Tie-Down Roper Beau Cooper has Monumental Win at Calgary Stampede
By: Dianne Finstad
Call it a breakout moment in what many claim will become a superstar career.
Beau Cooper was able to stand on the podium at the Calgary Stampede, with a $50,000 check above his head, and a championship bronze nearby.
The grandstand was full of cheering fans to see a Canadian cowboy win the tie-down roping title, which hadn’t happened since 2014. Cooper, just 21, backed into the box in the Showdown Round and stuck a smooth 7.0-second run on his calf to take the big win.
“This is the greatest feeling in the world,” Cooper said. “There’s a reason you have bad days, so when you feel things like this, it lives with you forever. I’ll never forget this moment, and everything that’s went into it. I can’t thank God enough for everything He’s done. Crazy day.”
Cooper’s laser sharp and calm focus were evident in that pressure-filled moment.
“In the Final Four, you’ve got to let your hair down and go at it, and that’s what I felt like I did. It just went my way,” he said.
Cooper relied on his little mare Catalina all week, a horse he’d originally got from his cousin Zeke Thurston.
“She’s been outstanding all week. This is the first big rodeo I’ve rode her at,” Cooper said. “Other than that, she’s just been a little practice horse for me. To win it on her, using an old poly, it’s pretty crazy, but I’ll take it.”
Cooper’s been taking lots of ribbing for using an old poly rope, since most pros choose a grass rope.
“For whatever reason, I’m just confident on using that on her, so that’s what I tied on my horn, and we went with that,” he said.
Thurston, a three-time Calgary saddle bronc champion, also provided some inspiration to his roping cousin.
“To be right there with him is pretty crazy,” Cooper said. “Sitting on the couch (watching him win) seven years ago, I wouldn’t have ever thought I’d be here as a Calgary Stampede champion my second time here. It’s just so emotional. I can’t believe it.”
“Calf roping is mainly dominated by the U.S. (cowboys). There’s just so much more opportunity down there. And so, to come out with a victory is pretty darn special. I have so many friends who’ve helped me from the U.S. and taught me how to become a better roper, and I’m super appreciative of that.”
That included his mentor Shane Hanchey, who Cooper bumped out of the Final Four, as well as Ty Harris.
It was a full circle moment as well for Cooper, after disappointment this spring in Houston.
“It’s funny – we were sitting in Sheridan, Wyoming the other night and I was having a talk with (team roper) Jeremy Buhler,” Cooper said. “He said ‘things have a funny way of coming around. Don’t be shocked when you win the fifty (thousand) on Sunday.’ He knew what was in store. He’s been a huge blessing for me too.”
Other $50,000 Showdown winners at Calgary included Dawson Hay in the saddle bronc riding, marking a 92 on Calgary Stampede’s Xplosive Skies; Scott Guenthner in the steer wrestling with a 3.2-second run; and Jared Parsonage in the bull riding for 89 points on Wild Time – making it a big Stampede for Canadian contestants.
Kade Sonnier won the big check for bareback riding after marking 92 on C5 Rodeo’s Virgil, while Brittany Pozzi Tonozzi took the barrel racing for the first time in 19 years in 17.113 seconds.
Courtesy of PRCA