Category: Roper Review

Most ropers only dream of winning the kind of money paid at the World Series of Team Roping finale in Las Vegas. Those dreams recently came true for Shane Brown, Robstown, TX, and his partner, J. R. Wood, Sinton, TX. The duo won the #13 on December 6th, splitting $254,000. The team previously won the #12 roping at the World Series roping in Sinton, TX earlier this year. Brown and Wood both had their numbers raised, to a #8 heeler and #5E header, respectively, forcing the pair into the #13 Finale. The duo came from sixth high call to win the roping with a 29.65 aggregate time on four head.
Shane, and older brother Scot, grew up in a farming and ranching family and were riding before they were walking. They started roping young and team roped and roped calves through school. Growing up, Shane won a couple of TYRA state championships in calf roping. In 1997 he was the Texas High School rodeo team roping champion header. In college Shane eventually dropped calf roping and focused solely on team roping.
After high school Shane pursued an education at Texas A&M where he earned his degree in Animal Science and a Masters in Agri-Business. After graduation, Shane was a commodities broker for five years and is now a Vice President and the Robstown branch manager for Texas Farm Credit.
Shane is married to his lovely wife, Ravyn, and the couple has two daughters, Bailey, 8; and Blakely, 5.
“I met my wife in college,” says Brown. “We both grew up in rodeo. Once we married, she slowed down to raise our girls. Now she’s a stay at home mom and far busier than I am.”
Brown admits to being fiercely competitive. This trait benefits his other hobby and passion – golf where he carries a #3 handicap. Being competitive and handling pressure runs in this family. Two years ago, his brother Scot, won the #11 at the World Series finale.
Undoubtedly family comes first for Brown, “We do a lot as a family. Right now my girls are active in gymnastics and volleyball. I haven’t been roping as much lately. Basically just enough to qualify for the World Series finale.”
COWBOY Q&A
How much do you practice?
Once or twice a week. But in preparing for the WSTR Finals, we would practice several times a week.
Do you make your own horses?
Typically yes. My dad raised the horse I rode in Vegas, and I broke and trained him.
Who were your roping (rodeo) heroes?
Phil Lyne. I grew up roping with him and rodeoed with his daughters. My dad was an extremely good roper and gave it up so we could rope.
Who do you respect most in the world?
My family.
Who has been the biggest influence in your life?
My parents, my wife, and God.
If you had a day off what would you like to do?
A perfect day would be playing golf in the morning. Then hanging out with my family and roping in the afternoon.
Favorite movie?
Lonesome Dove.
What’s the last thing you read?
Emails.
How would you describe yourself in three words?
Driven, family-oriented, competitive.
What makes you happy?
Being with family and friends.
What makes you angry?
Laziness.
If you were given 1 million dollars, how would you spend it?
Buy some acreage that my family and I could enjoy.
What is your worst quality – your best?
My worst is lack of patience for people who don’t try. My best is lots of patience for people who try hard.

