Zach Harper
story by Ruth Nicolaus

photo by Jennings Rodeo Photography

Zach Harper is beginning his final year in the Louisiana Junior High School Rodeo
Association.
The thirteen year old, who lives in Hineston, La., competes in the team roping, ribbon roping, breakaway roping, chute dogging, and this year, will add tie-down roping and goat tying to his repertoire.
He rides a seven-year-old black gelding named Magic, who the family has owned since he was one. Magic was trained by Zach’s older brother Egan, and Zach has spent the summer working on Magic, getting him better at stopping for the tie-down roping.
He is an eighth grade student at Hicks High School, and even though he spends the summer not thinking about school (“I try not to focus on school whenever it’s summertime,” he says), he’s ready for basketball and baseball. Zach is also a member of 4-H and runs track. He enjoys math and social studies classes.
For fun, this past summer, he roped, spent time in the pool, and enjoyed the National Junior High Finals in Des Moines. Nationals were fun, even though a friend got lost on the grounds and Zach and his mom had to find him.
This was Zach’s first time to qualify for Nationals and he went in the team roping. He’s been to state finals both years of junior high rodeo, in sixth grade in the team roping, and this past June in all his events.
The Harper family has a variety of animals, including chickens, goats, cows, horses, a rabbit, and a bunch of blue heelers. They keep blue heelers because they’re good cow dogs.
When Zach grows up, he’d like to be a professional team roper and qualify for the National Finals Rodeo, or play NBA ball. But if he’s going to play basketball, he knows he has some growing to do. The 5’5” cowboy is also trying to put on a little weight to make chute dogging a little easier.
Zach’s oldest brother Dusty gave him his middle name, Clay; he was named after the team roper Clay O’Brien Cooper. Zach’s younger brother Connor, whose middle name is Jake, was named after header Jake Barnes, with whom O’Brien Cooper won the PRCA team roping championship seven times.
Zach and his brothers Egan and Connor all vie for the title of favorite uncle with Dusty’s two children, a daughter, Aribella, age four, and a son, Newt, who is two. “Me, Connor and Egan fight over who’s the best uncle,” Zach said. The niece and nephew “switch uncles every now and then, depending on whoever’s being nicer to them.”
He is the son of Wade and Jennifer Harper.