Beau Cooper

By: Dianne Finstad Call it a breakout moment in what many claim will become a superstar career. Beau Cooper was able to stand on the podium at the Calgary Stampede, with a $50,000 check above his head, and a championship bronze nearby. The grandstand was full of cheering fans to see a Canadian cowboy win the tie-down roping title, which hadn’t happened since 2014. Cooper, just 21, backed into the box in the Showdown Round and stuck a smooth 7.0-second run on his calf to take the big win.

By: Jolee Jordan Stop us if you’ve heard this one before: Shane Hanchey is winning big over the Fourth of July. The 2013 PRCA World Champion Tie-Down Roper seems to always find an extra gear during the week known as Cowboy Christmas and he did it again in 2023. Just days after clinching a key win at the Greeley (Colo.) Stampede, Hanchey delivered a pair of fast runs to clinch the average title at the St. Paul Rodeo with 17.3 seconds on two head.

Congratulations to all the champs at RodeoHouston on those season-changing wins. Between the timing of $50,000 worth of momentum and the financial boost taking every winner straight to the top of the world standings, there is no regular-season rodeo with more impact. It’s a great rodeo, and by all accounts from my cowboy and cowgirl friends, Houston’s contestant hospitality is second to none. As it should be, the stars of the show are treated like the celebrities they are in H-Town.