be a close family. Roping and rodeo is just what we do. Roping is a big bonus because it’s something we get to do together. There’s no hollering, yelling or screaming in our arena. It’s a place we get to enjoy getting to do what we love to do. Together. 

“The moral code in our family is the most important thing. My dad and my grandpa always say, ‘Just treat people right and with respect, and the roping will take care of itself.’ This is a big year for my dad, and I’m pretty proud of him. I’m always proud of my family.”

Cousin Jay 

Jay Wadhams and his wife, Lindsay, now own and run the American Rope Horse Futurity Association. But he, too, grew up in that Yates arena. 

“All of the Yates family brothers and sisters were close, and Dick and my mom (Raeana Yates Wadhams) have always been extra close,” Jay said. “We lived about 20 miles from Dick and Jan, and I lived there in high school and college because they were closer to town and I was roping there all the time. Mom and Dad (John) came by every day after work. 

“I learned to rope in Dick’s arena. The first year I went and helped J.D. at the World Show, I was still in high school. Our family is very unique, and it’s kind of crazy how it all fell into place, because back when we were young they might have only had seven or eight steers and not many horses. Dick, J.D. and Kelly worked hard at what they made a living at, which was rodeoing, but the beginnings were humble for all of us.”

To this day, J.D. and Jay are more like brothers than cousins.

“We grew up together, and I lived with them for 10 or 12 years,” Jay said. “Even before I was old enough to rodeo, I’d take off driving for Dick and J.D. when I was 16. 

“I only had about four partners in my whole rodeo career, and I roped with Dick forever when J.D. was roping with other guys. I made my first Finals with Jay Ellerman (in 1993), then it got to where J.D. and I were horse-showing so hard that it just made sense for us to rope together at the rodeos.” 

Jay and J.D. made the NFR together in 1996. 

“Winning the BFI with J.D. (in 2010) is my career highlight, for sure,” Jay said. “People may have forgotten that I made the NFR. But nobody ever forgets who won the BFI. And the older we get, the more sentimental we are about getting it done as a family. 

“All those years when I was going to the horse shows with J.D., I was either in front of him (heading) or behind him (heeling). I’m proud to have helped J.D. win a lot of his AQHA world championships, and of the 15 I think I’ve won, he probably helped me win at least 10 of them. Standing back watching now—I don’t rope at my own futurities—J.D.’s still the best head-horse showman there is. It’s no wonder he’s won so much. He ropes great with his right hand. But that left hand of his is great, too.”

James Donald

You can probably double the $1.6 million-plus J.D.’s won rodeoing to get his actual lifetime earnings, which also include a superstellar horseshow and jackpot career. Those 32 National Finals back numbers span four decades, he’s won the average at both the NFR (in 2002 with Bobby Harris) and the 2008 NFSR. J.D.’s also a rare NFR switch-ender who heeled at Rodeo’s Super Bowl 19 times and headed there twice. And those 47 AQHA gold globes speak for themselves.

“This one here (the ProRodeo Hall in neighboring Colorado Springs) was a big surprise,” said J.D., who won two NIRA titles of his own in 1980 and ’81. “It makes all those all-night drives, fast times and no times all worth the trip. I put my heart and soul into the love of the sport and this event. I’ll love it ’til the day I die. I still enjoy going and competing to the best of my ability, and watching the best guys work. That’s why I can’t quit and will never retire.”

J.D. remembers watching the bridle class at the Cow Palace in San Francisco when he was there roping with his dad as a kid. 

“I got to watch the top riders in the world doing the cow-horse stuff in what at that time was called the bridle class in California,” he said. “I was amazed and impressed by it. In 1979, I went and helped at the World Show for the first time, when Sonny Jim Orr hired me to head and heel for him. I was there for five days, and was just amazed by the whole process. 

“I started learning about showing horses in 1980, qualified my own horse for the World Show and didn’t do any good. We came back in 1981, and qualified my dad’s NFR head horse, Hank (Hank Houser was his registered name) and my NFR heel horse, Swevin, who I called Little Gray. My dad’s horse was the reserve world champion head horse that year, and mine was the champion heel horse. 

“I got hired to show some horses in 1982, and my dad took his NFR head horse back to the World Show and won it. To be inducted into the AQHA Hall of Fame, well, it’s gratifying when other people see how hard you’ve worked. These are just honors you don’t plan on in your life.”

Making the NFR with his dad and sister. Winning the all-around at Cheyenne thanks to steer roping and team roping earnings with his son. Winning the BFI with his cousin, and placing there years later with his son. These are the memories that mean the most.  

“I roped with a lot of different guys after my dad quit and before Trey came along,” said J.D., who won the 1983 Presidential Command Performance Rodeo with Dick, dined at the White House with him; they were presented their buckles personally by President Ronald Reagan. “But there’s nobody I enjoyed roping with more than family, whether it was my dad, my cousin or my son. That means the most. 

“Dad and I were all business in the arena. We needed to win. But when we walked out of that arena, he was my dad. I wasn’t always as level-headed and strong-minded as my dad when I started roping with Trey. When I messed up for him, it really bothered me. I had a harder time making it business only.”

J.D. looks and sounds more like his dear dad every day. 

“We’re healthy, we’re happy and we still get to do what we love to do,” J.D. said. “I don’t know why I love to rope and ride horses so much, but I do. I couldn’t ask for more than getting to do what I love, and to make a living at it with my family. To make 14 of my 21 NFRs with family—13 with my dad, and one with my cousin—is pretty special to me. 

“We still rope as a family. My sister and I still love to go compete. I’ve had a lot of years competing with my dad and son, and sometimes against them. But when we walk out of the arena, we are united as a family. It’s been a pretty good ride, and that’s the accomplishment I’m most proud of.”

—TRJ—

Train with the legends. The Yates family has built a lasting legacy in the sport of team roping, and their exclusive Roping.com series gives members a look into the program that has produced three generations of champions. Watch Grandpa Dick, J.D. and Trey work through horses young and old, as well as preparing up-and-coming futurity mounts. They also give tips for creating the correct swing, scoring and facing. Watch the full series here.

The post Family First: Hall of Famer J.D. Yates appeared first on The Team Roping Journal.

Korbin Rice has taken a $3,054.36 lead in the 2024 Resistol Rookie Header of the Year standings, heading into the summer run with $20,220.33 won on the year thus far.

The 22-year-old from Hobbs, New Mexico, rose to No. 1 after a $4,838 weekend in Prineville, Oregon, at the Crooked River Roundup June 20-22. Despite the successful weekend, Rice had no clue he took the lead in the race. 

“I actually didn’t even know,” Rice said. “But it’s good; I’m glad. We’ve had a good couple of weeks, went to some good rodeos and drew some good steers. I can’t complain about that, for sure.”

Rice broke out on the rookie scene early in 2024 with his biggest ProRodeo win yet at the Clovis Rodeo in April. Though there’s still plenty of miles to travel this season, he’s excited for the year he’s building.

“I’m absolutely pleased with it,” Rice said of his rookie year. “I have no complaints at all. We’ve drawn really good, and we’ve caught a lot of steers, so if we keep that rolling throughout the rest of the summer, I’ll be happy with it.”

Rising to the top in Prineville

Rice and his partner, 2021 Resistol Rookie Heeler of the Year Caleb Hendrix, roped the last day in Prineville, Saturday, June 22.  The team had heard the steers were strong and were expecting a catching contest but were glad to discover they’d be drawing from a good set.

“That whole rodeo changed after that set of steers went through there,” Rice said. “It was pretty much just ‘get two caught and you’re going to win something.’ But by the end of our set, they tightened it up quite a bit that night.”

Rice and Hendrix drew a steer in the first round that ran at the middle of the pack, and they picked up $440 a man for seventh in the round with a 6.1. Their steer in the second round was even better, and their 5.0-second run earned them the second-place check for $1,759 a man. With an 11.1 on two steers, Rice and Hendrix won second in the average for $2,639 each.

Perfecting their run

Their recent success comes as no surprise as Rice and Hendrix have put in dedicated time perfecting their run.

Rice went home for three weeks after winning California’s Clovis Rodeo in April before heading back out for the summer at the Home of the Navajo PRCA Rodeo in Window Rock, Arizona. Now, the two have been staying and practicing at the Double Dollar in Holden, Utah, where Hendrix lives.

READ: Hendrix Wins Resistol Rookie Heeler of the Year Title

“I came down here to Utah, and I just kind of camped out,” Rice said. “We’ve been getting to practice a lot together. Then we went that week of like Monticello (Utah) and Sisters, Oregon; Eagle, Idaho; and all that—I came down for that, too. I’ve just kind of been here since then.”

Since their spring win in California, Rice feels his run with Hendrix is really developing nicely.

“We’ve gotten to rope so much since I’ve been here in Holden, and I think he has a pretty good idea of whatever horse I’m on how they’re going to hit and look,” Rice said. “I also think I’ve got a pretty decent idea of where and how he likes them. It’s been good. I think it’s starting to come around really good together and it feels pretty normal to just go make runs now.”

Rice’s big rookie goals

Currently sitting in short-round contention at the Reno Rodeo, Rice and Hendrix head to the Greeley Stampede next. And though Rice is learning the ProRodeo ropes, they’re in it for the long haul and plan to stay out on the road through September, giving Rice a chance at the Resistol Rookie of the Year title but also an even larger goal.

“It would be a cool deal to win, as I know it’s a prestigious title for sure,” Rice said. “I’d love to make the NFR, though. That’s really what I’m going for. But if the Rookie title’s there by the end of the year and I end up winning it, I’ll be super pleased with that, too.”

The post Korbin Rice Takes Lead in 2024 Resistol Rookie Heading Standings After Prineville Success appeared first on The Team Roping Journal.

Bronc Evans is pulling double duty, leading the WCRA Division Youth heading and sitting second in the heeling before the 2024 World Championship Junior Rodeo.

The 14-year-old from Fairview, Missouri, leads the youth heading with 6,030.25 points and is second in the heeling with 4,647.5. Evans is making his second trip to the WCJR at the famous Lazy E Arena in Guthrie, Oklahoma, July 23-24, with more confidence.

“I’m excited,” Evans said. “I feel better than I did last year. I have a lot better horses this year, especially on the head side. Last year I rode a 4-year-old.”

The making of a 14-year-old phenom

With rodeo blood on his mom’s side of the family—his grandfather is Dale McCracken, better known as Gizmo, The Rodeo Clown—Evans picked up a rope as a little boy and has been rodeoing since he was 7 years old.

Evans eats, sleeps and breathes roping, especially the heeling.

“I think it’s challenging, and I love practicing and failing so I can get better,” Evans said. “I’m not one of those people that just can go out there and catch slick horns 30 times in a row all day, every day. I like the heeling because it’s a little more difficult.”

Evans is homeschooled, and the family has an indoor arena, opening up the day for more practice opportunities for the seventh grader. Though he’s young, he runs a meticulous schedule: family friend and retired high school basketball coach Chris Shore comes and heads for Evans in the mornings, and a father-son duo comes and ropes in the afternoon or evening, allowing Evans to head and heel.

“[Chris] comes over in the mornings, and then I go in, eat lunch and then most times in the winter, another kid—he’s 12—and his dad come and rope, too,” Evans explained . “They come rope in the afternoon. In the morning, I just heel; normally [Chris] has four horses and we’ll run 10 or 15 a piece—so I’ll run 40 or 50. And then, when the kid comes over in the afternoon, they bring like seven horses, and we’ll run a whole bunch. I round about 150 a day.”

Having run more roping steers in his life than some adults, it’s no wonder Evans has taken the rodeo world by storm. Evans won the #9.5 team roping at the Yeti Junior World Finals in Las Vegas on the heel side in 2023, and he’s also had his fair share of breakaway success, winning the 12 & Under Breakaway at the 2023 Cinch USTRC National Finals of Team Roping and the 10 & Under Breakaway at the 2021 Junior World Finals.

WCJR Preparation 

Evans tries to nominate all age-restricted youth events he competes in for the WCRA DY, though there aren’t many opportunities in the Show Me State. Thankfully, his success at the Junior World Qualifiers and Finals can play into his WCRA DY shift.