Everyone who enters the USTRC Finals has dreams of clean runs and big paychecks. Unfortunately, only a handful of ropers realize those dreams. One such dream come true was Courtney Small, and header, Lari Dee Guy, who came from third high call to win the Cruel Girl Roping. The pair posted a time of 37.25 on four head to win the roping and split $16,000 in cash plus prizes.
“Actually I prefer being third high call. From there the goal is to make a nice run and put pressure on the top two teams,” says Small.
Courtney, 24, started roping when she was just eight. She and her dad started roping at the same time. Eventually her brothers, Zac and Blair, rope as well.
“We would rope almost every night,” explains Courtney. “That’s where my addiction to roping started.”
Small is grateful to her parents for giving them the opportunity to rope and pursue their passion.
“My dad blessed us with the chance to rope every day during the summer. He wanted us to succeed in whatever we wanted to do,” says Small. “Every day we would start out roping the dummy, then saddle our horses and rope the mechanical dummy. That was our routine from about ten to fifteen years old. We were consumed by it.”
Courtney admits to a life long passion for horses and roping. When she was about thirteen, the family built an indoor arena where they roped and also had a church.
“The arena has been a huge blessing. God has used our arena to bless the lives of many people; and given young people a place to come and rope.  We still rope in our arena every day and I’m very thankful for it.”
The Blair kids were homeschooled and well educated using the accredited Christian based A Beka Academy. To see how her education measured up, Courtney attended public school during her sophomore year and found it very easy.
After high school Courtney attended Tarleton University in Stephenville, Texas before transferring to and graduating from Oklahoma State University. Currently she is working with her father at the family cattle embryo laboratory near Welch, Oklahoma. She will soon pursue a Masters in Animal Science, a degree that will be helpful as they expand their business.
“There are some new things we want to do,” says Courtney. “I so enjoy working with my family. I also have lots of time to rope, which is a huge plus.”
“I am very grateful and give the glory to God. Without Him, none of these blessings would be in my life. I have to thank my parents and am so blessed to have them. I realize not many people get the opportunity to do what I do. I also want to thank my sponsor, Classic Ropes.”

COWBOY Q&A
How much do you practice?
About five days a week.
Do you make your own horses?
Yes. My brothers and I have made every horse we own.
Who were your roping heroes?
I always looked up to my dad because he got me started. He had won quite a bit and was my idol.
Who do you respect most in the world?
My father.
Who has been the biggest influence in your life?
My father.
If you had a day off what would you like to do?
Rope.
Favorite movie?
The new Magnificent Seven was very good.
What’s the last thing you read?
A textbook of some sort.
How would you describe yourself in three words?
Leader, dedicated, shy.
What makes you happy?
When I win.
What makes you angry?
When I miss.
If you were given 1 million dollars, how would you spend it?
I would set quite a bit back and probably build a horse barn on my property.
What is your best quality – your worst?
Best quality is independent thinking. Worst quality is procrastinating.
Where do you see yourself in ten years?
Hopefully more involved in our lab with the expansion, and enjoying the growth of business.

Butchie Levell (Butch Levell III) has gone to a lot of USTRC ropings in order to be tied for first with Keith Elkins from Clinton, Louisiana, in the Scholarship Standings.  If he holds onto that lead until the end of the Finals, he will win $10,000 in scholarships.
The 18-year-old form Omaha, Nebraska, has been roping since he was 10, and is now a #6+ header and #6 heeler. “I like heading better, that’s been my strong point. Heeling is a little tough, but heading has been easy going for me.” His family, dad, Butch, mom, Pam, and older sister, Jennifer, were not into horses at all. “We have two houses on our property,” he explained. “The people that rented the house had horses and roped and I decided one day I wanted to be a cowboy and it started from there.” He started with the neighbors, and then got in with Jeff Straight, JD Yates, and Jay Wadams. “They helped him the most,” he said. Butchie started showing horses in the AQHA at the same time he was learning to rope and this year he stayed the summer in Colorado at JD Yates house, roping in the Colorado Junior Rodeo Association, and winning their year end Senior Team Roping saddle with his partner, Colton Reed.
This is his first year out of high school and he decided to stay home a year to rope, work for his dad, and take care of 50 head of cattle that he has accumulated over the years. “They are old roping heifers that I kept as momma cows and now I rope their calves.”  He keeps them on leased pasture and at his place.
Butchie is headed to his fifth USTRC Finals. “It’s awesome  being down there for a week, hanging out with friends, and going up against the best in the world and lots of money,” he said. He will haul four of his six horses to Oklahoma to enter everything from the open prelims to the #10; he’s entered mostly as a header, but is roping as a heeler as well.
His dad, Butch, owns a recycling business, Lakeside Auto Recyclers, and his mom is a stay-at-home mom. When he’s not roping or working with his herd, Butchie helps his dad with the company. His plans are to attend college and get an Ag Business degree and make his way to the NFR someday. “I rope until my arm gets tired and I don’t want to stop,” he said. “I rope until 8 or 9 every night.” He knows that’s what it’s going to take to get to the NFR. “My goal is to work hard every day and push to get better.”

