Keeping Stories Alive
Cassie Chapman’s voice is full of love and thankfulness when she speaks about her family, her husband, and her roping. A tough breakaway roping competitor and current Director of Breakaway Roping for the International Pro Rodeo Association (IPRA), Cassie is no stranger to the IPRA or the world of rodeo.
In fact, she is a third-generation rodeo athlete, with her grandparents on both sides being involved with horses.
For LaFayette, Georgia’s Zeb Chapman, horses have always been a family affair. From growing up with his dad deeply involved in the horse and roping world, to roping with his sister, and now through continuing the family tradition with his own roping, horse training, and marriage to breakaway roper Cassie Chapman.
Erin Weaver is a testament to hope. After having her life flipped upside down, she discovered new pieces of joy that fit together into a puzzle of peace. The central theme: fishing.
Several years ago, Weaver was living in Wilmington and working as a registered nurse. She had a fiancée, a house, and a thriving career–what many would consider to be the picture of a successful life. All of that changed in July of 2019, when she became affected by Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS). This diagnosis and the ensuing daily symptoms led to intense transition, from leaving work and becoming a person with a disability, to having to sell her house and seeing her engagement come to an end.
Tori and Robbie Murdock are a North Carolina calf roping power couple whose dedication to quality competition, advocacy, and community education is well known along the East Coast.
Respectively from Villanow, Georgia, and Statesville, North Carolina, they make their home together in Statesville but spend plenty of time burning up the rodeo road as competitors in the Southern Rodeo Association (SRA) and the International Pro Rodeo Association (IPRA).
Maelee Wade is one determined lady. A cowgirl from Georgia, she made headlines by winning the 2023 World Champions Rodeo Alliance (WCRA) Rodeo Carolina. Not only did she take home $25,000, but she reminded folks roping talent goes far beyond the western states with a smoking 2.45 second run.
It’s that time of the year–for NFR and holiday cheer. Custom saddle maker and PRCA steer wrestler Pat Hooper of Pat Hooper Leatherwrks will be …
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.
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.
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.
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.
