story by Lindsay Humphrey
A trophy saddle won at 4 years old was the hook, line and sinker Cooper Young needed to make rodeo his number one priority. It’s one of Cooper’s earliest memories of the sport, but its stuck with him for the last 10 years probably because he’s still chasing that feeling. “At the time I had never won anything and when I got that saddle it just made me want to rodeo even more,” said the 14-year-old from Silver City, New Mexico. “That’s probably still my favorite memory of rodeo.” A close second is when Cooper won third at the Junior BFI in 2020. “I was super happy and proud of myself because I had only won one roping before that. It was neat to prepare well and then get rewarded for it.”
In the NMJHSRA, Cooper heels behind Kyon Hatley, ropes calves for his runner – Channing Robinson – wrestles steers in the chute dogging and ropes even more calves in the breakaway. Team roping is his main event; it’s been handed down through the ranks of his family. “I ribbon rope mainly for the all-around points, but it’s fun to just go rope calves. And I like chute dogging because it’s so different and I’ve never really done anything like it before now.” Cooper’s dad, Milo, has roped his entire life and passed the sport on to his only son at an early age. “I really like to heel because I think it’s fun, but it can be challenging. Getting the timing right is the hardest part of it.”
When Cooper first started in rodeo, he was doing barrels and poles on his first, albeit favorite pony, Bumblebee. “My dad didn’t like the barrels, so my mom (Kandra) played a big role in helping me with that. She was always on me about doing things right and I think that’s made me be a better roper now.” Kandra is still the supportive and involved riding coach, but she’s also added videographer to her resume.
Going into state finals, Cooper and Kyon were leading the pack in the team roping. In fact, they had led the event since the beginning of the fall season. Six hours of windshield time separated the two, which meant they practiced with other partners. “I know he practices every day because he’s from a roping family too.” Despite practicing separately more often than not, Cooper and Kyon won their event at state finals. Once in Georgia for nationals, the pair came back to the short go in fourth place. They may not have won a national championship, but they helped team New Mexico take second place in the overall rankings.
During the winter months, Cooper spends a lot of time outside the arena while he’s playing basketball for Cliff High School. “Most days when I get home in the winter it’s dark, but I sill ride horses and rope the dummy or the goat. I try to do something to keep up with rodeo during the off season.” Cooper appreciates all his coaches and teachers at school, but it’s his friends that he likes most of all. Once March hits and basketball ends, Cooper slips back into full rodeo mode with ease.
“I really like to see all my friends there [NMJHSRA events] and hang out, but I mostly just go to compete and do well. The team roping is a lot more competitive than some of the other junior associations because people are more experienced in junior high.” As Cooper reflects on his final season in junior high rodeo, he’s enjoyed his time in events outside of team roping while he still could. “There isn’t chute dogging, breakaway or ribbon roping in high school, so I’ll just focus on team roping completely. I’m kind of happy that I’ll just be doing one event because I know the competition will be a lot harder so that will be an adjustment.”
