Trent Vaught, who turned 32 on July 30, has roped all his life. But the Mena, Arkansas, cowboy is having a breakthrough season in 2026, and has held down a Top 15 position in the world heeling standings since winning Fort Worth in early February.
Q: How old were you when you first picked up a rope, and at what point did you set your sights on roping for a living?
A: I’ve roped since I started walking. My dad (Billy Vaught) was always roping at the USTRC ropings, so I grew up at those. I’ve always roped and gone to jackpots. I was a rookie in 2021, but this is the first year I’ve tried to make the NFR. I went last year to try and get into the top 30, but came up a little short. I think I finished 37th in 2025. This is the first year I’ve gone hard with hopes of making it.
Q: Who taught you how to rope?
A: My dad, who ropes, ranches and has sold a lot of horses over the years, taught me and my brother (Dillon) how to rope. He roped both ends, so we both swap ends also.
Q: When did heeling become job one?
A: I started heading at the circuit rodeos halfway through 2022, and headed all of 2023, then went to heeling again in 2024. I won the average at the 2024 (Great Lakes) Circuit Finals heeling for Logan Allen.
Q: How hard-core is the roping scene in Arkansas?
A: When I was growing up, we went to a jackpot about three days a week, mostly four-for-$25 local ropings. But it seems like it’s fizzling in our part of the country, and fewer people who live around there are roping now.
Q: What was the plan for this 2026 rodeo season back when it started on October 1, 2025?
A: To just enter the winter rodeos—I won enough last year to go to everything but Houston this year—and see how it went.
Q: Who have you roped with in 2026?
A: Corben Culley and I started roping together in 2025, and roped this year until right before Woodward (Oklahoma) in June. He was one spot out of getting into San Antonio, so I got paired up with Kellan Johnson there. I started roping with Cash Duty at Woodward, and we’ve been roping together ever since.
Q: What have you enjoyed most about your partnership with Cash?
A: Winning. I just like winning.
Q: Hit your favorite highlights of 2026 so far.
A: Winning Fort Worth (and $24,900 a man) with Corben was fun. Cash and I won the first pro rodeo they’ve ever had in Driggs, Idaho, that same week as Woodward in June, so that was pretty cool. I really liked St. Paul (Oregon), too. We were first set there, and were winning it until the last team of the whole rodeo (Brenten Hall and Wyatt Cox won it). We won second at St. Paul, then came back and won Livingston (Montana) that same week (over the Fourth of July).
Q: What was your biggest roping win before 2026?
A: Between the qualifier at the Lazy E (in Guthrie, Oklahoma) and the World Champions Rodeo Alliance rodeo in Kansas City, Seth Driggers and I won $15,000 in 2020.
Q: Which horse has had the biggest impact on your career this year?
A: My palomino I call Gunner (Smokin Hot Playgun) is 11. He’s the only good one I have, so besides borrowing one every once in a while to give him a break, he’s getting about all the runs.
Q: When did you first see your name in the Top 15 this year, and how long did it take to get used to that?
A: When we won Fort Worth, we were No. 1 in the world. But I knew with Houston coming, I wouldn’t be No. 1 for long.
Q: Do you like everything about the full-time rodeo trail?
A: Yes, everything except the all-night drives.
Q: How do you stay awake on the all-nighters?
A: I like to drive in the daytime and my partner prefers nights, so we usually do it like that. When I take the late shift, I’ll drink coffee, hot chocolate and energy drinks if I have to. But the way we do it, it doesn’t usually come to that.
Q: What’s your favorite roadside food?
A: I’m a big In-N-Out fan. They have a really good burger. I get the double-double cheeseburger with animal fries, which means they have cheese, sauce and grilled onions on them. When we have more time, I like Texas Roadhouse. I get a ribeye steak and mashed potatoes with the Rattlesnake Bites, which are deep-fried balls of Monterey Jack cheese, diced jalapeños and red peppers, for appetizers.
Q: What else do you like to do besides rope?
A: I like to fish and hunt, and we’ll go hit a golf ball around when we have time. But I’m not good enough to fully enjoy that. I just like going and hitting balls with my friends for fun. Besides that, roping is pretty much it.
Q: What’s your ultimate goal as a team roper?
A: To make the NFR. It’s been a dream since I was a kid.
—TRJ—