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The USTRC launched the scholarship program this year. “We had talked about this for a long time,” said Kirk Bray, USTRC President. “With putting $100,000 up and making it available for any age, up to 24, potentially a kid that’s 13 or 14 can start building a scholarship bank with us.” The USTRC Scholarship Program will award $100,000 in scholarship funds annually. Sixty (60) scholarships will be awarded to the top point earners during the 2016 season (November 1, 2015 thru October 31, 2016). “They had to opt in to the program because we wanted to make sure they are serious about going to college. It’s a pretty strict program, but we want to award the kids that go to college and get good grades. It’s a way to give back.”

Cody Snow will head out June 18, and be back to his home in Santa Ynez, Calif., when the season is over. This is the second year for this 19-year-old to cross the country in hopes of winning a chance to turn ten steers at the Thomas & Mack. “I like it,” he says of being on the road all summer. “It’s fun
He ended last season as Resistol Rookie of the Year in the team roping as a header, turning steers for his partner, Dugan Kelly. “Dugan is a veteran at this and makes it easy for me,” he said. “He does all the entering and maps out where we’re going.”  The race for Resistol Rookie was a tight one, and Cody didn’t know he was the winner until the last couple weeks of the season. “You can win a lot of money at the end, so it’s not done until it’s done.”
Cody learned how to rope from his dad, Van, who was a noted orthopedic veterinarian. “My dad was my biggest help as well as influence. He got me a good start. He had a vet clinic at the house and we worked out of the house. I saw a lot of lame horses, and learned how to take care of horses and how to keep them sound.” He also learned from other people. “I’ve been around a lot of people that roped and I practiced a lot and figured it out. I had plenty of help.”
Cody was home schooled from the seventh grade through high school. He plans to take a few classes online, but not be a fulltime student, instead concentrating on his roping career. “It’s a job, and I make money at it,” he said. To make it fun, when he gets to the rodeo, he finds something to do in the town he’s in. “I don’t like sitting around, so I rope the dummy.” He likes to bowl so he tries to find a bowling alley when he has some down time.
He has made all his own horses. “I bought younger horses and brought them along and rodeoed on them.” Right now he has nine, and hauls two or three. His goal for this year is to make it to the WNFR. “I want to make the finals, and then do it consistently.”

On the Friday before Thanksgiving in 2015, Cody Thornton was in the roping pen training an outside horse. He had already headed ten steers and was getting ready to throw his rope on number eleven. As he stood to throw, without warning, his horse buried his head and bucked, hard. And Cody landed, hard. After spending a night sick from pain he ended up at an Urgent Care clinic the following morning where he learned he had fractured his C5 vertebrae. The injury resulted in two rods, four screws, and his C4 and C5 vertebrae being fused together. After spending seven weeks recuperating, Cody started back riding.
Cody grew up in Huntsville, Texas where he was raised roping and catching wild cows. He started team roping about the age of five. While growing up he went to high school rodeos and earning a rodeo scholarship. Cody graduated from Sam Houston University with a degree in General Agriculture and a minor in Management.
For the six years following college Cody chose to train horses, riding up to 13 per month. Putting his degree to good use Cody now manages the Steinhauser’s Feed Store in Navasota, Texas, where they carry just about everything including a full line of feed, ranch supplies, and even home décor. Steinhausers has total of eleven stores located in southeastern Texas.
As a #9 heeler, Cody enjoys rodeoing on the weekends and giving roping lessons. When he’s not working or roping, you can usually find him spending time in the woods hog hunting with his friends and family.
Cody’s dad, Lynn Thornton, is a farrier in south Texas and shoes some of the best barrel horses in the country. His mom, Tamera Gann, is the City Manager of Huntsville, Texas.
Cody owns and lives on 20 acres next to his sister and brother-in-law, Kassie and Chad White. He spends much of his time with them and their two sons, Cougar and Riggins.

