There are plenty of moving parts that must go right for a run to come together: the start, the horses, the ropes, the ropers. Other than the two humans and two horses that have to be on the same page, there is another creature that has to play the game: the steer. Without these M-branded athletes, our sport would cease to exist.
In special circumstances, those steers that allow ropers to make life-changing runs with ease are granted an early retirement. Out to pasture in belly-high grass, surrounded by mama cows and other retired athletes, is where they will spend the rest of their days.
From the bright lights of some of ProRodeo’s biggest stages to a life of leisure, here are the steers that are living the good life.
Charly Crawford’s “Finally”
The Roper: Charly Crawford
The Event: 2013 NFR in Las Vegas
The Run: Crawford’s first NFR round win was in 2013 with partner Ryan Motes. Crawford and Motes tied Erich Rogers and Cory Petska for the Round 2 win with a 4.5-second run.
The Steer: “Finally,” a black bald-faced M-brand Corriente steer
The Retirement Home: The Crawfords’ Stephenville, Texas, residence
“I was starting to get a little conscious of the fact that I couldn’t get a round win; I had won second a few times and been right there. Each time I’d been there and didn’t get that round win, it could be the last time I ever make it. The fact about that is, the gratitude you have when it does [happen]—I mean, it took 62 tries.
“‘Finally’ had a big set of racks on him, and I just remember, I hit the start, and he hit the end of it good and cleaned up and Ryan [Motes] hammered him. What was funny, as many times as I’ve been to the NFR, I had no idea where the buckle ceremony was. I remember when Ryan and I got done doing all the press, I was like, ‘All right man, good job, we’ll see you over there at the Gold Coast [Hotel and Casino].’ He was like, ‘What? That’s not where we are going. This isn’t 1995.’” —Charly Crawford
Charly Crawford’s “Done”
The Roper: Charly Crawford
The Event: 2020 NFR in Arlington, Texas
The Run: Crawford spun “Done” for partner Logan Medlin to capture the Round 7 win in 3.8 seconds.
The Steer: “Done,” a black M-brand Corriente steer formerly owned by Hill Rodeo Cattle with “3.8” and “Round 7 Winner” tags in his ears
The Retirement Home: The Crawford residence in Stephenville, Texas
“[2020] was my last NFR. I’d roped good; I just couldn’t get anything going. Since it was my last one, you really want to go out with a bang. When I got [‘Done’], I thought ‘Oh yeah, this is definitely one we could do some work on.’ He just stayed right in the middle, and when I roped him, he checked off and Logan had him; it was the first time I was 3 seconds at the NFR. He was great; we roped him for a while, too. Bobby Joe made me some ear tags for him; that was pretty cool.” —Charly Crawford
Jackie Crawford’s “Millie”
The Roper: Jackie Crawford
The Event: 2023 The American Rodeo in Arlington, Texas
The Run: Jackie Crawford split the $1 million payout at the 2023 American Rodeo after a 1.86-second run to win the $100,000 round money and $500,000 for the split.
The Calf: “Millie,” a Charolais heifer from Frontier Rodeo Company
The Retirement Home: In Texas, at the Crawfords’ place with “Finally” and “Done”
“It was the first year the breakaway was eligible for the million. I was a qualifier; I knew I drew a great calf. I came out and I was 1.8 [seconds] and there was one girl left to rope; she missed. It was just unbelievable, truly unbelievable that I was the first breakaway roper to get a piece of the million dollars; it was just so surreal in that moment.
“I chose to buy [Millie] because when you have that type of milestone in your career, that animal was a part of that run. She was a part of that memory. So, I just wanted to keep her forever. Now we’ve got ‘Finally,’ ‘Done’ and ‘Millie’ all out in our big pasture. T-Boy, my old breakaway horse, roams around out there with them. We looked out there the other day and T-Boy is lying down and Millie’s licking his back, just giving him a bath. It’s kind of a little retirement pasture.” —Jackie Crawford
Clay Smith and Jade Corkill’s “3.3”
The Ropers: Clay Smith and Jade Corkill
The Event: 2021 San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo
The Run: Clay Smith and Jade Corkill topped off their week in San Antonio, Texas, with a record-breaking run in 3.3 seconds to win the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo for Smith’s first San Antonio championship title.
