Robby Farias has been a member of the association for the last two years and also competes in the PRCA, World Series Team Roping, and USTRC. He likes going to the Rocky Mountain events because he knows he can count on good cattle and a short score. “It’s mostly local guys with some out-of-state guys. They are always fun rodeos that are fast paced.” Most often Robby ropes heads and is rated as a 7 header; 8 heeler in the USTRC books.
Robby got started team roping when he was 14 years old with the help of his dad and uncle, Ross Farias. “They both rodeoed for a living for a while and were both real good ropers. I competed in high school rodeo for one year in Hawaii and then went into the pro rodeos. I team roped quite a bit in Hawaii; jackpots and US ropings.”
Born and raised in Hawaii, the 21-year-old roper now makes his home in Decatur, Texas after moving from Spanish Fork, Utah. “I moved from Hawaii to Utah when I was 17. I’m living at Allen Bach’s place now and doing a lot of roping and work with Allen. He definitely knows what it takes to get to the Finals and he has helped me a bunch.” His present situation matches up perfectly with one of Robby’s long term goals which is to one day make the NFR and he is getting some insight and lessons from one of the best in the game. But he knows the NFR doesn’t come easy and he is planning on making an all out effort to get to 75-plus rodeos to make that goal a reality.
When Robby is getting ready to make that fast run, he takes time to be sure everything is right. “I really think about the score a lot. I make sure my horse is standing straight; when he’s standing straight, I know that he’ll come out right. It may take two or three times to get him set right, but I want everything right before I nod my head.” He knows that as with any timed event, his horse is crucial to his success. “I think I have a really good horse and I can get out really good on him. He’s 22 years old and I’ve been riding him since I was 15. When you get out right, you don’t have to reach so much.” Being consistent is important to Robby and he makes sure he does everything the same way every time, including the black glove. “I always wear a black glove. They’re kind of hard to find, but I always make sure I’ve got one. That may be a little bit over the top, but I like to get into the groove.”
His parents are Bob and Tobi Farias and he has a sister, Rachael. He says that his father has been his biggest influence. “He’s the one that really got me started and taught me everything I know about roping. He always made sure I had good horses to ride, made sure I was doing things right, getting plenty of time to practice.”
