story by Lily Weinacht
Caleb Garza of Midland, Texas, is in the thick of his third season with the AJRA, making a sweep through the roping events – tie-down roping, ribbon roping, breakaway roping, and team roping. His dad, Joel Garza, grew up ranching, and took roping from the rigors of working cattle to the rodeo arena, passing the skills down to Caleb. “I’ve been roping since I was five, and my favorite of all my events is the team roping,” says 15-year-old Caleb, who is currently leading the event with his heeling partner, Colton Greene of Rocksprings, Texas. “That’s the event I’ve done the longest. This is my first season roping with Colton. We live a good ways from each other, so we just meet at the rodeos and hope for the best!”
Along with the AJRA, Caleb is a member of the THSRA, and WTRA, where he was the all-around, team roping, and ribbon roping champion last year in the 13 – 15 division. He was also the TJHRA Region II reserve all-around champion, and a state qualifier in the team roping, tie-down roping, ribbon roping, and chute dogging. This year, he was a THSRA state qualifier in the tie-down and team roping. When it comes to the AJRA, where he was the 2015 ribbon roping champion, he enjoys all of the rodeos equally. “I like the competition – it’s a little harder, and it’s motivated and pushed me more,” he explains. “I enjoy competing with all those other guys – it’s not easy, but it’s fun! My dad is the one who’s really inspired me and my mom is my biggest supporter. They have helped me through all of rodeo, providing me the horses and encouragement I need to succeed and compete.”
The 2015-2016 seasons offered challenges and opportunities for Caleb to grow as an individual and competitor. He started the 2015 season on his favorite calf horse, Elmo, but took advantage of Scooter’s athleticism when Elmo was injured. “Scooter was Caleb’s very first horse – Caleb was 18 months old and Scooter was three,” says Caleb’s mom, Tonya Garza. “We had to come up with another team roping horse for Caleb, but Scooter has been an awesome switch.” He’s heading and heeling off Doc, a Doc Remedy bred gelding who was green broke when the Garza’s purchased him. “Dad and I finished him, and Dad trained Scooter too,” says Caleb. “All of my horses have helped me be successful in rodeo.”
Making his home outside of Midland, Caleb’s family has their horses, three dogs, roping calves, steers, and two ornery donkeys. Caleb especially enjoys riding in the cotton fields. “I don’t have to worry about where to ride – I just grab a horse and go,” he says. “I like to try and practice every day, and my other AJRA partner, Cody Gonzales from Midland, will come practice with me while Dad runs the chutes and Mom videos the runs.”
During the school year, he runs track for Greenwood High School, where he’ll be a sophomore this fall. He further enjoys studying Algebra and world history, but plans to rodeo and relax at the lake the rest of the summer. “My grandparents live on a lake where we stay for a week or a weekend with them, and my dad and I go deer hunting in the winter near Dryden,” he says. His grandparents come watch a number of rodeos, while he never leaves without the roping dummies his grandpa built for him. “I take it everywhere with me, and it’s helped me a bunch.
“I’d like to attend a college where I could rodeo,” he finishes. “And my goals are to take my rodeoing as far as possible, and be the best I can be!”
