Horses - Laura Pittman

Oklahoma’s Chase Crane Wins Big at Pat Hooper’s Jackpot

On Saturday, November 11, horse trailers lined the roads of Athens, Texas as the top steer wrestlers from across the country descended upon Pat Hooper Leatherwrks Annual Veterans Day Jackpot.

Hooper, a PRCA steer wrestler, saddle maker, and veteran, proudly hosts this jackpot every year with the intention of providing quality competition and top notch prizes.

With the support of multiple sponsors, Hooper delivered on both, and winner Chase Crane took home $7,000, plus a saddle and other assorted prizes.

The Saddles of Champions

This week Athens, TX saddlemaker and PRCA steer wrestler Pat Hooper was on site at the State Fair of Texas delivering 14 beautiful trophy saddles for the event champions to be awarded during the upcoming United Pro Rodeo Association (UPRA) finals.

Artisan Horses Saddle Making

A Saddle is Born: Part Two

If you started this journey with us and read A Saddle is Born: Part 1, you know we’ve joined Pat Hooper for an inside glimpse of the custom saddle making process. So far, the Texas saddlemaker and PRCA steer wrestler has set the ground seats and is now focusing on the horn, swells and riggings as he moves towards the back housing parts and skirt moldings around the tree.

Artisan Horses Saddle Making Steer Wrestling

A Saddle is Born: Part One

Have you ever wondered how a custom saddle is built? In partnership with Texas saddle maker and PRCA steer wrestler Pat Hooper of Pat Hooper Leatherwrks, I’m proud to walk you through the process from start to finish.

Artisan Horses Steer Wrestling

The Steer Wrestling Saddle Maker

Pat Hooper may have grown up in east Texas, but he has been a part of rodeo culture all across America. His father James Hooper owned and operated Rawhide Productions and was one of the leading producers in the black rodeo movement of the early 1970s. The rodeos ranged from Memphis to D.C. and attracted greats such as the Bobby Blue Bland and B.B. King to add melody to the magic. These adventures continued at RFK Stadium and even led to a Saudi Arabian sheik calling the elder Hooper and asking him to come produce a rodeo. Pat traveled across the U.S. with his father and followed in his footsteps as a calf roper.

Horses Photography

A Cowboy Photographer: Matt Treptow

A native of Sulphur, Oklahoma, Treptow didn’t start out walking the cowboy way. He spent his earlier years with a distinctive skater punk style, enjoying the adrenaline of four wheels over four legs. A time of transition started during junior high when he purchased a film camera at a local pawn shop and quickly became the kid carrying it around and taking pictures of everything in sight. Repetitive practice, paired with YouTube videos and internet tutorials, slowly took him beyond the point and click phase and gave him an interest in furthering his knowledge. His determination and dedication served him well, and his talents began to grow.

Bareback Riding Horses United Rodeo Association (URA)

Mike Kemp: Back to Being a Bucking Horse Man

When I first met Mike Kemp, he was by the front entrance to the arena of the Stormont Vail Events Center in Topeka, Kansas with a black felt cowboy hat and a presence that seemed to indicate he was an integral part of the passion that keeps rodeo alive.

His dedicated offering of time and talent helps several different rodeo associations and his love for the sport has now led him back into the bucking chutes after a multi-year hiatus.

As a child growing up in Iowa, Mike had an attraction to horses from an early age. He was able to explore this interest and gain exposure to the rodeo world while spending summers with his grandparents and their horses. Rodeo was a family-wide hobby for the Kemps, with his mom’s uncle a competitive roper and his brother David a bareback rider in high school rodeo.

Horse Training Horses Ministry Team Roping Youth

A Spotlight on Dugan Caldwell

If you’ve ever wondered what 14-year-old cowboys do in their free time, it may be shooting armadillos to keep the horse pastures hole free or chasing after the ranch goat “Baaatman” on foot while swinging a rope.

At least, if you’re Dugan Caldwell this might be true. This fun-loving young man is a team roper and budding horse trainer in Wynnewood, Oklahoma.

Dog Shows Horse Training Horses Mustangs Rodeo Queen Youth

Queen of the Ring

A good queen is well-versed in many areas and shares her passions as a leader in the field. Whether it is dogs or horses, Emm Evaristo is proud to wear the crown.

Not yet 20 years old, Emm has traveled the country as an equestrian competitor, rodeo queen, mustang trainer, and dog handler/breeder.

Growing up, Emm loved watching the Westminster dog show. Her enthusiasm for the show led to her begging her mother to let her get a dog they could take through the ranks. Her mother bought into the dream with the condition that it would have to be a hunting dog for her dad’s sake. So, their search began, and they found themselves enamored with a UKC registered black and tan coonhound named Lulu.

Bareback Riding Bull Riding Horses United Rodeo Association (URA)

The Maverick of the Rodeo

Maverick Griffin stands out at a rodeo for far more than his leopard print chaps. A young man with great talent in both the bareback and bull riding events, rodeo is Maverick’s happy place.

His story has been riddled with rodeo from the start, attending his first rodeo at just 3 days old. His dad was competing, and the rodeo was not far from the hospital, so Maverick was introduced into the family tradition as the third generation.