Featured Athlete: Cole Younger

Cole Younger is a 5 Star Equine Products team member.
The nine-year-old cowboy, a resident of Oskaloosa, Iowa, competes in the breakaway roping, tie-down roping, goat tying and team roping (as a heeler for his dad.) Of his events, tie-down is his favorite because “you’re always moving and there’s no time to dilly-dally,” he said.
As a 5 Star member, he appreciates their products. “I use the Rancher one-inch saddle pad with fleece lining, the 5 Star Patriot boots, and the Pegasus bell boots. The boots give good support all the way around, and they last a really long time if you take care of them.”
His parents, Morgan and Derrick, appreciate the 5 Star Equine products. “One of the things Cole did was design his own pad,” Morgan said. “He was able to make it his own, to personalize it for himself.” The long-lasting high quality goods are another selling point for the Youngers. “To have him using high quality products gives him an extra boost of confidence in the arena,” she said. “As he learns new things, like horsemanship and how to tie and work with his horse, we don’t have to worry, ‘are the boots on right? Is the pad ok?’ It’s one less thing to worry about.”
For the tie-down, Cole rides two horses: Charlie, a horse he got earlier this spring, and Bear, a 26-year-old horse his dad competed on. For the heeling and breakaway, he rides Tex, a twenty-year-old sorrel. For the goat tying and breakaway, he rides Pearl, a nine-year-old roan. His favorite is Charlie, “because he’s more my size. I’m a little guy and all my other horses are big.” Charlie has a good personality, too. “He’s a really good calf horse. He’s really friendly and he likes it when you come out and pet him. He’s not shy.”
Cole just finished his fourth grade year, and, due to COVID-19, did online school through Zoom meetings. He prefers school work at home. “You get done way earlier and you get to rope way more.”
His favorite subject is science “because you learn about animals and I’m really into animals.” His favorite animals are horses (first choice); cows (second choice) and zebras (third choice.) He also plays basketball.
The best food his mom makes is homemade macaroni and cheese. His favorite dessert is bunny tracks ice cream (caramel and chocolate pieces in vanilla), and his favorite meat is steak He loves sweet corn, apples and Snickers and likes to wash it down with a diet Pepsi.
The best trip he’s taken was to Chris Neal’s Future Stars Calf Roping in Oklahoma. Cole attended it twice last year and will go again this spring. He learned lots and was one calf away from finishing in the top ten.
The Younger place has a variety of pets: a “ton” of cats, one dog, and chickens. Some of the cats are tame, some are wild, and the dog loves to chase all of them. The dog is a Corgi named Annie who Cole has trained to hunt rabbits.
When he grows up, he would like to be a professional tie-down roper and make multiple trips to the National Finals Rodeo. He looks up to Tyson Durfey because “he’s a really good calf roper and he’s a good guy.”
Cole has a younger brother, Carter who is four years old.