The Steer: “3.3,” a red M-brand Hill Rodeo Cattle steer
The Retirement Home: Jade Corkill’s residence in Texas
“It was final night [in San Antonio]. I think there was a 3.6, 3.7, 3.8; it was pretty tough. It was one of those deals where it didn’t do any good to just make a good run; it wouldn’t have done much anyway. Clay did a really good job with [that steer]; I heeled him pretty fast. It was one of those deals—when stuff starts going fast, it just gets faster.” —Jade Corkill
Marcus Theriot’s “TEC”
The Roper: Marcus Theriot
The Event: 2021 Cinch Timed Event Championships
The Run: Marcus Theriot won the coveted Cinch Timed Event Championship in 2021 with a time of 322.4 seconds on 25 head.
The Steer: “TEC,” the paint M-brand Hill Rodeo Cattle steer Theriot laid the trip on during the fifth round of the steer tripping in 2021
The Retirement Home: Bobby Joe Hill’s place in Texas
“[TEC] was my 25th steer at the Timed Event. He was the last one, the one that really meant the most; I was high callback. The tripping steers up there change a lot; the good ones are really good, and then there are some that are almost impossible to get by. He was actually an extra, and the rule of thumb is any time you have an extra, there’s usually a reason they’re an extra. So I went to Bobby Joe, and I think he could tell I was a little frustrated about having the extra. He said, ‘Weirdly, this steer is really, really good. Last week I just thought he was a little bit too good to be on this set of steers.’ He was not joking; he was very, very good. He was just very special.” —Marcus Theriot
Paden Bray’s 2020 NFR Round 1 Steer
The Roper: Paden Bray
The Event: 2020 NFR in Arlington, Texas
The Run: Erich Rogers and Paden Bray won Round 1 at the 2020 NFR with a 4.8-second run.
The Steer: A brown M-brand Hill Rodeo Cattle steer
The Retirement Home: The Bray residence in Texas
“[Winning the first round at my first NFR] was surreal. My whole family was there. There are very few people who have done that, and for the cards to work out that way was pretty special. Honestly, that steer hops so fast; he hit and just ran. I was a coil and a half away from him and just brought it—and it worked. It was straight reaction. I’ve never missed that steer ever in my life. As soon as they got to my house, they got a horn wrap, and I roped him until he was too big. But he got roped every day; I never scored him.” —Paden Bray
Paden Bray’s 2020 NFR Round 10 Steer
The Roper: Paden Bray
The Event: 2020 NFR in Arlington, Texas
The Run: The team went 5.6 seconds in Round 10 to solidify Bray’s first NFR average title.
The Steer: A white-face red M-brand Hill Rodeo Cattle steer
The Retirement Home: The Bray residence in Texas
“[My last steer at the 2020 NFR] was the most nervous run I’ve ever had in my life. All I had to do was catch the cow, and I had a chance for a gold buckle, and I would win the average. Honestly, [the steer] followed [Rogers] so much; that’s why we were long. It sounds so silly, but just to catch the cow for that—it sounds so easy—but it’s the hardest one to run. Now [that steer] doesn’t like team roping; he has a new trick every time.” —Paden Bray
Paden Bray’s American-Winning Steer
The Roper: Paden Bray
The Event: 2021 American Rodeo in Arlington, Texas
The Run: The year after Rogers and Bray won the average at the NFR, the team clinched the win at the 2021 American Rodeo after going 5.05 seconds and pocketing $100,000.
The Steer: A red M-brand Hill Rodeo Cattle steer
The Retirement Home: The Bray residence in Texas
“I remember that steer going in the first round; Charly Crawford and Billie Jack Saebens ran that steer, and he was a good steer, but nothing special. When Rogers and I had him in the Final Four, it was the same kind of scenario: if you just made a good run, you could win it. Rogers absolutely blasted the barrier, and the steer was dead straight, loping. Honestly, since that day, that steer has had the same pattern: dead straight, loping every single time. He’s amazing.” —Paden Bray
Ryan Motes’ America
The Roper: Ryan Motes
The Event: 2019 The American Rodeo
The Run: Coleman Proctor and Motes were the only qualifier team to make it back to the top four after going 11.30 seconds on two head. After a 4.24-second run, they brought home $100,000 for the round win and split the $1 million payout.
The Steer: “America,” a red M-brand Corriente steer from Jeff Hilton
The Retirement Home: The Motes’ home in Weatherford, Texas
“[The American] was the most I’ve ever won, so it was a cool run for sure. We were able to come in as a qualifier team, so we were eligible for the split of the $1 million. He was a little red steer then, but we had a good steer. We were third to rope in the Final Four, so we had one team to sweat out. At that time, we won $100,000 for The American and then had half a million apiece. Jeff Hilton had the cattle that year, and I called him a couple days later and wanted to buy him. We bought him and basically retired him. Coleman and I roped him a couple times after that, but he probably didn’t have more than a couple of runs after the American that year.” —Ryan Motes
—TRJ—
