story by Lindsay King
Three pins protruding out of Brayden Duncan’s right arm surrounded by a cast for six weeks after a steer riding incident in the third grade is what he considers the most interesting thing to happen to him. “I was with a friend and we were messing around on a steer. The steer bucked me off and I ended up breaking my arm, it was almost a complete dislocation,” said the 13-year-old. When the pins needed to come out, Brayden simply got a local anesthetic and the doctor pulled them out with a pair of pliers. He still boasts a scar on his roping arm. The heeler, chute dogger and breakaway roper likes roping steers the best, despite his accident. “I like to heel, but I also know how to head. Heeling is more of a challenge for me.”
The son of Derek and Dusty Duncan ropes with his brother Britt, 16. “Both my dad and brother roped so it just kind of came naturally that I would rope too.” The family of ropers has the perfect number to practice together each day. “My mom used to heel so she has helped me a lot with mastering the craft. My dad has put in a lot of hours helping me practice too. He showed me the basics and has put in a lot of hard work with me.” Roping with his brother at a jackpot is typical for Brayden. He likes that his brother has more experience with rodeo than him and knows more people so he can get the scoop on their steer. “I have never really known anything else, roping is just a way of life for my family.”
Taking fifth at state two years in a row now in the team roping, Brayden is ready to step up his game in his final year in the OKJHSRA. His proudest moment, however, came this year at a jackpot in Coleman. “I won $2,000 in one day. We got our entry fees back plus a lot more. It is the most I have ever won, I can do a lot with that much money.” Everything Brayden wins is invested back into their stock. Attending nationals three times to watch his brother has given Brayden the itch to make his own appearance at that level. “I am taking this year way more serious. I plan to practice a lot more with my partner and do some more breakaway roping.” Armed with chute dogging steers and a sliding stick, Brayden has already started getting his reps in. “Basically, it is a stick that you hook up to a tractor or ranger and as someone pulls it forward you sit back on it. It teaches you how to set your feet on a steer.”
With aspirations to rodeo for Southeastern Oklahoma State University, Brayden intends to get a few national championships under his belt first. “I have gone to Iowa twice to nationals for my brother. It is a cool facility where they hold the rodeo. We also went to Tennessee. That was neat because we went to Nashville.” With an affinity for wildlife and the great outdoors, it comes as no surprise that Brayden wants to compete in Wyoming one day. “I like the long score of Cheyenne and how fast the cattle are. I watch it on TV a lot. But I would also just like to go up to Wyoming to see the state.” He planes to become a game warden one day, while continuing to rope on the side of course. “I like wildlife and I like to hunt. I want to be a warden somewhere around the family ranch.” Coming from a ranching family, Brayden loves ranching and rodeoing equally.