How much do you practice?
Three or four times a week.
Do you make your own horses?
Yes.
Who were your roping (rodeo) heroes?
Clay O’Brien Cooper, Leo Camarillo.
Who do you respect most in the world?
The good Lord for sure. My grandpa and my sister.
Who has been the biggest influence in your life?
My sister.
If you had a day off what would you like to do?
Go hog hunting.
Favorite movie?
Lonesome Dove and Where the Red Fern Grows.
What’s the last thing you read?
The Bible.
How would you describe yourself in three words?
Caring, loyal, hard working.
What makes you happy?
Being in the country.
What makes you angry?
Being in the city.
If you were given 1 million dollars, how would you spend it?
Buy a ranch.
What is your best quality – your worst?
Best quality is I’m very honest. Worst quality is being too independent.
Where do you see yourself in ten years?
Having a nice piece of property with a nice herd of cows.

Chris Anderson, his wife, Sarah, and their two children, Ike, who will be two in June, and Tinsley, who just turned two months, make their home in Fort Morgan and own and operate CA Performance Horses. “I’ve been out on my own professionally since 2008,” he said. “I qualified my first horse in the Open AQHA show in 2008.” The mare, Darling Catichi, won the Junior All Around in 2012, beating out every other five and under horse in the nation. “I would say that and making the National Circuit Finals in the steer roping (2010) are my biggest accomplishments so far with my horse training.”
He has trained and ridden horses that made it in the top five, as well as winning Congress, and his next goal is to take his snaffle bit horse to Reno this year. “I’ve also got a really nice talented mare that a customer would like to win Super Horse at the World Show. JD Yates thinks she is good enough and if the stars are right and I do my job, we’ll have a chance. There’s a lot that’s got to go right ,but she’s a good enough mare.”
Chris got his start in the training world with a really nice gelding. Thanks to the help of JD Yates and Jay Wadham, he was able to break into the business. “JD took me under his wing, and I showed some in the youth an amateur at college.” As a kid growing up in Merino, Colo., Chris had always wanted to rope steers and with the help of Tom Gibson and JD, he was able to learn how. “I had a fair amount of success in the Circuit Finals and made the National Finals once.”
Of all the events that Chris competes in; team roping, calf roping, reined cow horse, and steer roping; he favors the steer roping. “I don’t get to do it as much as I used to, but I think it’s pretty unreal what a steer roping horse has to do.”
A close second, in his opinion is cow horse work. “Those horses have to work all three events, cutter, dry work pattern, and down the fence.” He was excited to see the reined cow horse added to the high school rodeo events. “The horsemanship that goes with the cow horse stuff is so important.”
He splits his time between training his own horses and working on outside horses. At any one time, there can be 20 outside horses in the pens that need tweaked for his growing clientele. “Not all of the horses I own are young ones in training; some are solid finished rodeo horses.” When he’s working on a horse for a customer, he has to have solid horses to help him. “If you sent me a heel horse to train, I can’t ask him to do a good job for me if the head horse we are working with is a green, goofy horse, so I have to keep a certain amount of good quality horses in my program so I can do my job. When I go to the horse shows, I have guys turning steers for me to show my horses and I have to have good solid horses to take with me for them to ride.”

The other part of his business is rodeoing for himself. “I keep a couple really good rodeo horses and jackpot horses of my own.” The amount of money that can be won at these jackpots keeps growing, and Chris is ready to take some of that home. “Look at the World Series Finals in Vegas… you don’t have to get that much done to win $20,000.”
He believes in spending money on a good finished roping horse. “For the average person that wants to go rope and enjoy themselves and have a good time, spend the $15,000 to buy a horse that is seasoned – that’s a cheap investment when you think about it. Look what’s out there to win. If you are a #4 header and you know how to do your job; score well and catch consistently; there is so much money out there you’re going to pay for that horse. That’s what people don’t understand – it’s not what did this horse cost, but the way I look at it, what did this horse cost me from being able to win – that’s how I look at the price of a horse.”