story by Lindsay Humphrey
“If it doesn’t involve a horse, a rope or a cow, I’m really not interested in it to be honest,” said Will Mayfield from the northern Oklahoma town of Barnsdall. Born into a ranching family, roping, riding and working on the family operation is a part of the 14-year-olds genome. His calf and team roping skills inside the arena are built on the same foundation from which the events were created. “I help my parents (Tyler and Elizabeth) on our ranch a lot. We built a big team roping arena at our place about 8 years ago and that really helped me a lot.”
Although Will is an avid switch-end roper on the steers, he prefers both calf roping events: tie-down and ribbons. “I enjoy tie-down roping the most, even when I was a little kid. I like the competition of it.” Four years ago, Will received his current calf horse, Lucky, from his grandpa Steve Milligan. “He’s my lucky charm I reckon. He’s probably the best horse I’ve ever had. He helps me out a lot in my runs. He scores great in the box and tracks up on the calf and works my rope for me. Plus, he has a great personality.”
Horsepower is hard to come by as an eighth grader, but Will has parents and grandparents who always keep him mounted well. His dad even handed over his good team roping horse so Will could head for Grady Gatewood from Welch, Oklahoma. More than that, Elizabeth’s parents, Steve and Keitha Milligan, as well as Tyler’s parents, Cheryl and Richard Herard, attend each one of Will’s events. The miles and hours in the sun don’t bother these grandparents, because Will is truly their pride and joy. He’s following in the family footsteps as both a cattleman and a roper. “I want to hopefully make it to the NFR one day and have my own ranch. But I’ll still help my parents on our ranch.”
Rodeo is in his blood, but Will’s parents and grandparents gave him more than an innate desire to compete. “My grandpa Steve has given me some good horses and lots of help. He’s coached me and I don’t think I’d be where I am today without him. My grandma Keitha, she’s always been a really big fan of mine, and she’s hauled me quite a bit and let me ride a few good horses. I wouldn’t be going to the junior high rodeos without my parents and all four of my grandparents.” The 2020-2021 rodeo season is Will’s first and last season in the OKJHSRA. After finding quite a bit of success in various junior rodeo associations across the state, he decided it was time to step up his game.
“You’re only as good as the people you rope against. The competition in the OKJHSRA is steep.” Will intends to compete in the OHSRA next year, but he has some goals to accomplish in junior high first. “For the spring season I’d like to have solid runs in all my events and make sure I catch for my heeler and my ribbon runner. I’m working towards placing in the top four at state finals so I can go to nationals.” Even though Will has nationals on the mind, he still keeps things in perspective. “Probably the most important thing in rodeo is staying aggressive and having faith in God, but if you aren’t having fun at the same time then you aren’t going to accomplish anything.” Just like his parents, Will understands the importance of his equine athlete. He gives them patience in the box when they need it and top care back at home. “Horses can sense everything you do and if you’re good to them then they’ll be good to you. But if you don’t take care of them, they won’t last very long.”
