story by Lindsay King
“All I really do is rope and take care of cows,” said Gunner Walker of rural Arthur, Nebraska. It could be said that roping and watching over cow calf pairs has been Gunner’s life work in his short 23 years. “We grew up on a ranch, so we always rode horses to gather cattle and all that sort of thing. My dad (JB) really taught my brother (Hunter) and I a lot about roping, riding and ranching.” It was convenient that Gunner and his brother got to rope and ride a lot, because it quickly prepared them for the rodeo arena. “I was able to handle the pressure of rodeo a lot better because roping in the branding pen taught me how to catch everything.”
JB rodeoed most of life and so did most of the rest of the family. “I’m not really sure how I got into rodeo, it just kind of happened. Roping is what we did for fun. And it just kind of stuck.” Although Gunner gave steer wrestling a try in high school thanks to his uncle, Paul Cleveland, team roping has stuck with him for life. “My uncle Paul helped me get to where I could ride a lot of horses when I was younger. I went over there a lot because my cousin, Brody Cleveland, is about my age. Him and I would go out and rope calves and throw steers down in the alley when we were bored, and we would just hang out all day long.”
Most days after school, Gunner found himself at Mark Swanson’s house roping. “He had an arena right by school, so I would go rope with him most days.” After high school, Gunner worked for Todd Pineos. He was starting colts and dabbling in the rope horse business. Gunner then transitioned to working for Mark Wray near Ericson, Nebraska. “He really helped me learn a lot about horse training. He taught me how to keep horses good in the box and their shoulders up during the run, just a lot of the basic stuff to get a good horse going.” Roping every day certainly didn’t hinder Gunner’s advancement as a swap-end roper or rider.
Life has now come full circle for Gunner as he works and heads for Mark Swanson. During the summer he heads for Mark, now his current employer, and then heels in the winter. This will be his second year both roping with Mark on a competitive level and in the M-SRA. Gunner spent his winter in Arizona where he found some of the best jackpots he’s ever been to. Until recently, Gunner hasn’t given rodeo as much attention as jackpots. He’s looking forward to making a run for the finals for the first time this upcoming season. “When Mark asked me to head for him, I figured I should since I grew up around him and I have always wanted to rope with him at a rodeo.”
Even though Gunner grew up in a rodeo family, he wants to be one of the first to seriously compete at the circuit rodeos. As both a cattleman and horseman, he’s got access to the horsepower and skills to do just that. “I really like starting horses in the team roping, so I do that a lot. That’s just kind of kept me going; making and selling good rope horses.” Mounted on 8-year-old Buck, Gunner frequently enters on some of Mark’s horses as well as his own. However, his own buckskin is still his favorite. “I both head and heel on him, he goes to all the jackpots with me. He’s really taught me how to catch everything, he’s really easy to rope on.”