“Because I don’t do Junior High School Rodeo or any junior rodeo association, it’s kind of hard to find places that are aged,” Evans said. “Mainly what I’ve gotten most of my points in are the Junior World Qualifiers, Junior World Finals and then last year’s [WCJR]. I think I left last year in the heading with 2,000 points because it carries over if you do good. Then I did good at the Junior World Finals, I ended up winning that. So that gives a lot of points. The Little Britches Finals we also were third.”

Evans often heels for 14-year-old Owen Gillespie from Tennessee, who, like Evans, is a pretty wolfy kid and is a 6+ header. When Evans finished third heading at the 2023 WCJR, he did so with Brant Cookston.

“We won the average in the qualifying rounds, and then won third in the Semifinals,” Evans explained. “Then we came back to what they call the Finals, and we were like 6.4 and ended up winning third.”

Their third-place finish last year has Evans aiming to finish what he starts this year. 

“I’d really like to do good in the Finals,” Evans said. “I’d like to get there first, but then I’d also like to finish it.”

The post Bronc Evans Dominates WCRA DY Youth Heading and Heeling Ahead of 2024 WCJR appeared first on The Team Roping Journal.

Canadian cowboy Dillon Graham finished 16^th in the 2023 world heeling standings roping behind his big brother, Dawson, who finished last year 19^th on the heading side with the same money won. The Graham brothers—Dillon’s 23 and Dawson’s 25—are from Wainwright, Alberta, and won Canadian Professional Rodeo Association team roping titles together in 2022. 

Q: How long have you been heeling for Dawson at the rodeos, and who taught you guys how to rope?

A: We started rodeoing together in 2016. Our grandpa Roger Fletcher and our uncle Kurt Fletcher taught us how to rope. The Fletcher side of our family ropes, and the Graham side is mostly farmers. 

Q: How big is team roping up in Canada these days?

A: Team roping’s pretty big up there, and is getting bigger, for sure. Some of the lower-numbered ropings in Canada are getting 600 teams now. 

Q: What’s your favorite career highlight so far?

A: Winning Canada, for sure. To win that was definitely a goal of ours. Our parents always took us to the Canadian Finals when we were kids, and it was a goal to win it since. 

Q: In the last three years, you finished 46^th, 33^rd and 16^th in the world heeling standings. Are you happy with how fast you’re climbing the world-class roping ladder?

A: I think you always wish you would have done better, no matter what you do. Last year was our first year of really rodeoing hard.  

Q: Did you look at finishing 16^th as the heartbreak hole, or as more major progress? 

A: Nobody wants to end up 16^th, but it motivated me to be better. When you get that close and don’t make it, you have two options—dwell on it and not get any better, or keep moving forward and get better. 

Q: Are there pros and cons to brothers being partners? 

A: I don’t really see any disadvantages to it, and there are a lot of advantages. When you win, you win with your brother. There’s not much better than that for me.  

Q: Do you guys travel together? 

A: Yes, we travel in the same rig, and Dawson likes to drive. We buddied with Rhen Richard and Jeremy Buhler last year, and Rhen did all the entering. This year it’s on us, but we always have Rhen to call.

Q: Does being the big brother give Dawson the upper hand? 

A: Dawson’s a big softy, and he’s always in a good mood. The best part about him is he’s always the same, so there’s the same vibe in the rig no matter how we’re doing. He stays pretty even keel, and we just keep moving on. 

Q: Did you start out rodeoing mostly in Canada?

A: Yes. In Canada there’s no age on it. I was 15 when we first rodeoed up there. Dawson and I both won rookie of the year up in Canada in 2016, when I was 15 and he was 17.

Q: When did you start venturing down to the States, and how do you split your time between Canada and the U.S. now?

A: We first started coming down here 12 years ago, when our parents bought a place in Arizona. We started entering the PRCA (Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association) rodeos—Tucson and a few others—in 2018. But we didn’t go to many rodeos until I turned 20 in 2021. We go back to Canada from May 1 to Reno in June. Then we bounce back and forth. We enter 20-25 rodeos a year in Canada now that we’re rodeoing down here so much.

Q: What’s your favorite rodeo down here? 

A: Probably Pendleton. Roping on the grass is something different. It’s a cool rodeo, and something different from all the rest. 

Q: And your favorite rodeo in Canada? 

A: Wainwright. It’s a pretty big rodeo, and it’s our home-towner.

Q: Have there been people who’ve gone above and beyond to welcome you and help you when you started coming down here?

A: A lot of people have helped us. JD Yates and the Yates family stand out a lot. I’ve stayed there and roped with them a lot, and have gone to some horse shows with JD. We hang out at Hunter Koch’s place in Texas quite a bit when we’re there. 

Q: Do you have goals up there and down here?

A: Yes. They’re both kind of the same—to win Canada and make the (National) Finals (Rodeo). The goal is always to win it if you’re going. 

Q: How is team roping different in the two countries? 

A: It’s pretty much the same. Team roping is a standard event in Canada, too. The only difference is the amount of entries at the rodeos. It’s tough up in Canada, there just aren’t as many entries or rodeos. There are only 52 rodeos in Canada. I’d say about 80% of the rodeos in Canada have equal money in the team roping. Lyle Kurtz, who owns CVS Controls, has definitely fought for equal money in the team roping up in Canada. 

Q: Describe your team’s style.

A: Dawson throws fast, and I just try to catch. 

Q: Who’s your favorite heeler to watch, and why?

A: There are a lot of guys I like to watch—Jade (Corkill), Clay O (Cooper)—all the greats. 

Q: What were the most important lessons you learned coming so close last year that you’re using now?

A: Every steer counts. They all matter, no matter where you’re at or what time of year it is. 

Q: How do you like your team’s chances of getting over the NFR hump in 2024?

A: I’m pretty high on our chances. We’ve got good horses, and we work hard at it every day. Hopefully luck falls our way.

—TRJ—

The post Dillon Graham Talks Rodeoing With Family, Roping in The Great North and Climbing Out of the Heartbreak Hole appeared first on The Team Roping Journal.

Chase Graves has been around the ProRodeo world his entire life and, in 2024, he’s finally making his run at the Resistol Rookie Heeler of the Year title.

Graves, the 25-year-old son of three-time NFR qualifier Frank Graves, sits No. 3 in the Resistol Rookie of the Year race with $16,135.06 won on the year. After waiting a few years for the right time to buy his rookie card, Graves knows the significance behind the title.

“I’ve kind of waited around until I felt like I had a good chance, and I still feel like I do,” said Graves, who won the 2020 PRCA Permit Member of the Year Challenge. “It’s just one of them deals you only get one shot. You have one chance your rookie year, and you either get it or you don’t. You have to bow up and get it.”

Strategic Delay

Graves rodeoed on his permit while in college and has made the Southeastern Circuit Finals over the years. Despite his successes, he made the conscious decision to wait and buy his card until he graduated college.

“You see guys that make super long careers out of it, but I didn’t want to be that guy,” said Graves, who made multiple trips to the CNFR for both Pearl River Community College and the University of West Alabama. “When I get done rodeoing or when I get tired of it, I didn’t want to have nothing to do. You see so many guys that when rodeo’s over, they have to start from scratch. So, I definitely wanted to go to college.”

READ: College Matters: How Higher Ed Changed 6 ProRodeo Ropers’ Lives

He also wanted to wait until he had a serious chance at winning the Resistol Rookie of the Year title, which isn’t an easy feat for a kid who’s just breaking out.

“I also didn’t feel like I was ready when I was 18,” Graves admitted. “I probably thought I was, maybe, but looking back now, I definitely wasn’t ready at all. I’m glad that I went to college and circuit rodeoed, and I grew up a little bit.”

Product of his raising

Graves had more exposure to the rodeo road as a child than most, flying out to some summer rodeos and tour finales to watch his dad. He was a little too young, though, during his dad’s three trips to Las Vegas—2001, 2002 and 2004—to truly remember much of his career. 

Still, having an NFR header and 2002 Olympic Command Performance Rodeo bronze medalist for a dad, Graves was bound to rodeo. But it took some time for the Poplarville, Mississippi, kid to get the roping itch.  

“Honestly, I wasn’t that interested with rodeo until I was probably 10 or 11—I honestly could have cared less,” Graves said with a laugh. “Looking back now, I’m like, ‘Golly, I wish I would have paid more attention.’ But, I didn’t. I remember going to the rodeos and stuff like that, but not a ton of it.”

While Graves’ Poplarville stomping grounds are small, it’s a rodeo community. He grew up down the road from 1994 World Champion Tie-Down Roper Herbert Theriot and his family, so Graves spent the majority of his childhood and teenage years in the arena with his own dad, Herbert and his son, Marcus, who made his first NFR trip in 2023. 

LISTEN: The Short Score: Marcus Theriot’s First NFR

“Me and Marcus, we were lucky to have Herbert and my dad helping us,” Graves said. “We kind of had an advantage getting started off on the right track. You see a lot of kids just go rope and they don’t really know what they’re doing, but [our dads] always kept us on some good horses and at least taught us how to make horses, how to practice to get better and how to win.”

Graves quickly became a standout in the arena, taking home the 2013 National Junior High School Rodeo Association heeling title. And make no mistake, he was raised to be an all-around contender, too, which he demonstrated when he won the 2017 IFYR (International Youth Finals Rodeo) steer wrestling title. But heeling was always No. 1, and he was lucky enough to spend a few teenage years amateur rodeoing with his dad.

“Looking back, I realize how cool that was getting to rope with him for them few years,” Graves said. “He kind of taught me how to get around and how to win, basically. Then when I was 16 or 17, he kind of cut me loose. We were just lucky to have that.”

Navigating his rookie year

Now in his rookie season, Graves started 2024 heeling for three-time NFR qualifier Jake Cooper, and they picked up some early checks in Rapid City and San Antonio.

“I feel like it’s went pretty good, but it’s definitely a big learning curve, for sure,” Graves said. “We got into San Antonio and got to go to some of the good rodeos and did good. It’s definitely been really fun. I’m just excited for the rest of it.”

In between partners right now, Graves is back in Mississippi helping with things around the house. He is entering some amateur rodeos to stay sharp and holding onto the goal of hunting the Resistol Rookie of the Year title.

“I [claimed] the Texas Circuit this year, so I’m thinking about going Texas Circuit rodeoing and maybe going to some of the Kansas rodeos,” Graves said. “Just kind of seeing what we’re looking like. If I get a good partner and a good chance to go out to the Northwest or something, I would to try and win [Rookie of the Year].”

The post Time is Right: Chase Graves in 2024 Resistol Rookie of the Year Hunt appeared first on The Team Roping Journal.

Two of the three team ropers at the heart of this story that’s been searching for its happy ending are no longer with us. They’ve crossed the great cowboy divide, and learned as we all will when our days here are done that “you can’t take it with you.”

Ed Yanez was the 1949 world champion team roper and wore the buckle that went with the highlight of his career with great pride before passing it down to his only son, Tommy. When Tommy Yanez got sick, and realized cancer was going to cut his own life short, he placed his most prized possession into the trusted hands of his longtime friend and fellow team roper, Mike Johns. Tommy’s dying wish was that Mike find the best permanent home for his dad’s treasured trophy buckle. 

As this is a decision that will outlive us all, I was honored to get the call from Mike to lend a hand. He gave Tommy his word that he would honor his last request, and has taken that responsibility very seriously. Trust is earned, and Tommy was a good judge of character when he chose Mike for this one final favor.

Following his father’s bootsteps

As Ed’s heyday was before we were born and his cowboy contemporaries are also gone, Mike nor I ever got to know Ed Yanez beyond what rodeo’s record books tell us and the stories Tommy told Mike about his dad over the years. Historic documents tell us that California native Ed won the world in 1949, when he was heeling for Oklahoma’s Ben Johnson and fellow Golden State cowboy Andy Jauregui. 

When Johnson won his world team roping title in 1953, Yanez was the reserve champ of the world. Those were the days when a single world champion team roper was often named because you could go twice at some of the rodeos, and he with the most money at year’s end was the champ. Had that happened today, Johnson would have been the world champion header, and Yanez would have been crowned the 1953 world champion heeler for a career total of two titles. 

A special side note: After winning the world at 35, 1953 World Champion Team Roper Ben Johnson went on to win an Oscar at the 1972 Academy Awards for Best Supporting Actor in “The Last Picture Show” when he was 54. Johnson brought the high-society house down with his country-boy charm when he ended his acceptance speech with a grin and, “This couldn’t have happened to a nicer feller.” Johnson was inducted with the inaugural Class of 1979 at the ProRodeo Hall of Fame in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

Records and reride stories Tommy told Mike over the years also say Ed was a renowned pickup man in his time, who often worked for stock contractors and rodeo producers and roped at the same rodeos.

