story by Lily Weinacht
Fisher Trowbridge of Dyersburg, Tennessee, teamed up with Allen Morse on a lark for ribbon roping last season, and the friends went home the 2018 NLBRA Senior Ribbon Roping World Champions. “Allen and I just picked it up about three quarters of the way through the year—he needed the all-around points and we were doing it for fun, and we ended up winning the title!” says Fisher, 16. The title is his first in the NLBRA, while Allen also won the senior boy world all-around. “I struggle sometimes with my mental game, but I believe if you take a deep breath and don’t go at it like it’s a world champion title, that helps a lot.”
Visualizing himself in his practice pen at home helped Fisher last year as well when he roped at Fired Up Production’s USTRC roping in Tunica, Mississippi, and won a saddle. “I ended up roping in my tennis shoes—I forgot my boots—and I thought it was going to be a bad day, but I ended up bringing the saddle home.” Both his saddles are in his room where he can enjoy them, and Fisher is working hard to add to his collection. He’s qualified for the 2019 NLBFR in tie-down roping, team roping with Miller Bartlett, and ribbon roping with Kolby Krieger. “I’m kind of a competitive junky. I really like the titles a lot too, and it’s coming back home and getting to ride and rope with your friends. A lot of my friends are at the rodeos, and that’s what keeps me going.”
Fisher especially enjoys extra time with his friends at the NLBFR, where they are hard core competitors at the goat ropings and jackpots in between performances. They also enjoy going to the Oklahoma’s Stockyards City and the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum. “The Lazy E is awesome,” says Fisher, who joined the association in 2017 after Allen Morse told him about the NLBRA. He then settled in to the Central Arkansas NLBRA. “I think I’ve made every rodeo but one of theirs this year. I just like the atmosphere, and the people are much more helpful and the judges are so nice.”
Often, Fisher travels to rodeos with his mom, Emily, while his dad, Todd, goes with Fisher’s 13-year-old brother, John Morris, to his basketball and baseball tournaments. Fisher reintroduced horses into his family when he was 11 and started riding at a neighbor’s house. He was gifted his first horse for Christmas, and eventually found a mare named Lena who carried him to his first rodeos when he was 13. “My dad brought home a rope one day, and I roped everything I walked by,” says Fisher. “I ended up going to a guy named Cliff Goodrich. He’s won the Southeastern Circuit Finals several times and is a big IPRA guy. Joe Beaver has helped me out a lot—I’ve gotten a couple of my horses from him—and he’s motivational and pretty straight up about things.”
Fisher taught his team roping horse, Yachty, to head and heel over a summer, and his calf horse, Ice Man, came from Joe Beaver. He earned his name when the Trowbridges went to pick him up in Texas during one of the worst ice storms the state has seen in several years.
If horses aren’t in tow, Fisher and his family spend time at their lake house in the summer, while he is also accumulating hours to get his private pilot’s license. Fisher started working for a crop duster loading planes, and found a love for aviation. He practices in his 1965 Cherokee 140 and is 30–40 hours away from his private license. His ultimate goal is to become a crop duster. “I’ve always wanted to go pro with rodeo, but that is kind of risky, so I want to have a backup plan, which is flying, but I would love to go pro. Even if that doesn’t work out, there’s team roping at USTRCs, and I’ve always planned on hitting the George Strait (Team Roping Classic) at least once.”
