‘I don’t like losing.’ Only 17, Denton roper wins title in Oklahoma vs. sport’s elite

By the time he was 6, Riley Webb was throwing a rope from atop a speeding horse.

As time went on, he developed a strong sense that roping for big bucks at rodeos would be his destiny.

“I knew I could rope pretty good when I was 11 or 12 years old and always had a dream of trying to rodeo for a living,” he said. “But when I was 14 or 15, I knew I could be really good at it.”

Last weekend, the 17-year-old Webb showed the world he’s a roper to be reckoned with. With the tie-down roping title at stake during the final round Saturday at Stampede at the E in Guthrie, Oklahoma, Webb clinched it with a speedy time of 8.5 seconds and earned $16,500.

The show was produced by the World Champions Rodeo Alliance, which works closely with the Professional Bull Riders to feature higher-paying events. Last weekend’s show stood out because prominent rodeos such as the Calgary Stampede and the Cheyenne Frontier Days have been canceled amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The big stage was nothing new to Webb. In March, he competed in the RFD-TV’s The American at AT&T Stadium in Arlington after finishing in the top five against the best ropers in the world during The American Semifinals at Cowtown Coliseum. Though he didn’t finish in the money at The American, Webb commanded respect by qualifying as a teenager.

Webb stoked his competitive juices by competing against the sport’s elite for a couple years at roping events.

“I don’t like losing, and so at the roping they were winning first and it pushed me harder to try to be faster and to try to get better at my roping,” Webb said. “If I wanted to win, I had to be faster than them.”

Webb, who is home schooled, begins a typical day with riding horses and then moves onto tackling his schoolwork. He caps the day by sharpening his roping skills at the family practice arena in Denton.

Webb rides a 12-year-old gelding named Titus, a speedy horse that bolts from the roping box into the arena.

“He’s got a lot of run,” Webb said. “He’s fast and he gets up to them fast. He’s able to run fast, he stops hard and gets back so I can tie them faster.”

During roping practice, his mother, Jennifer, films his runs. Afterward, he critiques himself similar to a star quarterback watching film.

“He’s kind of like the football team,” Jennifer Webb said. “After a football game they go in and discuss all of the positives and negatives. “

Jennifer said Riley also benefits from studying other competitors. In addition to carefully observing their athletic moves, he pays attention to details such as the tack on their horses.

“He studies the sport and he studies his competitors and looks at what they’re doing,” Jennifer said. “He might try it. If it works for him, he’ll keep doing it and if it doesn’t work for him, he’ll tweak it. He studies all aspects of the sport. He treats it like a business.

“God has blessed him with his abilities and his foresight. I just give God the credit because he’s given him everything he’s needed ahead of every opportunity he has.”

Riley Webb also clinched the tie-down title at last month’s National High School Finals Rodeo at the Lazy E Arena in Guthrie, also the site of Stampede at the E.

Last weekend, Webb turned in a blistering time of 7.5 in the first round and advanced to the three-man finals round where he faced 2019 Wrangler National Finals Rodeo qualifier Shad Mayfield, who currently is ranked No. 1 in the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association’s 2020 tie-down roping world standings, and Shane Hanchey, the PRCA’s 2013 world champion. Webb’s 8.5 was the only qualified run in the finals round.

Webb said he’s not intimidated by the bigger stages.

“It’s like roping at the house,” he said. “When you’re roping at a big jackpot or at a big rodeo like that, you just got to have confidence in your practice and all of the work you’ve put into it and you just got to go make your run.”

Webb’s father, Dirk, who serves as the director of The American, said his son has what it takes to win big.

“He’s just driven,” Dirk said. “He’s got the mindset and he’s very humble.”

Other winners

▪ In bull riding at the Stampede at the E, former PBR World Finals qualifier Jose Vitor Leme, a Brazilian who lives in Decatur, clinched the title with a score of 89.5 aboard a bovine named Nailed. Leme, who is ranked No. 1 in the PBR’s world title race, earned $62,500 by winning on his 24th birthday according to pbr.com.

▪ In bareback riding, former National Finals qualifier Jake Brown, who grew up in Hillsboro and currently lives in the South Texas town of Cleveland, clinched the title with an 87.5 aboard the bronc Top Flight. He pocketed $12,500. Brown is the son of longtime Hill College rodeo coach Paul Brown.

▪ In team roping, Colby Lovell, a former National Finals qualifier from Madisonville, and his partner, Paul Eaves, the 2018 PRCA heeling world champion from Lonedell, Missouri, lassoed the title with an 11.04. Other champions were steer wrestler Stockton Graves of Alva, Oklahoma; break-away roper Chelsey Abernathy of Athens, Alabama; barrel racer Michelle Darling of Medford, Oklahoma; and saddle bronc rider Shorty Garrett of Dupree, South Dakota.

Fans can watch the Stampede at the E on CBS at 7 p.m. Aug. 29.

PBR update

The PBR held an Unleash The Beast tour stop last weekend called Bullnanza at the Lazy E Arena in conjunction with the Stampede at the E.

Kaique Pacheco, a Brazilian from Decatur who clinched the PBR’s world title in 2018, won on Saturday night, earning $30,779.

Pacheco is ranked No. 5 in the PBR’s 2020 world title race with 444.5 points. Jose Vitor Leme is No. 1 with 827.5. Joao Ricardo Vieira, another Brazilian who lives in the Decatur area, is second with 624.25.

This weekend, the Unleash the Beast tour stops in Salt Lake City.

The PBR also has scheduled a show this month at Fort Worth’s Dickies Arena. The WinStar World Casino and Resort Invitational is scheduled for Aug. 29 (6:45 p.m.) and Aug. 30 (1:45 p.m.). The PBR will sell 50 percent of the arena capacity and masks and social distancing will be required. Tickets start at $15.

For more information, visit pbr.com and Ticketmaster.com.

Cooper riding high

Four-time world champion Tuf Cooper, who has homes in Weatherford and Decatur, and Reo Lohse a Wyoming cowboy, tied for first in the steer roping second round with a 9.2 at the Aug. 13-16 Fallon County Fair & Rodeo, a PRCA show in Baker, Montana.

According to prorodeo.com, their 9.2 was a single round steer roping record at the Baker Rodeo, a half second faster than the previous record of 9.7 by Brodie Poppino in 2018.

Cooper is ranked No. 1 in the PRCA’s 2020 world all-around title race.

This story was originally published August 21, 2020 at 6:00 AM.