Stettler cowboy Beau Cooper is on top of the world.
Cooper just finished working his way through the Calgary Stampede tie-down roping, earning himself a spot in the finals and then came out on top with a run of seven seconds flat in only his second appearance at the world-renowned event.
Not only did Cooper win it on his second time out, he is the first Canadian to take the title since Ontario cowboy Grant Morgan won the event in 2014.
“It’s a pretty cool feat,” said Cooper, in a recent interview, noting that the event is usually dominated by Americans.
“A lot of people go there and never win.”
Cooper has been roping calves for around seven years, but only competing professionally for the last three. He is a second-generation rodeo performer, with both of his parents being involved in the sport.
While Cooper’s main focus is tie-down roping, he says he does do some team roping during his downtime to “keep it fun.”
“There’s no day off out here,” said Cooper.
Just getting to the Calgary Stampede was a feat; Cooper competed against 29 other tie-down ropers from all over North America. There were three pools of ten ropers, made up of the top Canadian Finals Rodeo performers from last year and the current season.
The top four of each heat made it to the final 12; then, the top four ran in the Showdown on July 16.
“You get to the rodeo, check what you get,” said Cooper, referring to the calf draws and layout.
“You try and react; dealing with a horse and a calf there are a lot of uncontrolled variables.”
With the Calgary Stampede behind him, Cooper’s plan right now is to “Go as hard as we can” and continue to climb the World Professional Rodeo Association standings.
“There are 70 days left in the regular season,” said Cooper.
“We’ll try and win as much as we can.”
Cooper is currently sitting ninth in the World Professional Rodeo Association standings.