“Everybody out here is who they are because of their horse.” Those are the words of current No. 1 heeler Cooper Freeman, and in his case, it’s all about the 10-year-old dun he calls Carbon. PBD Corndog is the ride that delivered this 23-year-old Carthage, Missouri, cowboy to the $70,750 windfall win at RodeoHouston with New Mexican Korbin Rice, who’s 24. You know, the win that changed everything for a couple of hard-working, big-dreaming kids.
“All the top guys have amazing horses, and they help them do their job a lot more than people realize,” continued Cooper, who was a PRCA rookie in 2023 and helped Tyler Worley and Justin Shaffer in the heading and heeling at the 2026 Cinch Timed Event Championship at the Lazy E Arena. “Horsepower is everything for us.”
The Team
Cooper heeled for Mason Appleton in 2023, and Kreece Thompson in 2024. Freeman joined forces with Rice in 2025, and they’ve found their rodeo rhythm.
“Our team is pretty consistent,” said Cooper, who’s like family to the Worleys, so spends a lot of time with them in Stephenville when in Texas. “Korbin does a really good job of getting out of the barrier and catches a lot, which makes it easy for me to heel. We can go fast when we need to, but we catch a lot. And I like that. You can keep the ball rolling, and not have so many ups and downs.
“Korbin does a great job. He takes care of me, and that horse he rides (Papa Rock) is amazing. These horses are super crucial to our team.”
How Cooper Found Carbon
Cooper bought Carbon last summer from Idaho’s Trae Smith.
“Trae always has good horses, and both of my good horses went down the beginning of the summer,” Freeman said. “I was riding a green horse, and needed to either buy another really good one or re-evaluate our plan. Trae was the first guy I texted. I tried Carbon a couple days later and bought him. I rode Carbon at Ogden the day I bought him.
What Cooper Loves About Carbon
“This horse makes it easy for me. He always gets in a good spot going around the turn, and he’s never too tight. He just makes my job easy, and to me that’s more important than having an amazing horse that maybe doesn’t help you all the time.”
At 15.1 hands and about 1,100 pounds, Cooper says, “Carbon’s a bigger horse and his neck’s a little long, but he always keeps his head out of my way. He’s never not on my team, and that’s a big plus for me.”
He’s hard to catch at home in the pasture, but other than that, “He’s pretty dang easy to get along with. He kind of wants to be left alone, but he’s not mean or anything. This horse is gentle. He just likes to be by himself and hang out.”
Carbon’s a sound, easy keeper, and Cooper says he’s good everywhere.
“I rode him at Houston, which is a pretty wide open arena, then at Austin (where they were 12.4 on three steers to split third in the average),” he said. “Carbon’s what I’ve been riding everywhere. I really like him at the longer setups, and he’s not done anything wrong at the shorter setups, either. It took me a little bit to get with him, but now I’d ride him anywhere for any amount of money, and have full confidence that he’s going to be on my team.”
The Win That Changed Everything
Winning Houston changed everything for the team of Rice and Freeman.
“Houston’s a great rodeo, and to have that much financial impact is unbelievable,” Cooper said. “There’s so much you can do with that kind of money, whether it’s to get more horses or just get down the road. I’ve never won that much money in a year. To have it come from one rodeo is pretty amazing.
“I give Korbin’s horse and my horse so much credit for the year we’re having. They both help us, and it’s pretty cool to see Carbon giving me the same shot every time. He helps me as much as he can every run, no matter what the steer does, and that means a lot. It’s pretty special to see what this horse has done for me.”
—TRJ—