“Tommy told me that his dad passed away when he was pretty young, at maybe 54 or so, of a heart attack,” Mike said. “Tommy always talked highly of his dad, and Tommy became a cowboy because of his dad. He wanted to be just like him. 

“Tommy loved telling old rodeo stories of the days when Ed worked for Andy Jauregui (a stock contractor from the same part of California as Yanez who was inducted into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame with Johnson in 1979; Jauregui also won a world steer roping championship in 1931 and the 1934 world team roping title) as a pickup man. When Tommy was little, he rode around out in the arena with Andy during the rodeos, and called him ‘Uncle Andy.’”  

True blue friends

I never knew Tommy personally but did happen to be at a roping on the Central Coast of California the day disaster struck for his heeling career. It was in the early ’80s, and when one run came tight, it cost Tommy most of his roping hand.

“His pinky, ring and middle fingers were on the ground,” Mike said. “And the finger you point with got cut off at the first knuckle.”

Tommy somehow, some way figured out how to swing a rope again. But with so much of his roping hand gone, it was never the same. As is often the case, when times got tough is when Tommy found out who his truest friends were.

Lifelong ranch cowboy and team roper Johns grew up on a 66,000-acre cattle ranch in Big Pine, California, about 15 miles south of Bishop. He calls Fallon, Nevada, home now, but lived in Paso Robles, California for 21 years after a year each in Merced and Coalinga for college. 

“I met Tommy in the ’70s when I was going to high school in Shandon (California),” remembers Mike, who shared his original home country with National Finals Rodeo header and close cowboy friend Mike Boothe, who died at 25 in 1995 after a head horse fell with him at Pendleton and broke his leg. “I went my first two years in Shandon, and my second two in King City. Tommy was living in the Shandon area working on ranches for people like the Twisselman family. 

“Tommy was pretty handy with a horse, and roped pretty good, too; he was a good cowboy, and he was good help. He started colts, shod horses and cowboyed on ranches. He actually started out as a header in the arena, most likely because his dad was a heeler. But he worked on his heeling, and when he felt like he could win more doing that, he switched.

“In the late ’70s, and all those years when Tommy was in his prime, he was one of the guys to beat on the Central Coast. He caught a lot of cattle—maybe not for first, but a lot of thirds and fourths. But after he cut off most of his hand, it was impossible to rope like he did before.”

Lost then found

Tommy and Mike had seen each other around at ropings for years. Then life took them in different directions for decades.

“I hadn’t seen Tommy in 20-25 years when I ran into him again at the ACTRA state finals in Winnemucca (Nevada) in about 2016,” said Johns, who heeled behind the likes of Boothe, Bronc Pryor, Sherrick Grantham and Justin Hampton at the rodeos over the years. “We went and sat in a restaurant, visited and caught up with each other. Tommy was living in Susanville (in Northern California), he had some colts to ride and it was a wet year and had been raining a lot. 

“I told Tommy to come down to the desert at my ranch in Silver Peak (Nevada). He loaded up those colts and a broke horse, came down there and ended up staying about a month. Tommy got those colts going, then went back home.”

Then the two old friends parted company again. 

“Tommy came back to help us brand a few years ago, in 2017 or 2018,” Mike said. “He was good help, so I offered him a job. He ended up leaving, but came back two or three years ago and stayed.”

It was one of those times in life where everybody wins. Tommy had a place on a beautiful ranch in Paradise Valley (Nevada) to call home while working with and for a friend. And with his trusted help in holding down the fort, Mike, who’s 64 now, was able to start spending winters roping in Arizona.   

Life throws a curveball

They were both rocking on and enjoying the third quarters of their lives. Then came another curveball in Tommy’s life, when he was diagnosed with esophageal cancer last July. 

“Tommy got to where he couldn’t swallow very good,” Mike said. “And one Sunday morning, he started throwing up blood.”

Yanez sought medical attention in Winnemucca on Monday and was immediately shipped to Reno for stepped-up care. On Tuesday, Tommy asked Mike to come get him and take him back to the ranch on Wednesday. 

“One doctor told Tommy if the cancer was only in his esophagus, he thought they could save him,” Mike remembers. “But when I took Tommy back to town, they found cancer up and down his throat, and beyond his esophagus. They sent him to the hospital, and the doctors gave him a 50-50 chance. Then when it came time to operate, the surgeon told him he had a 30% chance. Tommy said, ‘That’s not good enough, take me back to the ranch.’

“It went downhill fast from there for Tommy. We hauled him back and forth to Reno three times, which was three and a half hours each way. But Tommy had had enough.”

The end was coming fast, and Tommy knew it. When he went back home to Mike’s ranch for the last time, running soup through a blender was his only attempt at sustenance. Mike wondered if starvation would take him before the cancer could. 

The younger Yanez had always traveled light, so there wasn’t much to getting his final affairs in order.

“Tommy was a bit of a gypsy, and could move from ranch to ranch in one pickup load,” Johns said. “Like his dad, Tommy was a neat freak. They used to give a best dressed award in the RCA (Rodeo Cowboys Association; predecessor to today’s Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association) every year, and Ed Yanez won best-dressed cowboy in the RCA in 1953. 

“Tommy would stand in front of the mirror and comb his hair for five minutes. His truck was immaculate, and when he was shoeing horses, every tool was in its exact place.”

What matters most

There were just two matters of business that were important to Tommy before he drew his last breath. 

“Tommy had a good dog,” Mike said. “He called her Bea, and that she had a good home to go to was his #1 concern. Tommy gave Bea to a friend’s granddaughter. He called that friend from the hospital when he was there for the last time and knew he wasn’t going to get out of there alive. Tommy wanted that family to know how much he appreciated them giving that dog a good home.

“His dad’s buckle was #2, and Tommy’s only other concern there at the end. Tommy asked me if I could see to it that that buckle made it to a hall of fame. He’d mentioned that before he was sick. It meant a lot to Tommy that the buckle be somewhere it’d be seen.”

The perfect place

My first four thoughts on best final-home options for Ed Yanez’s 1949 world team roping buckle—which by the way was won all the way back before “gold buckles” were made of gold, and is solid silver with 10-karat gold words and team roper—included the ProRodeo Hall of Fame in Colorado Springs; the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City; the California Rodeo Heritage Collection Museum in Salinas, California; and the Ben Johnson Cowboy Museum in Pawhuska, Oklahoma. 

The ProRodeo Hall is dedicated exclusively to the legends of professional rodeo. It was started by rodeo cowboys, and has stood for now 45 years as rodeo central downstairs from PRCA Headquarters with majestic Pikes Peak as its picturesque backdrop. Johnson and Jauregui both being immortalized there would surely mean something to Ed and Tommy. 

The National Cowboy features vast ranching, rodeo and Native American collections. Jauregui’s enshrined there, too, and there’s a Ben Johnson Award given annually in Ed’s old amigo’s honor. 

The California Rodeo Heritage Collection Museum makes its home at the rodeo every cowboy considers the ultimate team roping rodeo in Salinas, where California native Ed spent his roping, ranching, pickup-man cowboy career and much of his life. Tommy told Mike that beyond that massive cowboy-conditions Salinas rodeo arena, generations of the Yanez family won many a bridle class over on that Salinas track over the years. Big Week has always been a big traditional deal to team ropers. 

The Ben Johnson was opened in honor of one of Ed Yanez’s closest cowboy compadres. While the focus there is on the Western heritage of Osage County, Oklahoma, Ben was without doubt one of the most significant partners of Ed’s career. 

I wondered if Ben’s 1970-71 World Champion Team Roper nephew John Miller (John’s mom, Mary Ann, was Ben Johnson’s sister), who was born in 1942 so was only 7 when his Uncle Ben helped Ed win the world, ever had the chance to know Johnson’s main heeling man in his world championship. 

“At that time, Ed Yanez was pretty much the hot heeler in the country,” remembers Miller, who was only 11 when Uncle Ben won the world in 1953, but had so many glorious years of listening to the best rodeo stories of Johnson’s heyday before Ben died just shy of his 78^th birthday in 1996. “Ed lived down there along the California coast, and was a little short guy who was really fast with his rope. He was a happy-go-lucky guy who was always smiling and giggling. 

“Ed is, of course, the one who helped Uncle Ben win his championship. California would be a great spot for Ed’s buckle because that’s where he was from and also where team roping started. The Ben Johnson Museum would be a hell of a spot for it also, just because of how close they were and how much they had to do with the success of each other’s careers.”

I can come up with pros and cons to all four places. Some rotate their collections, so it’s possible the buckle would be placed in storage when not in rotation. Some are open all the time, while others have more limited days they open their doors. Current staff can promise the buckle will be seen, as was Tommy’s wish to Mike, but there are no guarantees for what the future might hold. 

Tommy Yanez died on August 31, 2023, just 39 days after his first cancer diagnosis. He was 74. While he mentioned more than one of these halls and museums as good possible choices in Mike’s fulfillment of his last wish, he did not have time to do the due diligence on each option before he left. What he did know before he died was that that treasured buckle his dad left to him was in good hands, with a friend who’d go out of his road to make what he deemed the best possible decision. 

“The two things Tommy was concerned about were that dog and this buckle,” Mike said. “None of the rest of it meant much to him, and he gave it all away. Tommy lived long enough to take care of his dog himself, and I gave him my word on the buckle. I want to do right by my friend and the Yanez family. That buckle meant the world to Tommy.”

Home at last

Mike and I weighed it all, and made the call. Ed’s world championship buckle will make its final home in Salinas. California is where it all started for the Yanez family, and for team roping. 

As Mike put it, “The Yanezes were California natives and had strong family ties to the rodeo in Salinas. Tommy’s dad and Uncle Andy were the two people who meant the most to him in the rodeo world, and both of them had a lot of history there. Leo and Jerold Camarillo are both in the Salinas (California Rodeo) Hall of Fame, they grew up in the same country in California as Ed and Tommy did, and Tommy really looked up to those guys. Salinas is also the most traditional team roping rodeo of all time to this day.”

And there you have it. That 1949 world champion team roper buckle found its perfect permanent home, and this story found its happy ending. Promise kept, and the buckle will be hand-delivered to Salinas next month during Big Week 2024.

—TRJ—

The post A Cowboy’s Dying Wish appeared first on The Team Roping Journal.

Rhen Richard was the reigning National High School Finals Rodeo all-around and tie-down roping champion when he rolled into the Reno Rodeo with Nick Sartain in 2008. 

Their first rodeo together had been just over a month earlier in Guymon, Oklahoma, and Richard’s goal was the Resistol Rookie of the Year title with Sartain, who’d already made the Finals in 2006 with Shannon Frascht. 

 “I felt like I should have been there, I felt like I had a good partner with a good head horse,” Richard said. “We entered because we expected to win.” 

Richard heeled three steers in Reno on a 5-year-old stud named Travs Little Sug (who’s now a Riata Buckle and Royal Crown sire) in 17.6 seconds, worth $10,909 a man—a win that would have him convinced he’d never see a poor day. 

“We killed them the month of July for about three weeks,” Richard remembered. “We won like $30,000 from Reno to the end of the Fourth. I honestly got a little bit of a false sense of confidence—I thought it was easy. I thought I’d make it [to the NFR] every year forever.”

As the rodeo road goes, though, that first Finals qualification took Richard 10 years and a switching of ends to make. 

“I was so young,” Richard said. “I remember thinking I was going to make the NFR that year, and I had always had quite a bit of success growing up. Rodeoing that year was a lot to take in and learn, and I didn’t learn it all that year, or for another 10 years, I guess. The ups and downs, figuring out how to have a short-term memory—not letting failing kill you mentally—that was all tough.” 

But Sartain was one heck of a partner to keep the often all-too-serious Richard having fun on the trail. 

“I really hadn’t been out of Utah, and even to this day, Sartain is one of my better friends,” Richard said. “He’s an actual good person—not just a good time. I’m super grateful he got to be the guy who cracked me out. Nick is the king of the all-night drive, and I learned driving sucks that year. That was probably the hardest thing: learning how not to sleep.”

Sartain and Richard won Livingston over the Fourth of July, and they split the win in Cody, Wyoming, too. He won $49,698 on the year, finishing 23rd in the PRCA World Standings. 

