By Siri Stevens
Cole Austin competes in team roping as a heeler in the Mid States Rodeo Association. “I used to be a member of other associations, but now I don’t have time,” said the 33-year-old carpenter from Meadow Grove, Neb. “We bought an old farm place that we are fixing up. We’ve remodeled the kitchen and bathroom and all three bedrooms upstairs. This summer I’ll finish up my brother’s place, build a shed, and get some pens set up and some pasture fenced.” He lives three miles from his brother, Beau, who heads for him. “It’s rewarding to build your own stuff, between both of us, we can do the electrical and plumbing and construction, keeping everything in house.” The plan is to get both places up and running and then start going again. “We still went to around 25 or 30 last year.”
Cole has been roping his whole life and started roping competitively when he was in junior high, roping with Beau. The two grew up breaking ponies. “My dad (Dallas) roped and he and my grandpa would buy us ponies that weren’t broke and we would break them. My grandpa knew a bunch of people with horses, and people knew we liked ponies. It kept us busy. We had up to 7 going at one time. It was interesting and it helped with roping. We roped on them, no live steers, but roping dummies that we would drag around.”
Cole went to Northeast and college rodeoed. He graduated with the technical skills to land the job as a carpenter and learned the rest on the job. He’s been building houses for Randy Walters since 2001. “I liked working building stuff when I was little, it came naturally,” he said. “I’ve built around 180 houses.” The street goes in, and he builds the houses. “I do everything, from the framing to the trim work.” His favorite part is framing. “You see a lot of progress doing that.”
He met his wife, Maria, after a roping. “I went to the concert after the roping and met her.” It was love at first site for Cole. “I talked to her that first night and I’ve talked to her every day since.” Maria, who he married October 25, 2014, doesn’t rope, but she goes with him to watch. “She’s met a lot of people at the rodeos.”
His plan for the future is to have a family and keep roping. “I like the association for the competition,” he said.
