story by Michele Toberer
Third time was a charm for Cable Wareham, leaving the Lazy E Arena in Guthrie, Oklahoma as the 2020 NHSFR World Champion Saddle Bronc Rider. After trips to the NHSFR his sophomore and junior years left him empty handed, his senior trip started out on a positive note after the Whiting, Kansas cowboy won the first round with a 76.5-point ride. “I never had any success at nationals until this year. I rode my first one in the 5th performance and was given the option of a re-ride after scoring 63. I struggled to make the decision because last year that happened, and I bucked off of my re-ride at 7.8 seconds. But I decided to go for it, and I’m really happy I did because that re-ride gave me a round win.”
“It was a pretty busy week for me; after I checked in for the finals on Thursday, I left on Friday and drove back home about 4 ½ hours so that I could be there for my sister Marely’s wedding. Then I came back to Guthrie so I could be there for my buddy Weston Patterson’s first ride.” One of Cable’s favorite things about saddle bronc riding is the comradery he has with his fellow competitors. He, Weston, and Ty Pope have spent time on the road together for rodeo and they enjoyed this final nationals trip together before they part to each compete for different colleges this season.
Cable rode his second bronc at the NHSFR on Tuesday morning and earned a score of 66 points, placing him 6th in the second round. He rode his short round bronc for a score of 74 points, placing him 3rd in the short round and bucking him straight to the top of the pack with a 19.5-point lead over the reserve world champion bronc rider. “My dad kept telling me, ‘Don’t let it get bigger than it needs to be; it’s just another horse,’ and that helped me stay a lot calmer than I thought I’d be each round, that’s for sure!”
Cable’s dad, Robert Wareham, and insurance salesman for Farm Bureau, has been instrumental in Cable’s rodeo career. “My dad rode saddle bronc back in the day while he was in the Marines. He’s always taken me everywhere I needed to go and made sure I had the tools I needed to succeed.” Cable’s mom, Heidi Wareham, works on their family ranch, and although Cable has three older siblings, Luke, Brantley, and Marley, Cable is the only one that chose to rodeo. “We run about 200 beef cattle and my grandpa, Bob Wareham, runs about 100 cows right down the road. Growing up on a ranch, you start riding colts and breaking horses, and that led to my interest in rodeo.” Cable started out in 5th grade and went up through the junior high ranks riding saddle bronc steers as well as team roping, calf roping, and chute dogging. “I think the saddle bronc steers in junior high help kids pick up riding faster and draw kids to the sport.”
Cable recently graduated from Jackson Heights High School, where he played football and basketball all four years, and was an officer in the FFA and FBLA his junior and senior years. “I think kids that play sports and rodeo need to find a balance. I’d work hard at rodeo in the summer, then start football and when I came back to rodeo it would show that I hadn’t practiced. If I could do it again, I’d spend more time on rodeo during the other sports’ seasons.”
Cable will be studying farm and ranch management while rodeoing for Fort Scott Community College in Fort Scott, Kansas. “Chad Cross was the coach of the year in the Central Plains Region and I’m looking forward to rodeoing for him. I hope to make the college finals, and that there gets to be a college rodeo finals this season.”
“I appreciate the Farm Bureau, a big sponsor of KHSRA, and all of the people involved in the KHSRA, I was glad to win the champion saddle bronc title my senior year and they sure did a good job all four years putting on rodeos for us.”