Richard made his first NFR in 2018—qualifying in both the tie-down and team roping that year. He made the Finals again in 2019 in the tie-down, and he qualified for the NFR from 2021 to 2023 in the heading. 

From ‘Big Break’ to the Next Generation

In 2024, Richard is sticking close to home to go to the rope horse futurities with his family’s A&C Racing and Roping—a program that relies, in part, on the same horse Richard got his big break on back in 2008. 

The Richards’ program now stands a number of stallions, including Travs Little Sug, who’s 20 this year. By Travalena out of Little Miss Sug by Peppy San Badger, his stud fee is $3,000, with offspring eligible for the millions in incentive money. Richard rode Travs Little Sug on and off for a few more years, including to win the Greeley Stampede in 2012 with Jake Cooper. 

But for most of the last decade, the horse has pulled double-time in the breeding barn. His colts are just starting to make their way into the earnings charts as the futurities become more prevalent, but his 2014 colt, Docs Smart Young Gun, was Richard’s backup NFR horse in 2022. That horse, out of Smart Clo A Lena by Bar A Smart Chick, is also the head horse A&C Racing and Roping’s Trinity Haggard rode to win ninth at the Riata Buckle #10.5 in 2023, picking up $10,760. 

Thad Ward is showing a 4-year-old stallion in 2024 by Travs Little Sug, having already won a go-round at the Arizona Sun Circuit’s ARHFA Pre-Futurity against the best young horses and trainers in the country for owner McKay Taylor. Another A&C-raised 2020 Travs Little Sug mare, Heavy Sug, out of Heavys Version by Winners Version, won second in another round at the Sun Circuit’s heading pre-futurity, too.

“He seems to cross pretty good on everything,” Richard said. “He was one of those horses that could really take the heat at a young age. His colts mature pretty early, which is important in the futurity world. The horse was made right, had good papers and was a super individual. It made it pretty easy to keep him around.”

Train with the pros. Watch hours of Rhen Richard’s full training sessions—with many of A&C Racing and Roping’s top prospects and Richard’s rodeo horses—on Roping.com.

—TRJ—

The post Rhen Richard’s Rookie-Year Reno Win appeared first on The Team Roping Journal.

Tyler Tryan’s rookie year didn’t start off with a bang, but he’s now skyrocketed to No. 2 in the 2024 Resistol Rookie Header of the Year standings as of June 12.

Tyler, the 18-year-old son of three-time world champion Clay Tryan, has $16,609.64 won thus far, just $176.67 behind standings leader Casey Thomas. His rookie year started out slow, having just $4,628 won after the spring California run and Rodeo Killeen (Texas) at the middle of May. But since the start of June, Tyler has raked in $13,468 to make the leap in the standings.

“I haven’t been roping the best lately,” the Lipan, Texas, kid admitted. “Last week went good, but before that I was struggling a little bit. Hopefully I can start turning some more for my partner and keep winning.”

Slow and steady

Tyler got the ball rolling at the Home of the Navajo PRCA Rodeo in Window Rock, Arizona, where he won second and pocketed $3,027. Since then, his momentum picked up quickly, grabbing checks everywhere he entered the week of June 5-8. 

Tyler finished second in the average at the Eagle Rodeo in Eagle, Idaho, taking home $4,315 between the rounds and the average. The Pony Express Rodeo in Eagle Mountain, Utah, added to his standings with a $254 check, and he added $1,727 from the Eastern Oregon Livestock Show in Union, Oregon. Tyler’s single biggest check of 2024 thus far came from Sisters Rodeo in Oregon where he finished second with a 5.5-second run for $4,145.

What might be even more impressive about Tyler’s recent climb is that he did it with the help of fellow Resistol Rookie of the Year candidates Logan Moore and Denton Dunning. 

Tyler started the year with Moore, the reigning College National Finals champion, and will rope with him all summer. Arizona’s Dunning paired up with Tyler for the June 5-8, rodeos, as well as the Dinosaur Roundup Rodeo in Vernal, Utah, June 13-15.

While Tyler’s been well exposed to the rodeo road, there’s still things he’s learning about rodeoing professionally since he hit the road.

“I really don’t know much about it, but I know you have to drive a lot,” Tyler said with a laugh. “I don’t like that, but I’m going to have to get used to it, I guess. And the entering—the entering is what I’ve had to learn the most on. I call a lot of people and try to get help from them and they help me. It’s really helpful.”

Young Gun

At just 18 years old, Tyler wasted no time buying his PRCA card and going for his rookie year. But as someone who’s grown up around it his entire life, how could he not?

“When you’re growing up, you always want to be as good as you can be, as fast as possible,” Tyler explained. “But these guys are really good out here, so I’m still trying to get better. I felt like I was better off to buy my card instead of rodeoing on my permit all year. I feel like if you win enough, you can get into the winter rodeos and have a better chance next year to do good.”

Tyler wants to get the most out of his rookie season. While he recognizes the prestige behind the Resistol Rookie of the Year title, he doesn’t check the standings often, as his top priority for 2024 is getting into the 2025 winter rodeos and becoming a better roper.

“I guess you could say I’m trying to just get high enough in the standings to get into the winter rodeos,” Tyler said. “My end goal is just to win as much as I can, really, and get better while we’re out here.”

Tryan Family Tradition

The Tryan family name needs no introduction as their rodeo roots run deep. And while Tyler is proud to be a Tryan, he’s also looking to make a name for himself.

“My dad has always rodeoed, my uncles, my grandma, my grandpa and my mom even used to rope,” Tyler said. “I’ve just always been around it and roped ever since I’ve been a little kid. It can be [special], but I also just look at my individual self a little bit, too. I try to do my own thing.”

Regardless, Tyler knows how lucky he is to have a 20-time NFR header as his dad and always welcomes Clay’s advice and rodeo insight.

“He’s always calling me asking how I do and stuff,” Tyler said of his dad. “I talk to him every day out here. He’s always wanting to know what horse of his I’m going to ride. We talk a lot, and he helps me out on what horses I should ride when and where and what the setup is going to be like.”

Tyler also has two of Clay’s horses on the road with him: a sorrel gelding named Johnson, and a yellow gelding they call Butter.

“I’m riding all my dad’s horses right now and he took my horse this summer to ride at the amateur rodeos,” Tyler explained. “I took his old sorrel horse that he’s had forever that’s really good, and I got a younger yellow horse of his out here, too, that’s just a little bit greener, but he’s really good.”

The post Tyler Tryan Skyrockets to No. 2 in 2024 Resistol Rookie of the Year Standings appeared first on The Team Roping Journal.

Preston Burgess is a 25-year-old California header that’s climbing his way to the top of the 2024 California Circuit standings. The Hilmar, California, kid is paired up with eight-time NFR heeler Cody Cowden, and they’ve recently jumped to fifth and third in the California Circuit standings with $10,663.48 and $11,583.50 won on the year. The standings movement comes after winning the Santa Maria Elks Rodeo May 30-June 2, for a total of $4,731 a man and finishing fifth at the Livermore Rodeo June 8-9, for $1,987 a man. Get to know Burgess.

The Team Roping Journal: You grew up roping, with your family hosting jackpots at their arena, Lucky B Acres, but you had another passion as a kid, didn’t you?

Preston Burgess: I got into rodeoing because I wasn’t fast enough on a dirt bike. I didn’t get into roping until I was probably about 10 years old. I didn’t really take it serious until about then. 

TRJ: You still grew up with a rope in your hand, though, with your family hosting jackpots at their arena, Lucky B Acres. What was that like?

PB: I did have a lot of roping at a young age. There was no getting around roping. It was a great opportunity. That’s the nicest part, I think, about it is just how lucky we are to get to do it.

TRJ: You’re paired up with eight-time NFR heeler Cody Cowden. You’ve known him nearly your entire life, but how did this partnership come about?

PB: We’ve roped together a lot throughout my life, but he had his own partner for a little while and I kind of had my own partner. Then we decided that we wanted to try it out. We just got back into it and finally started winning and now it’s starting to get fun.

Roping with Cody is pretty fun. For the most part, we try to keep it fun, but he takes it serious of course. It’s what he’s done. He’s done it longer than I’ve been alive at a professional level. So he takes it really seriously.

TRJ: You and Cody may not be leading the circuit, but you guys have done some major climbing in the standings after winning Santa Maria and placing in Livermore. What has the last month looked like to make that jump to fifth and third?

PB: It was pretty slow at the beginning of the year. We tried to do a few things different, and it wasn’t really going our way. And then all of a sudden, we kind of just told ourselves that we dug a hole, and it’s time to dig ourselves out. I just think we’ve been drawing some good steers the last couple of rodeos we’ve gone to, and it’s just kind of worked out. 

Winning Santa Maria, it was exciting. I was kind of going in there with the mindset of just turning two steers and just seeing where we placed, but Cody cleaned them up quick and we ended up winning it. 

TRJ: You’ve stayed on the California Circuit front since buying your PRCA card. Why is that?

PB: I just don’t think I have the horsepower to go and go to 80 to 100 rodeos in a year and then jackpot on the way to the other rodeo. I think more than anything, if it’s something that’s going to happen, I think I just have to wait until the opportunity presents itself, then I’ll go ahead. I feel like over here with my one horse, I could stay at these rodeos and he’s still pretty user-friendly at those. Once we get out there and start entering jackpots, five entries deep, and then going to a rodeo the next day, it kind of gets tough on your one good horse.

TRJ: What are your main circuit goals, this year and long-term?

PB: I’m probably just stay out in California. Try and pick the good rodeos to go to, maybe a couple of CCPRA rodeos (California Cowboys Professional Rodeo Association). But we’re just going to stay out here. The circuit goals, though, are just to keep chipping away at it. Hopefully we keep drawing good steers and making good runs, and then we’ll see where we end up towards the end of this year. 

TRJ: What does your horse herd look like?

PB: I just have my same red horse right now that I’ve been riding since the high school rodeo days. He’s been pretty good to me. He still scores good, and he doesn’t take my head rope away from me yet, so he gets to call more times than not. I think he turns 20 this year, he’s got some age on him. 

When I was I think 5 or 6 years old, [a man] out of Gustine (California) was moving to Oregon, and he had a couple broodmares and some ranch horses. My dad bought the broodmare with my gray horse on her side and my red horse that I’m riding now in her belly. Then we just rode him around and started making runs on him. Blaine Lockett roped on him a little bit when I was younger, and then right about the time we got him going to where they were dialed in, I started taking him to jackpots. The rest is history after that.

The post Cashing in on the California Circuit with Preston Burgess appeared first on The Team Roping Journal.

Casey and Wyatt Thomas have looked forward to the day they’d get to rope together for a living, and now the opportunity has presented itself, as well as a shot at the 2024 Resistol Rookie Header and Heeler of the Year titles.

The Cedar City, Utah, brothers lead the Resistol Rookie of the Year standings, Casey with $15,718.85 won on the head side and Wyatt with $17,413.68 in the heeling. Shooting for the Rookie of the Year titles together wasn’t always the plan, but they have late NFR qualifier Quinn Kesler to thank for the nudge.

“We never really planned it, and then when Quinn said we needed to rope together and try it, we kind of decided to,” Wyatt, 28, explained. “We figured we’d just take our shot and either go broke doing it or do something cool.”

Thanks, Quinn

Growing up in Las Vegas, Nevada, and moving to Utah later, Casey and Wyatt have roped their entire lives, moving through every division from junior rodeo to college, and now ProRodeo.

Casey, 24, used to heel, so it wasn’t until he started heading in college and felt like he was advancing that he knew he wanted to rodeo professionally. Wyatt, on the other hand, has known since he was little that that is what he wanted to do.

“I’ve known ever since I was a little kid, but I didn’t think I was good enough until a few years ago when people would start kind of saying something,” Wyatt said.

In 2023, the opportunity of a lifetime presented itself to Wyatt as Kesler called him asking if he wanted to heel for him.

“How do you turn down a chance to rope with a guy like him?” Wyatt said. “It took us a minute to start catching our steers, but once we started catching, we got along pretty good and roped really well together.”

Younger brother Casey and his partner Taylor Winn buddied and traveled with Kesler and Wyatt. Kesler made quite the impression on the Thomas brothers, not only encouraging them to rope together but also giving Casey the confidence he needed to go for Rookie Header of the Year.

