Laura Pittman - Keeping Stories Alive

From the Ballpark to the Bill Pickett Rodeo

You may remember hearing about the versatile talents of saddle maker and steer wrestler Pat Hooper. In addition to his successes, he and his wife are passing their legacy on to their two young children and encouraging them to follow their dreams.

Pat and April Hooper’s daughter, Avery, is ten years old this year and has more self-motivation and drive than plenty of adults. Whether she is in the classroom, on the softball field, on the dance stage, or on her barrel racing horse, Avery is going to put on a show.

Avery excels in school and has a special interest in science. She’s polite and smart, and as her dad says “She’s just a good lady.”

East Coast Calf Ropers: Leah Hunter Hare

Leah Hunter Hare is a natural leader whose care and desire to build others up has shined through the business she and her two younger sisters proudly run.

The Greer, South Carolina breakaway roper and barrel racer didn’t grow up in a horse family and hopes to be an example for others that you don’t have to have been born into it to make it. You just have to have the desire and drive.

Leah was the first one in her family to ride horses. When she was two years old she adored horses and not long after her Poppy Gene bought her one. Her first horse, Rosie, taught she and her sisters how to ride. Later, they bought a step-up buckskin pony mare named Prissy that Leah and her sisters learned to barrel race on.

Breakaway Roping Horses Team Roping

Roping Her Way Across the South: Grace Bryant

Grace Bryant’s devotion to being a true horsewoman is apparent when she speaks about her approach to roping: “You win with your left hand, you rope with your right.” She knows the nuances of how your reins and contact with your horse’s mouth through the bit can affect your horse and why that can make and break a run. Grace believes this understanding of what’s happening with your horse from their health to their reaction to the bit and body position and what cues the rider sends to the horse matters, as does being able to read cattle and anticipate what their next move might be. She credits her Blue horse, Smoke, and her sorrel horse, Riggs, in her success in the arena. She also emphasizes the importance of riding horses with “try” that “love their job.”

Breakaway Roping Goat Tying Horses

East Coast Calf Ropers: Emma Reynolds

Six Mile, South Carolina, a community home to less than 1,000 people, is home to a special cowgirl named Emma Reynolds.

Currently in her senior year of high school, Emma finds a way to make the most of every day, finding the joy in life and working to make her dreams come true. A talented breakaway roper and goat tying, she stays involved in her church and community while going down the rodeo road.

It’s a family endeavor with the Reynolds and for Emma, rodeo is deep in her blood — in fact, she went to her first rodeo at 3 weeks old.

Barrel Racing Breakaway Roping Goat Tying Horses

East Coast Calf Ropers: Gracie Fritts

Gracie Fritts attitude and faith are as notable as her roping talent. The Lexington, North Carolina cowgirl has had her fair share of setbacks on the rodeo road. Rather than become discouraged, she has allowed it to shape her outlook in a way that lets her enjoy the game and appreciate her horses and the God-given opportunities before her.

Horses

Hooper Sends Horses Into Cowboy Christmas Success

The Horse and Rider Matchmaker

Not only does Pat Hooper have a knack for matching materials in his saddle making business for beautiful, quality leatherworks, but he knows how to pair people and horses together to elevate strengths and patch weaknesses for the greatest level of success. During cowboy Christmas this year, two of his recently matched pairs were cashing checks out west and down south.

Breakaway Roping Horses Team Roping

East Coast Calf Ropers: Kristen Lee

Kristen Lee is a bubbly, outgoing cowgirl whose passion shines through when she talks about the sport she loves: breakaway roping. An active competitor in the Southern Rodeo Association (SRA) and the International Pro Rodeo Association (IPRA), Kristen is also a local hair stylist at a salon. She likes Dub Grant and Fastback ropes and favors doing prom hair and extensions. Her favorite rodeo is the Cody Nights rodeo in Cody, Wyoming, which she had the privilege of competing in a while back. Her love for these things has been a while in the making, and her dad Ryan has been a huge part of her journey.

Breakaway Roping Horses

East Coast Calf Ropers: Rhegan Greene

Simpsonville, South Carolina’s Rhegan Greene has always been a go-getter with a love for horses. Her Nana rode English her whole life and as soon …

Breakaway Roping Horses

Passion and Perseverance: Caroline Bowen

An eastern North Carolina cowgirl, Caroline grew up in LaGrange, NC as a second-generation horsewoman and cowgirl. As a little girl, all she wanted to do was be a cowgirl, and her fascination with the Western way of life continues today. She speaks of this lifestyle in terms of devotion to animals, willingness to be up at all night hours to ensure an animal is okay and taken care of and staying connected with the land and one’s livestock.

Breakaway Roping Horses

Georgia’s Calf Roping Couple: Ashlee Freels

Breakaway roper Ashlee Freels and her husband calf roper Glen Freels have covered the continent pursuing their love for calf roping together. Today, they continue the family tradition of rodeo with their own children at their Georgia home.

For Ashlee, her journey with rodeo began during her childhood in east Tennessee. Her brother, Steve Miller, is a good bit older than her, and he and her uncle were heavily involved in the horse world. Both men roped and steer wrestled; while also clowning at some rodeos, working the Dixie Stampede, and working at Dollywood in the days it was Silver Dollar City.

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