Barry Berg lives and breathes the cowboy life every day. The longtime Cactus Ropes general manager has worked for this booming business for over 30 years, since about a year after Cactus first opened its doors. When not in the shop building the next best thing for his roping superstar and recreational roper friends, you’ll find Berg out in the practice pen or entered up somewhere. Barry and his wife, Susan, who have two sons, Brett, 22, and Tyler, 20, live in Hale Center, Texas.
Q: How’d you get on at Cactus Ropes in the first place?
A: Cactus Jack Stephenson (who founded Cactus Ropes with his cousin Joe Mathews and friend Mike Piland in 1991) hired me when I was just a broke kid. My first day on the job for the rope company was July 15, 1992. Jack won the first-ever George Strait (Team Roping Classic) with his son, Jacky, in 1982, and they roped together at the 1984 NFR. Jack won The Strait a second time with Rich Skelton in 1991, the first time the winners won half-ton pickups and two-horse trailers. How I met those guys was Jack and Jacky had a roping school, and I went to work the chutes, because I didn’t have any money. The roping school got rained out, but I stuck around and rode three 2-year-olds they had on the ranch. That was in 1989, and I ended up staying, moving into their house and working on the ranch. By the time they bought the building for the rope company in 1991, I was working in the feedlot industry.
Q: What all did you do before becoming a rope-making master?
A: I started out working at feedlots. I was the assistant manager at the LS Feedlot in Hart, Texas, before I worked for Cactus. Bob Travis managed the feedlot before I hired him to work for Cactus Ropes, then he went to work for Lone Star Ropes. I was 26 years old when I went to work for Cactus, and here I still am at 59.
Q: How has your role in the company changed over the years?
A: In the beginning, we had one rope machine and no air conditioning. Then two rope machines and no AC. It was a big deal for us when Jacky went to the NFR with Kevin Stewart in 1993 using Cactus Ropes. Allen Bach came on board in 1996. He was a world champion, and when he felt our ropes he said, “I think I could win the world with any of these ropes.” That might have been our first big compliment. Denis Carroll bought Cactus Ropes in 1999, and that was a game changer. We could afford to make more test ropes, and his corporate knowledge took us from cowboys trying to make a little money to a big-time company.
Q: When did you start roping?
A: I grew up 15 miles from town, and my dad was a cotton farmer. We lived on a cotton farm that was a mile of dirt road from a 30,000-head feedlot. When I was old enough to walk there, I went to work at that feedlot. My first job was scraping the old paint off of the metal fence, and repainting it. But by fall, I got to work on the cowboy crew.
Q: How much do you get to rope these days?
A: We bought my wife’s family ranch, and I built an arena at our place in 2020. I rope anytime somebody comes by to get some ropes. I tell them to bring their horse. I believe a perfect rope will make a perfect swing, and fix everything.
Q: You had a big, $87,500-per-man win with Professional’s Choice’s Monty Crist at the 2025 BFI #11.5 Businessman’s Roping at the end of March. How much fun was that, and what did you do with the money?
A: Words can’t describe how much fun that was. And I really needed a financial cushion. We have a beautiful arena with a bar in the corner and a dance floor up top. Susan is building the house she deserves, so that house money came in handy.
Q: Is there one favorite win in your roping career that stands above the rest?
A: Winning the BFI (#11 in 2020) with Dustin (Noblitt) was very special to me, as was this year’s BFI win with Monty. One of the best experiences of my life was becoming a Rancheros Maverick in 2013. That’s when I became who I am, surrounded by badasses. Winning the Rancheros calf branding buckle was the best. I still wear it all the time, and go back and forth with my BFI buckle.
Q: Talk about the pride you take in the ropes you build.
A: I’ve learned a lot over the last 30-plus years, and have stayed in search of the perfect rope all these years. I live it, and I love it. This year’s ropes are rank. I think they can change your life. We’re inches away from the perfect rope, and we’re relentlessly searching for it.
Q: Which rope do you use, and why is it your personal favorite?
A: I won the BFI with a super-soft Xplosion, but I suspect the Kool Kat is going to overtake the Xplosion for #1 with the pros.
Q: Are you the guy who comes up with the Cactus Ropes names?
A: I’ve named about half of them. Corbin Livingston named The Swagger. Josh Johnson named The Thrilla. The Kool Kat came from me walking into the office one day needing a name that goes with kool—I wanted KK because of Ketch Kelton. Customer service rep Shannon Arredondo said “kat,” so we co-named that one.
Q: Who are some of the ropers who’ve most influenced the constant evolution of Cactus Ropes?
A: Trevor (Brazile) drove it. I’ve talked to him about quality more than anyone. He’s had a hand in all the ropes. And we really put him to work since we added the poly to our ropes last November.
Q: Are recreational ropers as important to Cactus Ropes as the big dogs?
A: They’re more important. People who rope for fun feed the big dogs, and keep the lights on. And they’re going to throw a loop for $150,000-200,000 (at the Ariat World Series of Team Roping Finale) in December. We’re looking to make the perfect rope for Vegas that people can trust. Our mission is to have the ropes that clear the mechanism. When you swing your rope, every negative thought should disappear. A perfect first swing clears the mechanism.
Q:Is there any end in sight for the booming team roping industry?
A: Absolutely not. We roped at $22 million at the Finale last year, and we all drive this train. I think it might get to $35 million under Denny Gentry and Donald Trump in the next four years.
Q: What’s the best part of your job?
A: These ropes we’re making right now are legit the best we’ve ever made. I can’t see myself leaving this company. We’re a big family here at Cactus Ropes.
—TRJ—
