story by Lily Weinacht
“I like to push myself to do things I’ve never really been able to do before, make myself better, and reach my goal of going to the WNFR,” says Coy Sears. . The 14-year-old rookie from Loma, Colorado, qualified for the NJHFR in all three of his events, finishing in goat tying and team roping, and third in team roping. Prior to joining the CJHSRA, Coy competed in gymkhanas, junior rodeos, and jackpots, and has won a saddle and six buckles. A favorite is the buckle he won at a National Team Roping jackpot in Grand Junction.
“I started junior high rodeo in the fall, and I love it!” says Coy. “I get to meet a lot of new people and see new rodeo grounds, and travel a lot of places.” Team roping is easily his favorite event, and while he ropes both ends, Coy is heeling this year for Creede Guardamondo. “Team roping has a lot of action, and you don’t know if you’re going to do good or not, so it’s a guessing game,” Coy explains. He practices with the help of his parents, Megan and Ryan, and his mom’s fiancé, Adam Noble. “I look up to my whole family, my family friends, and my friends from rodeo. Adam has an arena, and he’s really helped me out – he has calves for me and helps me take care of my horses. He rode broncs in the PRCA and college, and my dad rode bulls. He’s also been heading for a while, so he ropes the dummy with me. For heading, I like a Spyder rope, and for heeling, a GT4.”
Another member of the family is Coy’s main horse, TJ. “He raised me pretty much, and has helped me through a lot. I use him for team roping and breakaway, but I can really do anything on him, and I let my sister use him sometimes. I have a little gray mare, Juicy, that I tie goats on. I bought her with some 4-H money because I wanted to train a horse and see if she could do goats since I was needing another horse. We have lots of sheep and cows and dogs and a couple of goats, and they live on my grandparents’ farm. I help my grandpa feed and put up fence, and my favorite is helping with the cows.” Coy also shows Yorkshire Cross and Hampshire Cross pigs in 4-H.
He’s finishing eighth grade at Fruita 8/9 School, where he enjoys history, particularly of the American frontier. Coy used to play basketball and baseball, but wanted to focus on rodeo instead. Once home from school, he feeds and waters animals, ropes the dummy, and helps his 11-year-old sister, Paige, practice her rodeo events. “She’s been wanting to try goat tying, so I got on YouTube to figure out how to tie goats like the girls,” Coy explains. He’s also an avid hunter. “We’ve had some really good goose and duck hunting, and I’ve been elk hunting quite a bit. Another thing we do every year is shoot clay pigeons in the desert.”
Coy never leaves for a rodeo without his roping dummies to practice on, and his goal is to continue rodeoing and start high school rodeo this fall. “I’d like to place at Nationals this summer,” he finishes. “That would be really cool for my first year.”