“I’ve done pretty good the last two years, and I got to buddy with Quinn last year,” Casey explained. “He kind of told me I was a real header, and that just kind of gave me the confidence to want to go do it.”

A year full of excitement

Casey and Wyatt kicked off their sibling partnership at the Wilderness Circuit Finals Rodeo in Heber City, Utah, last November where they picked up a check in the third round, followed by winning the average at the National Western Stock Show and Rodeo Timed Event Qualifier in Denver in December for $1,799 a man.

The Wilderness Circuit boys have since hit the road, picking up their biggest checks at La Fiesta De Los Vaqueros in Tucson, Arizona, and the Clark County Fair & Rodeo in Logandale, Nevada. Casey and Wyatt pocketed $6,051 in Tucson in February and $3,228 in Logandale in April.

READ: Where Are They Now? See How Former Resistol Rookies Are Faring in 2023

Their summer run may look a little different than they expected, however, as Wyatt is expecting his first baby in July. Wyatt expects they’ll miss the Cheyenne Frontier Days or Casey may enter some rodeos with someone else while Wyatt is home. His girlfriend, Cassidy, is fully supportive of him rodeoing up until labor.

“Our circuit’s good enough that if we just keep catching our cows, placing and let the money come to us, we should be ok,” Wyatt explained. “The only downfall is he’s due right around Salt Lake and all that, right around the 24th run. But, my girlfriend said, ‘Go rodeo, and we’ll call you when I go into labor and we’ll make it work.’ I got it way too easy with her.”

Looking toward the future

Casey and Wyatt recognize the prestige behind the Resistol rookie of the Year titles and have their eyes steadily fixed on the goal ahead of them.

“It’s one of those deals that only one person a year gets it, kind of like the world title,” Casey said. “You only get one chance to do it, so that just makes it a little more special.”

Their dreams for their rookie year don’t stop there; Casey and Wyatt both want to make the NFR, and it would be even more special if they could do it their rookie year. With day jobs—Casey trains rope horses and Wyatt drives truck for Mel Clark Inc.—and a baby on the way for Wyatt, they understand it may not be the easiest.

“I don’t know that we rodeo hard enough to make the Finals, but I think it’d be pretty cool to make the Finals our rookie year,” Wyatt said. “But it’s kind of hard having a job and a kid on the way to try and make the Finals. Hopefully we just win enough at these bigger rodeos that it could play into it.”

The post Thomas Brothers Set Sights on 2024 Resistol Rookie of the Year Titles appeared first on The Team Roping Journal.

Ketch Kelton of Mayer, Arizona, won his second straight Jr Ironman Championship at the Lazy E Arena in March. The 18-year-old timed-event cowboy is the son of three-time Wrangler National Finals Rodeo team roper Chance Kelton, who’s also roped at five National Finals Steer Ropings, and his wife, Tammy.

Q: The Jr Ironman Championship is three rounds in four events—tie-down roping, steer wrestling, heading and heeling. What’s your favorite event?

A: Probably the heeling. 

Q: How much do you do the other events on a year-round basis?

A: I do everything but the bulldogging every day at home. 

Q: What do you like most about a versatility contest like the Jr Ironman?

A: It’s just so fun to do all those events at once. And I love that big Lazy E Arena. 

Q: When your Jr Ironman days are behind you, do you have your sights set on an invite to the Cinch Timed Event Championship?

A: Yes, I would love to go to the Timed Event. It just looks like so much fun, and I want to steer rope. 

Q: What’s it been like growing up in Mayer, Arizona with your big sister, Kenzie, and what’s she up to these days?

A: We live out in the middle of nowhere on a five-mile dirt road, and the country on the ranch ranges from desert to mountains. The closest little town to where we live is called Cordes Lakes. Kenzie’s still roping, and she’s living in Wickenburg and going to cosmetology school five days a week.

Q: What are your favorite highlights of your young career?

A: Winning the Jr Ironman twice was really cool. Winning the all-around at the (National) High School Finals (Rodeo) in 2022 was pretty neat, too. 

Q: What events did you place in to win the all-around at the NHSFR?

A: I placed in the team roping, calf roping and reined cow horse. 

Q: What’s your status in school? 

A: I’m a home-schooled high school senior this year. I’m headed to Cisco College in Cisco, Texas, in the fall. 

Q: What was it that attracted you to Cisco?

A: I’ve always wanted to go to Texas because that’s where everything is. It’s an hour from Stephenville and an hour from Abilene. So it’s kind of in the middle, and it’s a small town. I wanted to go to college in a small town. 

Q: What are your cowboy hopes and dreams?

A: I honestly don’t even know. I’ve never really thought much about it yet. Winning the Cinch Timed Event is definitely a goal. And I’d like to win the College (National) Finals (Rodeo). 

Q: Have you grown up with any cowboy heroes? 

A: My dad and my grandpa (Willy Kelton). I’ve worked with them and looked up to them my whole life. 

Q: Any other strong influences?

A: My dad has helped me the most with my roping. My mom’s been the one who helps me with all the rest of it, like planning and entering. 

Q: What are your plans for this summer?

A: I think we’re going to go to (the International Finals Youth Rodeo in) Shawnee (Oklahoma), the Best of the Best (Timed Event Rodeo) in Gallup (New Mexico), the World Championship Junior Rodeo (at the Lazy E), and hopefully Nationals (the NHSFR) in Rock Springs (Wyoming). 

Q: How many events do you enter on a regular basis?

A: I enter the calf roping, team roping and bulldogging everywhere, and also the reined cow horse at the high school rodeos.

Q: Who are you team roping with right now?

A: I’ve mostly been heading for Denton Dunning. I really like to heel, but I have a partner who can out-heel me right now, so I head for him. 

Q: Do you see yourself as more of a header or a heeler moving forward?

A: I don’t know yet. 

Q: What’s your horse herd look like right now?

A: It’s really good. I feel like I have a good one in every event. I have a couple good head horses, a good heel horse and a good calf horse. I borrow a bulldogging horse. 

Q: Do you feel like growing up in Arizona has been an advantage because of the year-round roping and warm weather?

A: The warm weather and year-round roping are definitely an advantage. You can rope seven days a week all year long, and there are so many jackpots to go to all the time. It’s definitely an advantage. 

Q: What do you hope to see in your rearview mirror 10 years from now, when you look back on these good old days?

A: That’s hard. I’m kind of going with the flow for now. I don’t really have a set plan yet, but it’ll probably involve roping and training horses.

—TRJ—

The post Ketch Kelton: Big Dreams, Small Towns and Good Horses appeared first on The Team Roping Journal.

A born-and-raised Coloradan turned Utahn, Ben Jordan and his 13 brothers and sisters grew up under the roof of his father, who ran a repair business. 

“I worked in the business all growing up,” said Jordan, 32. “My mom died when I was really young … so we had to work quite a bit.”

Following a two-year mission trip to Southern Spain, Jordan and his wife Ashley moved to Utah as newlyweds, and Jordan became an apprentice at a plumbing business. Ten months later, he purchased the operation and began building a repair service dynasty in the form of Action Plumbing, Heating, Air & Electric.

“We started up in November of 2015,” Jordan said. “We had a kind of determination—we were going to try to grow as fast as we could and just [use] good business practices. Taking care of our customers really worked out well for us.”

Today, Jordan’s business is among the service repair industry’s largest in Utah and, in addition to his Salt Lake City location, he’s also serving residential customers from his Denver and Dallas hubs.

“We service about 40,000 customers a year, and we specialize in sewer and underground,” Jordan explained. 

It’s a heavy load for someone on the ProRodeo road, but Jordan credits the great managers handling the everyday operations of the business for his ability to follow his relatively new roping dreams.

“I grew up in Bennett, Colorado, right down the road from where J.B. James lives and Eric Martin and those guys,” Jordan said. “We hung around those guys, but we never really did anything. Then, right before my mission, my brother got a head horse and we used to go over to Eric Martin’s house, and we would rope and hang out with them. 

“Fast forward, and 2020 was the first year I bought a horse, so I told my wife, ‘I think I want to start team roping.’”

At the time, Ashley didn’t know much about the sport, but the mother of four under 10 does now. 

“I ended up buying a house with an arena, and we have an indoor there in Utah,” said Jordan, who spends his winters in Weatherford. “I got the bug real bad, and then I really just started going.”

Scott Lauaki and Hagen Peterson are often on the heeling end of Jordan’s roping pursuits, and they’ve seen some notable wins in the arena over the years from good World Series qualifier checks to putting the heat on the competition in Round 2 of The Feist at the 2023 BFI.

“Me and Scott entered the BFI last year, and I’ve never been to a roping like this. We ended up placing in the second round,” said Jordan, who, with Lauaki, got a Round 2 time of 6.5 for third place and $4,000. 

The team was also in the average at the 2023 Greeley Stampede and, in 2024, they again found themselves in the money in Round 1 at Denver’s National Western Stock Show & Rodeo—a good note on which to start their rookie pursuits.

“We placed in the first round at Denver,” Jordan said. “We won the round in our set in Denver on our first steer, and then I messed up the second one to come back to the short go, but we ended up placing in that round, so that was pretty good.”

At the time of print, Jordan was holding the No. 15 spot in the Resistol Rookie heading standings, and he was getting some runs in at the Lone Star Shootout in Abilene, all aboard his go-to mount, Surfin For Cash, a 2014 sorrel Frenchman’s Guy gelding called “Nelson” that came from the late, three-time NFR header Quinn Kesler. 

“It means a lot to me,” Jordan said. “Quinn trained him and, when I first started, we’d always go over to his house and he would tell me, ‘This is going to be my next good one.’ And he ended up selling him to me. He’s been such a blessing.”

Blessings, it seems, are what Jordan enjoys most from his time so far in the sport. He feels he’s absolutely received them, but he really finds his joy in sharing his blessings.

“I’m extremely blessed with my business and to travel and, then, these guys like Hagen and Scott that rodeo with me and they go everywhere with me. I wouldn’t say I have the biggest accomplishments in the arena, but helping these guys do what they love, and they help me with my roping every day, and that’s what I really pride myself on,” Jordan said. “I think the most addicting part of this sport is the people I get to be around every day. The people we compete against every day, they genuinely care about how we’re doing.”

—TRJ—

The post This Residential Service Operator is a Rookie appeared first on The Team Roping Journal.

Travis Beck spent 20 years in the Air Force, but he’s always found a way to return to rodeo, now expanding his opportunities with the WCRA and heading into his first Rodeo Corpus Christi. The 46-year-old retired Airman is a household name in the Professional Armed Forces Rodeo Association with six all-around titles to his name, as well as multiple between the heeling, tie-down roping, steer wrestling and chute dogging. Beck and his wife Jessica—a veteran of the U.S. Navy who also has multiple PAFRA world titles—raise and train performance horses and spend time on the rodeo road. 

The Team Roping Journal: What does 20 years in the Air Force look like?

Travis Beck: I didn’t know really what I wanted to do, so I started out as a maintenance guy—I worked on support equipment for the aircrafts—and I did that for about eight years. Then, I did a few odd and end jobs. I was stationed in Japan, then Germany, then I came back to the United States and was stationed in Texas, then Washington State. 

Then I moved into a different career field, and that gave a little more support on the outside. I moved into a contracting field, which allowed me to have a little better job when I got out. 

Pretty much, if it has a “-stan” behind it, I’ve probably been to that lovely island of the desert.

TRJ: You said you rodeoed internationally while in the Air Force. What was that like?

TB: When I was in Germany, Alan Jacob had moved over there in the 1980s, I want to say, and started a rodeo [association] over there. He started to bring the American rodeo to the European forefront. He did a lot of his contracts with the military bases there, so we had the European Rodeo Cowboy Association—the ERCA. 

We got to rodeo and go from different bases around there. We’d spend a whole month in Berlin, Germany, putting on rodeos, or we’d go to local bases or the beer fests that were going on for Oktoberfest, we’d go to some of those rodeos. I’ve rodeoed in England, Belgium, Italy, the Netherlands. So, it was pretty cool. 

It was kind of like a traveling show, but we used all of his stock because none of us had horses, obviously, because we were all in the military. That made it a little unique; everybody rode the same team roping horses or rode the same barrel horses.

TRJ: Have you been around rodeo your entire life?

TB: Yes, I grew up riding horses and ranching up in Nebraska, and then I figured to make ends meet, I probably should go get a better job than what I had.

