story by Ruth Nicolaus
Parker Nokes is the 2020-2021 Nebraska Junior High School Rodeo Association breakaway champion.
The McCook cowboy, who just completed his first year of junior high rodeo, finished the rodeo season a half-point ahead of the reserve champion, Jackson Wykert.
He competes not only in the breakaway, but the goat tying, team roping (heeling for Taylor Drueke) and the ribbon roping (roping for Sophia Schemper.)
For the breakaway, he rides his dad, Garrett’s, former team roping horse, Scout.
He and his dad, who passed away on February 14 of this year had made a deal concerning Scout.
Garrett roped at the World Series Finale in 2017, winning the Ariat World Series No. 12 with Scott Smith.
“Our deal was,” Parker said, “if he did good in Vegas, I’d get to start using Scout full time. And he did.” Scout had been Garrett’s primary horse, till his backup won the World Series for him and he was able to hand Scout off to Parker.
This was not only his first state junior high finals (he just completed sixth grade), but his first finals without his dad.
It wasn’t easy, but Uncle Justen Nokes stepped in to help.
Justen has been attending all of Parker’s junior high rodeos, offering advice and helping out.
Garrett, who was a steer wrestler, tie-down roper, and team roper in the PRCA, Nebraska State Rodeo Association, Kansas Pro Rodeo Association, and Mid-States Rodeo Association, worked extremely hard at his craft, not only physically but mentally.
“That’s what Garrett was so good at, how to overcome the mental part of it. Garrett knew how to win,” Laura, his wife, said. “I’m sure there were steer wrestlers and calf ropers that were more talented than him, but he knew how to win and how to prepare himself to win, and that’s why he did so good at it.”
Garrett worked to instill that in his boys, Parker, age thirteen, and his older brother, Trevor, age sixteen, she said, in both the boys’ interests, rodeo for Parker and golf and tennis for Trevor. “It’s the same in golf,” Laura said. “When you make a bad shot, you have to move on so you can make a good shot. Garrett was working with Trevor on his golf and tennis game.”
Parker’s state finals win didn’t come as he would have liked.
He went into the finals in second place, five points behind Jackson. He won the first round with a time of 2.56 seconds, then missed both loops in the second round.
At finals, points are calculated differently than during the regular season. The finals rounds are double the points of regular rodeos; hence, winning first is twenty points. And the average is ten points.
Wykert won the average, but Parker won the year-end by a half-point.
He was nervous watching the second round, after he’d missed. “Luckily some kids were playing defense for me, that didn’t have much luck during the year but were making good runs that day.”
Garrett and Laura instilled in their boys that when things went wrong, they could dwell on it briefly but then had to move on.
“That’s our rule,” Laura said. “Do a pity party for 15 minutes then it’s over and we move on and look at the next run.”
Parker has a set of cheerleaders in the Mid-Plains Community College rodeo team, where Garrett was timed event coach.
He practiced often with the team and especially enjoyed roping with Danielle Wray, because she always caught. Danielle, who was a two-time breakaway roping champ for the Great Plains Region, came to the state junior high finals to watch him rope. Landon Sivertsen, another Mid-Plains rodeo athlete, stayed in McCook an extra week to practice with Parker before finals.
“I think Parker has an advantage,” Laura said, “because he’s been able to practice, since he was little, with the college team. They’ve mentored him.” The rodeo team is a big family at Mid-Plains, Laura said.
He’s ready to go to Des Moines in June for the National Junior High Finals. Justen and his family, wife Ashley and daughter Halli, will be there, to help out and cheer him on.
Parker has his goals set for Nationals. He wants to place in a round and in the average.
When Garrett did things, he was 120 percent into them, Laura said. “Parker is the same way. He has that drive and determination. He’s a fierce competitor like his father.”
He also won the reserve rookie of the year title.
