Meet the Member Patrick Martin

story by Terry Rhodes
Patrick Martin has been in the Mid-States Rodeo Association for the last three years and his primary event is tie-down roping but he will occasionally team rope. He gets to upwards of 30 Mid-States rodeos and has made the Finals in 2012 and 2014. For Patrick, the Mid-States association has a lot to offer. “There are a lot of really good stock contractors, the rodeos are close by, and they’re set up so you can make a circle and get to three rodeos in three days, and then be home. A lot of them have added money and the Finals down in Lincoln are great.” He also competes in the NSRA, KPRA, and has his PRCA permit.
Patrick, 30, has grown up around horses and got his start with the help of his dad. “My dad bought me a good, old, solid rope horse. It was Bud Eberle that taught me how to rope. It’s all just snowballed from there.” Patrick rodeoed in high school all four years. When Patrick went to college there was no time for rodeo. “I didn’t rodeo in college. I got married and went to college full time and worked full time.” He attended University of Nebraska at Kearney where he majored in agri business.
Patrick names Larry Coleman as being a major influence on him. “I do a lot of cowboy work for him. I ride pastures and feed lots for him. He’s taught me a lot about business, cattle, and working with people.” In rodeo Patrick says that his friend and sometimes traveling partner Cole Tierney has been that good influence on him. “He has gotten me going to 30 and 40 rodeos a year. He’s helped with the entering and planning rodeos so that you can make a circle and save fuel and he’s helped me in the practice pen.” Together Patrick and Cole produce an annual calf roping jackpot. “We partner on buying calves and have been buying calves so that we’re ready with good stock.”
Patrick spends a good deal of time and effort training with Cole and they do a lot of flanking and tying from the post. “We practice enough that when we go to a rodeo, we know we’re ready and can win or we wouldn’t enter. We do a lot of work on the fundamentals during the week and then just go react in the arena.”
Like a lot of calf ropers, Patrick knows the importance of having a good horse to work from and gives them credit for his success. “I take a lot of pride in my horses and they’re what has won me the most money.” When looking for a rope horse, Patrick isn’t too concerned with pedigree but says, “I want them to be conformationally correct and to have a good mind.”
He and his wife, Elissa make their home in Callaway, Nebraska about 20 miles from where Patrick was born and raised. They have two children, Lucy, 2, and Clancy, 2 months. Patrick’s typical weekday starts at 5am. After chores, he’ll head out to either ride in the pasture or ride pens for the day. By afternoon he’s back home roping on young horses. This routine is perfect for training. “I can give them a job and then train them in the afternoon.”
This routine fits right into long term goals for Patrick. “I really like training calf horses. And long term, we want to get an indoor arena built so that I can train horses year round.”