TRJ: Tell me about the military rodeo opportunities you’re a part of here in the United States.

TB: In 2000, the Professional Armed Forces Rodeo Association was developed. So, in 2002, a bunch of us came over from Germany to the Military Rodeo Finals here—that was in Bandera, Texas, that year. That kind of got me involved in the military side over here in the United States, so I could kind of keep going at it and have something to look forward to when I came back.  

The best thing about PAFRA is it’s a way for us all to go back. It’s a chance for all of us to get together one more time. Our camaraderie, it never ends. We still have the battle between the Army and the Air Force and all the branches. It’s a fun way to get together for four days and have fun and still get to do what we love with our equine friends and rodeo.

TRJ: You qualified for the 2024 WCRA Stampede at The E. Why did you start nominating for WCRA events?

TB: Initially it was because they have one in Guthrie, and it’s close to home. I’ve been there a couple of times since they’ve started the WCRA and just kind of expanded. I’ve had a few buddies that said they went to Corpus and said it was an awesome time and a good experience, so we figured we’d try to nominate for it and kind of try to expand a little more. 

TRJ: When did you start nominating for Rodeo Corpus Christi?

TB: I think I started nominating in October of last year. Corpus had just opened up. So I started nominating, and I was also nominating for Guthrie (the Stampede at The E). We went to Guthrie in January, but we didn’t have very good luck there, so we’re hoping Corpus is a whole new window and really allows us to get where we’re going. I really hope to end up in the top two and make the Kid Rock rodeo out of this. That’s a pretty awesome opportunity that they’re providing for us. 

READ: Travis Beck: All-Around Airman

TRJ: What events do you normally nominate?

TB: We did nominate PAFRA. We also do some military events. Usually, I do the bigger side of rodeos. I try to stay away from the jackpots because it’s too one-sided. But the higher added money rodeos are the ones we try to nominate.

TRJ: The bull dogging is your main event, but you rope a lot, too. What’s the balance?

TB: I started [steer wrestling] when I was growing up ang got good at it. I just kind of kept always falling back on it. I’ve always had a little more luck in it than the team roping. Team events are hard sometimes. I go quite a few places. I keep going to the USTRC Finals and have yet to make it through that rock. It’s not been my lucky place yet, but that and the BFI, I go every year to the BFI, and then all these local jackpots. I’m mainly a heeler but trying to find somebody that can go and stay at the same caliber as most of these guys are going, that’s pretty hard. For Corpus I’m partnered up with PJ Ramos out of Texas, so it should be a good team matchup.

TRJ: You’ll have your hands full bull dogging and heeling in Corpus. What are you looking forward to most about RCC?

TB: It’s going to be a pretty rapid deal. Luckily, I got up the second night (in the bull dogging), so I think that will be definitely on our side. This is the first time I’ve ever been to Corpus to rodeo—I’ve been through and visited a little bit, but it sounds like it’s a great atmosphere. The stock should be amazing, going off what they had last year. I saw some highlight reels, and it looks like they put on a wonderful show, so it should be a really good time. It’s a pretty tough field of competitors, but we all get along and we all kind of know each other, so it’s pretty awesome.

TRJ: Your wife, Jessica, also rodeos and has multiple PAFRA all-around titles. What’s it like sharing this together?

TB: She was in the Navy for five years, and we met through PAFRA, which is kind of funny, but we’re not the only couple. It’s kind of an awesome little deal. Trying to figure out what rodeos you both want to go to is sometimes a headache, but I think that’s the way for everybody. Barrel racers, they like different ground, but me, I don’t care—it’s all about who’s bringing the stock. But she’s been a great influence for me because she usually does all the hazing for me and kind of helps support all that. So, in the bulldogging world, it makes it a lot easier because I know who’s with me and she’s who practices with me, too. So it’s kind of a family deal, go everywhere and do things together. 

TRJ: What do your goals on the rodeo front look like?

TB: We started nominating a little bit for the North Carolina WCRA. We hope to qualify for that. We’d love to get to go to the Kid Rock Rodeo and hang out at that. So that’s our initial plans. And then just have a great year for the 2024 season. It hasn’t started off really great but, as always, you just give it a little more and hopefully it’ll turn around.

The post Meet Travis Beck: The All-Around Air Force Vet Heading to Rodeo Corpus Christi appeared first on The Team Roping Journal.

Justin Davis (the former NFR header from Texas) told his 15-year-old son Jace to “just have fun” before the 5 header rode into the heading box for November’s Riata Buckle #14.5 short round. After all, Jace and longtime family friend Colby Lovell were coming from way down at eighth callback. Instead, Jace commenced to mash the gas like a gold buckle was on the line. They took the lead—and somehow held it.

Because when you’re 15, first is what’s fun (plus you can say you beat a team with Kaleb Driggers on it and heard a “good job” from Trevor Brazile). And when you’re the dad, you shout so loud it echoes throughout the biggest indoor arena in America. And not just because of that $51,750. 

“I can still remember Jace and I walking back up that long moat in the Lazy E, getting high-fives,” Justin said. “We bump smack into Cassidy Lovell. She looks right at me and just starts crying. And I do, too.

“It was quite a moment,” he continued. “I just looked up and thought, ‘I know you played a part.’”

Seven weeks earlier, Justin’s wife and the boys’ mom, Casee Davis, had died at just 40 years old. She’d been diagnosed with cancer back when Jace and his little brother Ryder were 7 and 5. Her final year, especially those last few months in and out of the hospital, was brutal. Yet, 12-year-old Ryder that spring had somehow heeled his way to his own biggest win—a $51,400 first-place check with Cade Ward at the USTRC’s Cinch National Finals of Team Roping’s Classic Equine #8.5 Shootout. 

Then, remarkably, a few weeks after the Riata Buckle, Jace and his dad placed separately at the Vegas Pre-Game in Stephenville, while Ryder switched ends there to win both the #11.5 and #13.5 ropings and bank another $30,000. Then, in Wickenburg, Arizona, Justin and Jace won a #12.5 to split $11,000. In Las Vegas, Jace and Jade Corkill got a check for a fast-time in a short round, while little Ryder stayed in Wickenburg to jackpot and racked up another $20,000 on his own.

“In that three-week span of being in Arizona and Nevada, I bet we earned about $70,000 between the three of us,” marveled Justin. 

But the benefit of team roping isn’t just monetary. It’s the camaraderie, the competition and a good cayuse that breathes life into your soul. And that was exactly what the Davis boys needed. 

“Their mama was one of the toughest women I’ve ever been around in my life,” said Lovell. “Those boys have no choice but to be tough, mentally and physically. And that goes into roping or everyday life—you’ve got to be able to get up and go. Dreams don’t work unless you do. Those boys work their butts off, but they were also prepared for everything and for life to move on, because she set them up with every foundation possible. I can’t say how proud of them I am.”

In fact, channeling the energy of grief into something good is nothing if not God’s desire, according to pro heeler Trey Johnson, who helped minister the gut-wrenching funeral service for young Casee.

“Justin’s done a great job of loving on those boys and helping them get their mind off not having their mom, while focusing on how much she believed in them,” said Johnson, who heeled for Davis in 2015. “What a way for them to live out their mom’s legacy and her desire for them to dream big and give it their best.”

Way of life

Recently, Johnson told his own parents that he never realized how much confidence it gave him as a little boy to just be in the rig with his family. Absorbing that love and togetherness and support over all those highway miles and all those hours in the practice pen—it just does great things to the inside of a kid.

“And what are you going to do anyway, sit around home?” asks Clay O’Brien Cooper, who was 18 when he lost his dad. “You’re not going to get your mind off it. At least in the arena, you’re going to be thinking about it, but while you’re competing, your mind is not going to be on that pain. You might as well just get busy.”

The seven-time champ of the world had teamed with Justin in 2013 to win RodeoHouston, after which they roped at the NFR. They remain close, and Justin knew the icon could relate. Back in 2002, Cooper’s first wife, Beth, had also been 40 when she passed.

“I remember it was early June and Jake and I were getting ready for the summer run,” Cooper recalled. “I just took off. You have to keep going, one day at a time, and just walk it out. There’s no way around it. Casee’s wishes were for those boys to have their opportunity. So really, staying busy and practicing and competing, I think that’s a good thing. You’re going to grieve along the way.”

Booting up a good horse, shaking out a loop and backing into a corner makes you feel alive on a good day. On a tough one, it’s crucially life-affirming. That’s why Justin decided to stack up as many jackpots as he and the boys could enter. 

“I have a business that was mine and hers called Just N Case Builders,” he said. “We build houses and barns and arenas. After she passed, God put the right people in place that allowed us to be gone at a busy time.”

Loving foundation

Mostly, continuing to rope has been a way for the boys to honor Casee, who was always pushing her kids to get the most out of their effort.  

“‘Case’ was such a good mom and good wife, and she’d tell the boys that God created this passion inside them, and she wanted them to live out that passion,” said Justin. “She was always encouraging them to keep after it.”

She drove Jace to countless ball games and soccer tournaments, often leaving little notes—now adorning the walls of his room—that he’d find in his bag getting ready for the game. Casee even encouraged Justin to go rodeoing the year after she was diagnosed.

“She wanted us to refuse to let this disease dictate what we would do or not do,” recalled Justin. “Roping was such a big part of our life, she didn’t want cancer to stop us from that. Honestly, these boys’ motivation to get better, their drive, it all came from her.”

Throughout her illness, the Davis kids schooled themselves at home daily in academics and got schooled horseback by a pair of NFR headers, on the best horses their grandpa and dad could dig up. 

“If they sneeze wrong and I think I can help them, I’m going to bring it up,” said Lovell, who won the gold heading buckle in 2020 with Paul Eaves but is equally hard to beat on the heel end. “And their dad ropes and rides so good. I guess you could say they’ve been fortunate. But they’ve taken advantage of it. They’ll be in the truck going with me to help at a futurity while I’m talking on the phone to Joseph, or Paul or Kaleb. They get to listen to conversations with guys who are feeding off each other to beat each other. It gives them the mentality of an Open roper.” 

Jace admits that throwing his focus into riding young horses has assuaged the pain. He gets animated discussing how free his 21-year-old Pinto remains, or what needs tweaked when a steer comes left or how the roan leaves flat and “brings the horns” to him. His little brother is no different. 

“Ryder studies it,” said Jace. “He’s pretty natural, but he also knows a lot and rides really good. I want to be able to ride a heel horse like him.” 

Not only would Casee be proud, but Justin feels like their success has been a way to honor her memory and the way she lived, too. 

“She loved rodeoing,” said Justin. “She loved going. She had a gypsy soul and loved being out on the road and even in the stands. She loved our lifestyle.”

Justin and Casee had met in eighth grade. They were 22 when they married after she finished at Texas A&M. 

“She was part of the beginning of Justin’s career,” said Johnson. “I know Justin, as a dad, wants her to be a part of the beginning of those boys’ careers.”

The good things

On a weekend in mid-March, Ryder discussed his goals while headed to a Madisonville local rodeo where both boys were entered with their dad. 

“I want to go to the NFR and do all that,” said the 6 heeler. “I like to head, but it’s not as satisfying as pulling back on feet!”

He said he thinks about his mom when he’s high call. As for Jace, baling hay at home or roping the MoJo ’til the wee hours keeps his mind off everything the boys have gone through. And he can’t put into words how much support he’s felt from family and friends.

“That’s the good thing about our way of life,” said Lovell, whose 10-year-old daughter Jewel loves to rope. “The Code of the West and the Cowboy Code mean our beliefs are big and they bleed through into what we do.”

That means everybody helps everybody. 

“Something else that’s helped is that we don’t hold back,” Justin said. “We talk about her all the time. We laugh about the good times. We miss her, but there was so much life we lived together.”

Justin’s transparency about emotion surely ups the ante on how ice-cold his boys are in the box when the chips are down.

“We talk about the mental game all the time,” he said. “Of course we put ourselves in pressure situations at the house. But there’s nothing better than experience. I’ve tried to take them everywhere I could take them. And I’ve always told them, ‘The last steer is no different than the first three steers.’ And that takes a lot of pressure off. To compete with a clear mind is so important.”

If a clear mind helps heal their constant hurt, so does a close family. And the entire rodeo community is truly that.

“I love these people that I’ve rodeoed with over the years,” said Justin. “They gave us their time and encouragement—everything it takes to get through a heartache like that.”

