In the cow horse world, there are different types of people. There are folks who thrive off the adrenaline of the crowd, and there are folks who need no encouragement other than the love of the game. The latter are the ones who have the most heart and grit, and know a buckle is no substitute for a job well done under tough conditions. While a mixture of both is healthy and the lines certainly blur, it is the purest appreciation of the sport that will keep it alive and thriving for future generations. As a young woman with a love for the game and an ongoing desire to learn, I was especially encouraged to get to know Oklahoma calf roper Tony Graves, who exhibits the finest characteristics of the industry.
Graves is a cowboy who demonstrates the essence of what draws children to rodeos: a love for swinging ropes and riding good horses. His humility in discussing his talent only further illuminates his passion for the sport and its future. He is the type of man who you find day in and out swinging a rope, investing years and long hours into improving their horse, and who doesn’t need a buckle to get a smile.
Graves grew up on the family ranch in Wynnewood, Oklahoma, which was established in the 1940s. He still lives in the same house that his parents did and carries on with raising cattle and breeding fine horses. Graves had a horse before he was born, and his first two Shetland ponies were always kicking him or riding him under the fence. Yet as his mother recalls, he never let it bother him, and never stopped riding. As he explains, he just had a love for horses and never slowed down, even when the Shetland would “teach him some manners.”
It was his father that taught him to handle a rope, and with his tragic death when Graves was still a young man, his legacy survives in yet another capacity as Graves mentors’ other ropers.
As Tony got older, he continued riding and roping, only going without a horse once in his life when he made a good deal with the neighbor. For $150 the neighbor could buy his horse for his teenage daughter who wanted to ride in parades. However, as the deal went, when the daughter discovered boys he would buy the horse back for the same price. Although he bought another horse in the meantime, it wasn’t long before he got that horse back for the selling price, and he hasn’t been without a horse since.
A man who speaks with quiet confidence, Tony has team roped and calf roped in competitions, but says calf roping and doing so at his house appeals to him as much if not more than being out on the road competing. Graves enjoys starting young rope horses and has been able to do so with most of his horses in his own breeding program. The program is based off of the Rugged Lark bloodlines, and his focus is specifically on brains– good minded, good using, every day ranch horses. Horses who like being around people and want to please. He described one of these horses through being able to put a three-year-old on its back and have it trot and stop all off of verbal and hand commands.
When asked about advice for new ropers, he mentioned how so many kids are growing up handy with a rope, as though it’s an extension of their arm. Because of this, he feels that what sets competitors apart is their horsepower and horsemanship. Graves has taken the time to focus on this in his own game and adds for folks like myself interested in breakaway roping that it will be the aspects like how fast you can get to the front of the saddle and get your rope up that will make the difference in bringing home a check.
In terms of his own attraction to calf roping, he admits that it seems like calf roping gets into your blood. There is something he just likes about getting off the horse and tying the calf down. Jokingly, he adds that he never stopped liking playing in the dirt. Although he grew up around poly grass ropes, he currently uses a Viper, and cites the endless maintenance and changing feel due to weather as reasons for the lack of appeal of the poly grass ropes.
As Graves pursues his passion on the homestead, his motto to put Christ above all else provides the inspiration and framework to live by. He is hopeful that one of his grandkids will take up roping one day, and in the meantime, he continues to mentor the next generation.
One particularly powerful connection grew out of this willingness to serve when Graves hosted a Brazilian exchange student who was interested in roping. To support the young mans pursuit, Graves got a mare from a local woman for the young man to use to rope while he stayed with them, and both have stayed in his life forevermore. The young man is now like family, and Grave affectionately speaks of visiting him and his Brazilian grandchildren. The mare acquired for the young man is also part of the family, and has produced several fine prospects in their breeding program. In addition, she came sporting the brand that is now imprinted on all of the Graves ranch stock.
Although much could be said about his skills, he prefers to talk about his family, wife, horses, and all that make him who he is. Plus, he doesn’t fail to stop and ask about my own roping and the issues I’m working on, and provides several helpful insights.
With his integrity and a string of good horses, including five really strong roping horses, Graves carries on the cowboy and the family tradition.
