story by Lily Weinacht
La Junta, Colorado, native Ryan Belew is the 2017 CPRA Finals Tie-Down Roping Champion. At first, the 28-year-old wasn’t sure that he would be able to enter the finals, but as soon as everything fell into place, he was on his way to Colorado Springs, where he and his horse Boots ran 36.60 on three head. “I liked the finals location. I was invited to the Pikes Peak or Bust Rodeo during the summer at The Norris-Penrose Event Center, so it was good to be familiar with the setup and the arena. It was real easy in and out, and overall a good rodeo.”
Ryan often travels to CPRA and PRCA rodeos with Darnell Johnson, who won the CPRA year-end title in the tie-down roping. “He’s kind of the head of where we’re going and how we get there, and his experience helps with getting around where we need to. He and his wife, Erin, have become a second family to me, and there are countless others who have helped me. My event is a one-person event, but there are so many people that have to help you and be on your team for you to have any kind of success. I like that calf roping is solely on you. There’s a lot of outside factors, but it’s mostly on you. Every rodeo is a new rodeo, and it doesn’t necessarily matter what your résumé was in the past.”
Ryan’s parents, Gerald and Mary Belew, were the first to help him and his brother and sister, Kyle and Whitney, in their rodeo careers. His grandpa and dad both roped calves, and Ryan junior and high school rodeoed for Colorado. He went on to college rodeo two years for Otero Junior College and one for Colorado State University-Pueblo. “After high school I did some amateur rodeos in Kansas and Colorado, and when I got older, I spread out to the CPRAs. All their rodeos are good from the first one to the last one, and it’s real handy when you can work that into your summer schedule.” Ryan also competes on the PRCA Mountain States Circuit and qualified twice for the circuit’s finals, while competing at Cheyenne Frontier Days, Greeley Stampede, and the National Western Stock Show over the last few years are highlights for him.
His main horse, Boots, came to him as a 2 year old that Ryan trained before buying the gelding a few years later. “I’ve been rodeoing on him the last three years, and I have another horse, Pearl, that I trained. I always seem to have some young ones coming along, so besides practicing, I’m always trying to ride those young horses. Rain, cold, or hot, Dad and Mom are always there to be chute help. I like to hunt and shoot and fish, and I have a 15-month-old niece that I get see quite often, and she keeps me busy.”
During the week, Ryan is an Agribusiness Management Instructor for Otero Junior College. “This is my third year doing it, and all my students are off-campus, so I go to their individual farms and ranches. I like that it’s something different every day, and different circumstances and points of view.”
Ryan plans to pro rodeo this winter and continue working on his goals. “The biggest feat throughout the season is having a strong mental attitude and knowing it’s a marathon, not a sprint, and keeping all the horses strong through the summer. One of the things I love about rodeo is that every year it’s a new challenge, and you have to work for it to get there. My goal is mostly to get better than I was the day before, and if you achieve that enough days in a row, eventually you reach your long-term goals.”