Casey Wood and folks with the Texas junior-high rodeos created and sold patches with Casee’s signature that said ‘Show Up’ because she always showed up for people. 

“She was always the first one there at baby showers or after tragedy in someone’s family and was always staying late after parties to help clean up,” Justin said. 

Several NFR team ropers bought the patches they still sport on their cowboy hats. All the proceeds went to Jace and Ryder.

Faithful perspective

“You notice what you need to pay attention to after you lose someone special, you know?” reflected Jace. “As of right now, I think a lot about what I’d do without my dad and Colby, and my grandpa… the people who love us so much.” 

There’s often an enhanced perspective that comes from loss. It helps us see what in life truly deserves our attention.

“Loss is part of life,” said Cooper. “But really it’s about the good things, about the people who have come alongside the Davis family and how the kids are winning.”

For years, every text or call Justin has gotten from Cooper starts with, “How’s Justin doing?”

“In September, I told him that I’d just gotten started in this grief deal and I wanted to know from him how I’d know when I’d gotten past it,” Davis recalled. “Champ told me that I won’t. You just learn to live with it.”

That stark fact has been eased by their family’s faith, Justin said. The Davis boys remain confident that God is for them and not against them. 

“We are truly excited we got to live this life with Case,” he said. “And we’ll get to see her again. We miss her, but the truth is, we’ll see her again.”

Justin acknowledges his family won’t be the first or the last to feel terrible loss, and his heart goes out to the family of his recently deceased friend, NFR switchender Quinn Kesler. What he’s learned about grief is to trust that God’s in control—and to enjoy every day that we can.

“All of us are going to go through tough times in life,” he said. “None of us are protected from that. You can take refuge in Him. Jesus said that in Him we may have peace. In the world, we’ll have struggles, but we should take heart because He’s overcome the world. We know He’s already defeated all of this. We look forward to what Christ has for us and our future.”

—TRJ—

The post Faith and Family appeared first on The Team Roping Journal.

Luke Brown was on the National Finals Rodeo bubble for the first time when he pulled into Pendleton, Oregon in September 2008. 

It was the first year the South Carolina header had gutted it out the whole way to the Northwest run, and the then 34-year-old wasn’t loving the pressure. 

“I had got into Puyallup the week before,” Brown remembered. “Monty Joe (Petska) didn’t get in, so I drew a partner, and I drew Michael Jones. I missed the first one, and I thought my life was over, and my NFR dreams were done. But then we won the second round, so that gave me some more hope and made Pendleton even more important the next week.” 

Brown and then-partner Monty Joe Petska rolled into the Fraziers’ place outside Pendleton with a young Colter Todd and Cesar de la Cruz and Sherry Cervi and Cory Petska to camp for a few days. Needing to win something, they went out into the Fraziers’ pasture and set up a makeshift Pendleton arena out of panels and electric-wire fence. 

“I had Slim Shady, and he was the only horse I wanted to rope on there,” Brown explained. “He was the only one I wanted to ride on the grass anyway, because he was just goofy enough that I thought he wouldn’t fall down.

“Anyway, practicing there, I missed the first six, and I only got to run seven. I’ll tell you, I felt so bad for Monty Joe. I finally turned the seventh one, and he heeled him.” 

At the rodeo, they broke the ice and were sixth on their first steer on the grass with a 6.4-second run. They caught the second, and they made it back to the short round in the fifth spot. 

“Sixth high call was a second longer and high call was a second and a half faster,” Brown told Spin To Win Rodeo (this magazine’s predecessor) at the time. “I didn’t think there was anything we could do. I would have been happy to have just placed fifth. When he came down that lane he wasn’t running near as hard. Then he took off and right when I got to him he checked off and stepped to me and give it up while I’m at a dead run.”

The round fell apart, and suddenly the kid from South Carolina had won one of the West’s most storied rodeos and qualified for his first NFR. 

“It was a bucket-list win,” Brown said. “People don’t really realize how hard it is to make the NFR. I mean, it is, it was then, and it is now. Even then, I figured I’d never make it again. Every one of them has been a blessing.”  

More with Luke Brown

• Luke Brown: Lessons Learned From 13 NFRs
• Luke Brown’s Success is in His Horse Herd
• Finally: Brown and Koch Nab First NFR Go-Round Win Together
• Luke Brown and Hunter Koch Get $100K a Man for 2024 American Rodeo Team Roping Win

The post Luke Brown’s Breakout Pendleton Round-Up Win in 2008 appeared first on The Team Roping Journal.

At just 29 years old, Whitney DeSalvo is already well-versed in etching her name in team roping’s history books, but that’s not stopping her from setting ambitious goals in 2024.  

The Arkansas cowgirl is known for her laid-back, goofy personality and lightning-fast heeling, but she’s beginning to expand her reach as a teacher, horse trainer and—wait for it—even a header in the year 2024.  

The Bob Feist Invitational Charlie 1 Horse All-Girl has proved a good investment for DeSalvo over the years but, in 2024, her sixth victory—and her second behind Kenzie Kelton—may have been her most impressive performance overall.  

Not only did she bank the overall aggregate victory on four steers behind Kelton in the heeling, DeSalvo also earned second-place money heading in front of Kelsie Domer to split $15,000. 

Optimize your Roping ROI

Then, in the same roping, DeSalvo also won seventh heeling for Megan Meredith to split $5,000 in the aggregate, plus qualified two more runs back to the short round. On the heels in the Rotations, DeSalvo went 6.26 seconds behind Jessica Small to split $1,200, then came back to earn the same dollar amount for a 5.84-second run with Kenna Francis. Her 6.23 in the short round heading with Domer was good enough to split another $1,000 for the fast time.  

Meet DeSalvo’s new heel horse, “Rango.”

Overall, DeSalvo took home a total of $23,500 from the BFI in her own pockets. On the year, she’s already well over the $50,000 mark for her combined earnings on both ends. 

Decoding DeSalvo’s success

With a huge portion of her yearly earnings coming out of the BFI in 2024, and the profits she’s earned in years past, it begs the question: Why does DeSalvo excel inside the Lazy E? 

“I think a lot of it’s that it’s a big arena and we rope strong steers,” DeSalvo said. “I rope in the higher numbered ropings a lot, so when the steers are big, and they run it’s what I’m used to.  They usually have the best steers here out of all the All-Girls; I’d say that whether I won a dime or not.  It’s the best set of cows that we rope all year, and that’s reflected in the times that come out of it.”  

DeSalvo added to that total roping in Fort Worth at the Cinch USTRC National Finals of Team Roping April 21 when she took seventh with Brock Hanson in the #15.5 Thrive Equine Shootout and earning her another $3,530.

Next, DeSalvo’s setting her sights on the Women’s Rodeo World Championship in Fort Worth on May 13-18. She’s coming into the WRWC ranked No. 20 in the Pro Heading with 1181.75 points earned and No. 4 in the Pro Heeling with 5432 points earned during the nomination period.

Stay tuned for more coverage of the WRWC and the handy women ready to ascend on Fort Worth come May.  

— TRJ —

• Global Handicaps Assigns No. 8 to First Female Roper
• Mare Magic: DeSalvo’s Becky Dominates
• #WomenInRodeoMonth: Whitney DeSalvo
• Kelton and DeSalvo Claim the 2023 BFI All-Girl Team Roping
• DeSalvo wins $29K as Charlie 1 Horse champ; Thompson tops headers for $21K

The post Whitney DeSalvo has Horns AND Hocks in her 2024 Sights  appeared first on The Team Roping Journal.

Colter Todd was hot off his first Wrangler National Finals Rodeo qualification when he rolled into Salado, Texas, for the Wildfire Open to the World—his third time appearing at the $75,000-added event. 

Coming from Willcox, Arizona, Todd had never had an ounce of luck at The Wildfire. But that all changed in front of Travis Graves.

“Stuff hadn’t been going well as far as financially,” said Todd, now the reigning NFR average champ on the heel side. “I’d just got done not doing any good at San Antone, and I was fighting with going home financially and not being able to keep rodeoing. I was trying to figure out if I was going back to my job with the Potters, and I had some horses I could have gone and shod that day instead, so I was deciding whether or not to jackpot or go shoe horses. But like a team roper, I went to the jackpot.”

They were fourth callback that day, and Todd—who, when heading, has a tendency to press—took an aggressive roll at the barrier. 

“It was either going to be or it wasn’t,” Todd, 23 back in 2007, said. “I was comfortable either way.”

The $37,500-a-man payday was “insane money” for Todd at the time, who had a wife and 2-year-old daughter at the time of the win. 

“I remember after not doing good at San Antone laying in the trailer frustrated,” Todd said. “The other thing, the Wildfire fees were $800 a man. When you’re young, those are expensive fees. It don’t seem like nothing anymore. I was almost praying about whether I go up and put up $1,600. In your mind, you think, ‘Do I enter the jackpot or do I go a little farther and stretch it out rodeoing?’”

But winning that money put Todd back in the game, and he’d go on to make the Finals again that year with his first partner, Cesar de la Cruz. They’d finish third in the world standings with $165,790 won. Along the way, he’d keep jackpotting (and winning) with Graves. 

“TG was a great second partner,” Todd said. “He was more like another first partner, and we did good. Him and I were good friends and a good team, too.” 

Graves would win the Wildfire twice more, and he was riding Superstar, the horse he built the first half of his career aboard. Todd, for his part, was on Frisco, the buckskin gelding he made his first two Finals on, too.

—TRJ—

The post Their Big Break: When Todd and Graves Won the 2007 Wildfire Open to the World  appeared first on The Team Roping Journal.

Darrell Pino describes himself as a simple man. He is also a member of the Navajo Nation, a Marine Corps veteran and an architectural designer in the Albuquerque area. And a veteran bull rider. When Pino’s body aged out of bull riding in the senior pro circuit at 55—he’s 60 now—he traded in his bull rope for a head rope.

A Top Hand’s Honor

Three years into Pino’s roping endeavors, he earned himself the Top Hand Award at the 2023 Horns N’ Heroes clinic taught by Charly Crawford and Trey Johnson in Decatur, Texas, as part of the Liberty & Loyalty Foundation’s American Hero Celebration.

“I wasn’t really expecting that,” said Pino, whose children also served. “You know, I’m the kind of an individual that it’s hard to talk about myself. I’d rather be in the background. And I’d rather be helping people to be better.

“So I wasn’t expecting that,” Pino continued, “but I was trying hard to learn and trying to remember everything that Charly was teaching us. So every time he encouraged me and asked me to make a change, I would just really try to apply myself the best I could. To receive that Top Hand Award from him, it’s an honor and it means a lot.”

An Exchange of Gifts

Pino and Crawford first met at another clinic Crawford hosted near Belen, New Mexico, and the local feed store, Old Mill, sponsored Pino, securing a spot for him. Pino was so appreciative of the time and attention Crawford gave him, he gifted the 10-time NFR qualifier with an eagle feather.

“Being Native American, legally, I have a permit to have those feathers,” Pino explained. “The way he took the time to show me about the ropings and how to get better, and just the way he carried himself, it meant a lot to me to show my gratitude to him.”

“I gave a couple of feathers for him and his wife. To me, that’s all I can do. I don’t have anything else to give, but I gave that in friendship and to say, ‘Thanks for taking the time to show me these things.’”

Service Runs Deep

In truth, however, Pino gives greatly. Not only did he give our country his service, but he also raised his children to serve and, between him and his wife, Anita, there are 29 U.S. military veterans in their immediate family, including her grandfather, a World War II code talker.

“I have a son that’s a Marine sergeant,” Pino said. “He lives with us. I have a daughter, she’s a Marine veteran, too; she lives in Norfolk, Virginia. And I have another son who just got out; he did two missions with the Navy as a mineman. Then I have a stepson that did 13 years in the Army.”

Pino and his children each carry the tolls of their service, but the horses help.

“All of us, we’ve got some PTSD stuff happening,” he said. “It’s hard, but this roping, it keeps me going. It’s something I look forward to. When I’m on my horse, there’s some serenity and some peace that comes with it.”

A Simple Man

When Pino arrived at the NRS Event Center where the clinic was being held, he couldn’t help noticing the fancy rigs filling the parking lot.

“I’m a simple man,” he said. “All I have is a two-horse, slant trailer—a bumper pull trailer—and this half-ton Ram truck. Parked back here, it’s kind of tiny compared to all these living-quarter horse trailers, but it’s not about that. It’s about enjoying this time while I’m here. For me, it’s a one-in-a-lifetime kind of feel.”

Recognition and Appreciation

When it came time to recognize one of the 16 participants in this year’s Horns N’ Heroes clinic, Pino was an obvious choice for Crawford.

“I really enjoy this award because there’s always someone that just stands out that has something special to them,” Crawford said. “Somebody who stands out and does a lot to help with the clinic; somebody who stands out and helps a lot of other people. And there’s just times, sometimes, you just see somebody that tries so darn hard and just has such a good attitude.

“And, you know,” Crawford added, “he didn’t maybe let some of the gray hair that we sometimes have in our hair right there or the age right there bother him. He tried hard and did everything we talked about and had such a great attitude. He just stood out to me so much and he was my Top Hand. I got to visit with him later, and he’s a great man.”

Pino is looking forward to roping for the foreseeable future, and he thinks it might be less risky than the bull riding. 

“I think it’s less dangerous,” he said. “But I see some guys with missing fingers, so I don’t know about that.” 

—TRJ—

Thank you to Equinety for helping us share stories of military members, veterans and first responders in the team roping community.

The post USMC Veteran Darrell Pino Goes From ‘Simple Man’ to Top Hand appeared first on The Team Roping Journal.

At the age of 16, Judy Wagner and her seven younger siblings lost their father in a December tractor accident on their Western Montana ranch.

“That Christmas, I learned firsthand that the cows don’t know it’s Christmas,” Wagner remembered. “So, my marketing and how I think about things started there. It’s not rocket science: You have to know what needs to be done.”

She graduated from Montana State University and was working as a county agent when Steve Geisler of Idaho’s Cowboy Cordage asked if Wagner was interested in doing business together, marketing and selling ropes. 

“My dad didn’t really live long enough to teach us a lot about roping,” Judy explained. “Everything in our barn was 7/16-scant hard, and it was all you had so that’s what you used. 

“I was doing a roping school with Mike Beers and Dee Pickett and I remember Dee going, ‘What the heck are you roping with that for?’”

A year later at the next school with Beers and Pickett, they had a good laugh when she told them she was starting a rope company. 

“What happened was, as a county extension agent, we learned about fabrics and colors in textiles,” Wagner said. “And it turns out that also affects ropes. So we started experimenting with colors in ropes and how they affected the lay of the rope and how it felt.”

Judy Wagner was meant for marketing

With her natural tendency toward good humor, the company was named Gator Ropes for the mostly green ropes, but the models that followed were a clear demonstration of Wagner’s equally natural mind for marketing. 

“I started out with a Head Hunter,” she said. “Then I had a Tail Gator, an Intimi-Gator, an Albino Gator. I had an Insti-Gator, and then the Rawhide Gator was named for me when I got bucked off in a branding pen. I broke my femur and had to be life-flighted out.”

As Wagner moves through the story, it’s clear that the trauma of a branding pen wreck now pales in comparison to the significance of a rope being inspired by a woman.

“That was about three or five years into having Gator,” Wagner said of the company she started in 1988. “That was the first time I ever introduced a woman into it. Today, a woman going out there and doing her thing is really prevalent. But, back then, I kept that all a secret. It was me behind the scenes a little bit.”

From her place behind the scenes, though, Wagner made crucial observations and implemented everything from technology to further protect the fibers in a Gator Rope to understanding that Gator was largely attractive to a youth and/or beginner roper. She also had the support of her industry peers in her endeavors, and they made all the difference as far as Wagner is concerned. 

Member of the OG rope makers club

“I was really fortunate when I started in the industry and in the business that the other competitors out there were really my friends,” Wagner said. “Ken Bray (Classic Ropes), Paul Sullivan (Lone Star Ropes) and Curt Matthews (Top Hand Ropes) were all doing ropes at the time, and we were communicating. Just good old-fashioned calling each other up and seeing each other at events.

“I loved that time because it was like steel on steel: we were sharpening each other,” Wagner continued. “We were all learning and navigating and I can honestly say, in business, that taught me the power of relationships.”

Gator Rope endorsees included Clay O’Brien Cooper, Speed Williams and Jake Barnes, who was the inspiration for a series of Gator cartoons illustrated by Montana Cowboy Hall of Famer “Wally” Badgett. Then, when four-time NFR calf roper Shawn McMullan, who was killed in a 1996 car accident, backed into the box for his first-ever National Finals run, it was with a Gator logo on his chest. And when Flint Rasmussen was trying to get his rodeo clown foot in the door for his earliest gigs like the Nile Rodeo in Billings, Montana, it was with sponsorship support from Gator.   

Montana Silversmiths moments

When Wagner sold Gator Ropes back to Geisler in 1999, she had built an invaluable network throughout the Western industry, which made for a rather smooth transition into her initial role as Director of Marketing for Montana Silversmiths. It was a pivotal time for the company then, which had just established itself as the Official Silversmith of the PRCA in 1999. 

“Over the years, I think we really made headway in establishing Montana Silversmiths as a major brand, both in gift jewelry and as a World Champion buckle maker, establishing ourselves as a trusted brand,” Wagner said. 

Partnering with Miss Rodeo America and creative initiatives from Elmer the Horse figurines to elevated packaging for limited products like the Gold Buckles made the brand a household name across the country and eventually opened the door for Wagner to operate from the position of Chief Marketing Officer. 

“I was also really proud of creating the Pursuit of Excellence Scholarship Program with Montana Silversmith,” Wagner added. “It started in 2005, so we’ve given away just over $100,000. First it was funded by Trophy Buckles—a side program I created—and most recently, it’s self-funded by hat feathers. It’s a way to give back and celebrate the future.”

Making magic through mentorship

Giving back has become a sincere focus of Wagner’s, and she encourages everyone to look for scholarship support and mentors. 

“You can’t win if you don’t enter, and there are scholarships out there available for a lot of youth if they look.”

In the most recent developments in Wagner’s career, she has retired from her CMO position and is flexing the best parts of that work as a Montana Silversmiths Brand and Lifestyle Advocate. 

“I love mentorship,” Wagner said. “I’m a big advocate of Cowgirl’s 30 Under 30 and will be a part of that. We were one of the first sponsors to support Tammy Pate’s vision for Art of the Cowgirl, and there are so many things we can do, but if you actually look and dig deeper into things, you can be of more help. So, that’s what I hope I get to do. Some of the fun things like roping and golf, and then maybe helping support the industry and our brand as best I can.”

—TRJ—

The post A Path of Passion: Judy Wagner’s Trailblazing Career in the Western Industry appeared first on The Team Roping Journal.

Jake Cooper is a three-time Wrangler National Finals Rodeo header who knows all about the astronomical advantage of high-end horsepower. Cooper—who headed for his twin brother, Jim Ross, at Rodeo’s Super Bowl in 2007, Russell Cardoza at NFR 2015 and Caleb Anderson in 2019—has decided to expand his horse horizons with his own rope-horse breeding program. It started with the purchase of a standout stud from Colby Lovell, and Cooper’s since been busy buying special mares for the foundation on the bottom side of his horse herd.

“I’ve always been a planner,” said Cooper, who’s this year roping with rookie Chase Graves, who’s the son of NFR header Frank Graves. “I know my rodeo career will eventually slow down, and I thought it would be neat and also a good business decision to have a cool stud with all these new incentives going on.

“Last year, I bought Colby Lovell’s stud Reys Of Pep (who with Lovell, Kaleb Driggers and Kollin VonAhn won over $114,000 during his futurity years, which finished up in 2023). We call him Pepper, and he’s 7 now. I like that he was big enough that they headed and heeled on him, and did well at both ends. He’s just the perfect size—plenty big enough to head on, and also quick enough to where you can heel on him.”

Pepper’s a stout 15 hands, and 1,300 pounds.

“He’s the reason I started this,” said Cooper, who lives in today’s Cowboy Capital of the World in Stephenville, Texas. “I thought if I could get Pepper, and a few proven mares who’ve been won on, I could start my own breeding program.”

READ: Jake Cooper Adds Record-Setting Futurity Stud Reys Of Pep to His Program

Cooper had some unexpected extra time to launch his horse business after a head horse fell on him in March 2023 and tore his hamstring. He returned to rope at Reno in June, but headed straight home after realizing it wasn’t enough time to rehab the ailment that now plagues reigning World Champion All-Around Cowboy Stetson Wright.

Cooper’s plan is to hit it hard with Graves this year.

“I still have a lot of rodeo goals for the next few years,” Cooper said. “I would like to go back to the NFR, for sure. I love roping, and still enjoy all of it.”

But the rodeo road ends for everyone, and a rodeo royal like Cooper knows that as well as anyone.

“I’d like to someday build this horse deal to where I have seven to 10 babies a year, and sell a few, keep a couple and have some to send to guys,” he said. “I’d like for guys like Lovell and Driggers to ride some of them. And when you do get that special one, the plan would be to keep him until you can’t afford not to, when selling that special one is a business decision.”

@teamropingjournal Jake Cooper has been collecting some of roping’s best mares to breed to his stud, @ReysOfPep. What’s he got going in his horse program? Kendra Santos dropped a story over at teamropingjournal.com that’s worth the read. #teamroping #rodeo #cowboys #horses #headhorses #ropehorsesoftiktok ♬ She Knows It – Steven Rodriguez

Small and steady is how he’s started, with quality trumping quantity. Cooper has a few yearlings now that hit the ground last year, and has bought embryos out of some special rodeo mares that will remain anonymous for now.

“Ideally with this stud—who’s cow bred, has enough speed to head on and I actually have aspirations to ride at the rodeos next year, if I can get him seasoned—the goal is to raise good looking, good-minded, athletic horses that’ll be good for whatever people want to do with them,” Jake said. “Just because you have the perfect breeding doesn’t automatically make a certain horse only for a certain event.

READ: Driggers, Cooper Partner on Winningest Rope Horse Mare Fine Vintage Cash

“Our goal is to make good horses that are great athletes you can ride at the top level. We’re trying to breed horses that are a pleasure to be around, and fun for ropers at every level to rope on. I’d love to breed some horses that are plenty good enough to go down the road on and help guys win.”

Cooper’s bought a few cow-bred and rope-horse mares to cross with Pepper, in addition to outside breedings. As of now, he kind of has what he considers his “big four.”

Fine Vintage Cash was a January 2024 purchase by Cooper and Driggers of the all-time winningest futurity mare from California’s Monty and Chris Avery. “Crystal,” who’s 8 now and made her mark at the futurities as a heel horse, was trained and shown by the Averys’ son-in-law, Andy Holcomb.

Runnin In Stilettos is a 12-year-old bay mare Cooper bought from Driggers, after Kaleb bought “Stiletto” from Garrett Tonozzi. Cooper categorizes her as “a great head horse.”

Redwood Calli is the 11-year-old black mare Matt Sherwood’s ridden at the BFI and Clint Summers jackpotted on some about a year ago. Cooper bought “Serena” from Driggers. Jake rode her at Denver and Odessa earlier this year, and says, “She’s really cool and pretty.”

Katylynsfirstjewel is a 10-year-old bay mare Cooper calls “Ruby.” At press time in late February, he’d already ridden and placed on her at Rapid City and San Antonio.

“So many guys rope good anymore,” Cooper said. “Team roping in general is not a super athletic event. Everybody has the ability to swing a rope and throw it. What sets people apart is their horsepower. That’s why you see a guy have an average year, then a great year. He didn’t start roping that much better, it’s usually because he either got a better horse or a horse that fit him better.

“Several breakaway ropers have also bred to my stud, because he’s fast, he’s good-minded and he’s double cow-bred, so he’s got that big stop they’re looking for. Team ropers, calf ropers and breakaway ropers—everybody likes Pepper’s size and disposition.”

Raising horses is basically diversifying Cooper’s roping portfolio.

“I’m enjoying it,” he said. “I’ve always loved good horses, and I’m having fun turning it into a business. There’s more talk about horse papers among team ropers and all rodeo contestants than ever before. It’s all changing, evolving and moving forward, and the horses are just going to keep progressing. That’s what I’m banking on, anyway.”

Reys Of Pep stands at Millsap, Texas’s 113 Equine, with contracts available at reysofpep.com.

The post Jake Cooper Adds Raising Horses to His Roping Repertoire appeared first on The Team Roping Journal.