Derrick Begay and Clay O’Brien Cooper won The American Rodeo in 2016—worth $100,000 a man. Here’s how it all went down in this Classic Moment, presented (and powered on the head side) by Classic Ropes.
In between the long round and the short round of the team roping at RFD-TV’s The American, one man took off his cowboy hat, closed his eyes, tipped his head back and took a nap in the stands while bucking horses bellered, announcers boomed and the crowd of tens of thousands roared.
That one man—Clay O’Brien Cooper—had just pulled back on his long-round steer in 3.85 seconds and was heading into the shoot-out round of four with a freight train of momentum rolling behind him and his partner, Derrick Begay. No better time for a power nap, right?
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“I just relaxed,” Cooper said. “I was kind of tired, and so I was searching for a place to sit down and lay my head back. I found a good spot, and it was nice and comfortable. I took a little time out.”
After all, the day had started early, and with autograph signings and demands on his time, a nap was only reasonable. But that nap didn’t go unnoticed by Begay, who’s grown used to that sort of thing from The Champ.
“We got done roping, and there’s a lot of noise, and that building has a lot of electricity,” Begay said. “It’s an atmosphere we never really go to. But Champ, he’s been everywhere you can imagine to rope. We were waiting for the final steer, and there was no way I could sleep, but Champ—he could sleep. Fireworks, everything going on, and he’s sleeping. When you rodeo for 30-some years, you have to get your rest when you can. I guess it’s all part of it.”
Begay’s American Winning Rope: Classic Powerline XS
Their first-round steer worked out like something Cooper would have dreamed up during one of those famous naps.
“We didn’t know much about him, but he’d been to the Semifinals (in Fort Worth the week before),” Begay said. “They told me my steer was good, so we just took it at that. I got a good start, and the steer had these big wide horns, being as I hit the barrier I thought ‘THROW!’ right then, and luckily I caught a half head. I’ll take that shot any day–I wish I’d have called it. Anytime you get that shot you’ll win something.”
Begay might have been pumped about his half head, but Cooper didn’t really care either way.
“I saw it go on, but I don’t care what it goes on as long as it goes on,” Cooper laughed. “There’s three legal head catches so it doesn’t matter to me as long as it’s one of them.”
And just like that, they won the long round with that 3.85. Trevor Brazile and Patrick Smith were second with a 4.01-second run, qualifiers David Key and Dugan Kelly were 4.09, while Blaine Vick and Dakota Kirchenschlager were 4.20 to round out the top four.
The shootout round kicked off with Vick and Kirchenschlager, and Vick threw fast and lost his rope. Next up, Key and Kelly set the pace with a 4.94-second run. Brazile got it on quick but Smith couldn’t get his dally as his slack fell between his trusty horse Amigo’s ears. Begay and Cooper backed in the box, confident.
Was there anyone watching on TV or in the stands in Arlington who thought that if Begay spun his steer in the short round of RFD-TV’s The American, Cooper wouldn’t pull back on two feet to win $100,000? Doubt it.
“He can read what I’m doing just by watching me ride in the box,” Begay said. “We’ve only roped together a year, and that’s not very long. But we have a feel for each other. He knows what I’m going to do and everybody knows what he’s going to do. So when we back in there, everybody’s like ‘Is this guy is going to get out of the barrier and is he going to turn him?’ Everybody knows what he’s going to do. Dave Key and Dugan Kelly were 4.9, so I was thinking I didn’t need to hit the barrier and throw. I could ride one more stride and take one more swing, so if I took care of my part I was pretty sure Champ would stop the clock.”
“It’s set up, and it’s the header turning the steer to be that fast,” Cooper said. “All I’m doing is doing my job and roping him when I’m supposed to and putting the finishing touch on it.”
When the flag fell, Cooper rode over to Begay and asked his friend if they won it. Begay had a pretty good idea they did, but the big screen was straight above them so they couldn’t really see.
“Mentally, I felt like we were fast enough,” Begay said. “But I wasn’t sure; I couldn’t see the big screen up there. I kind of knew we were fast enough. I looked over at the shoot when I faced and my buddies had their fists in the air yelling. I wasn’t sure—maybe they were just happy I caught.”
Their time of 4.56 seconds was good enough to best Key and Kelly, who won $25,000 for their second-place finish.
Begay’s signature horse, Swagger, was practically flawless in their $100,000 campaign.
“I hate to brag on my horses, but he did good yesterday,” Begay said on his drive home to Arizona the next day. “I guess I can brag on him after I did good on him.”
LB, Cooper’s 19-year-old mount, didn’t disappoint, either. Cooper rides the easy-keeping bay every day, but just ran a few on him before The American to make sure he was sharp.
“He’s still got lots of go to him,” Cooper said. “Sometimes it’s good to have a few runs under your belt. He was hitting on all cylinders.”
For Cooper, the win meant a lot more than the $100,000 that will help him stay off the road most of the year. In fact, he ranks it at the top of his biggest wins list.
“I think it’s probably the most special really, just because of what it’s become,” Cooper said. “It’s such a big event. And it’s so publicized. At this stage of my career, it’s pretty special, because I’m not at the start or the middle of my career, I’m toward the end of it. To be able to experience a win like that, it’s pretty cool. I feel very blessed.”
And for both Begay and Cooper, the win meant a lot more because it came with one another. The partnership Begay’s dreamed of since his earliest years swinging a rope has become a chance for him to help The Champ showcase his heeling mastery at 55 years old.
“Maybe it’s that time of my life where I’m realizing what it’s all about,” Begay said. “Champ puts all this stuff together for me. Just by being around him, talking with him, he just makes you that much better. Roping with him, and being able to win with him, ties a lot of things together. Every time he backs in there he’s got a chance to win something in our partnership. It makes me that much more excited to see him that way even though I’m on his team.”
“When you do well, and you do well with your partner, you see what it means to the both of you,” Cooper said. “It’s something we’ll always remember together. Justin Davis just called me and congratulated me. We won Houston one year, a couple years ago, together. You have special moments with your friends that you share for a lifetime. You’ll never forget it.”
Both partners are toying with the idea of swapping the buckles on their belts (Cooper usually switches between a gold buckle or a Pendleton buckle, while Begay sticks with his Salinas buckle) for their new, $22,000-American buckles.
“It’s a pretty buckle, one of the prettiest I’ve ever won,” Begay said. “It’s got more gold than the gold buckle. Champ said he might have to wear his. I told him if he wears his, I’ll have to put mine on too.”
After celebrating Sunday night, Cooper stuck around Texas after the win to spend time with his family, and Begay headed home to Arizona. Cooper has grandpa duties to tend to, while Begay has some wild cattle that need catching after a Monday-night cookout.
“I have to help my neighbor tomorrow gather cows in the morning,” Begay said. “I told him I would be back Tuesday to help him, so I’ll be back to work. Summer is right around the corner so it will be back to the long, hot, dusty days. I always wanted to be a full-time cowboy, and they say be careful what you wish for. But all of this—it’s about timing. The ERA/PRCA deal, who I’m roping with and The American. I’m glad I’m where I’m at in my life.”
With both Begay and Cooper making the choice to stick with the abbreviated ERA tour this year, The American added a spark of optimism for things to come.
“There’s no entry fees, we don’t have to pay for anything other than to get there,” Begay said. “It probably only cost me under $300 to drive there and $300 to drive back. So for them to put on an event like that, for us to win that much in one day, I don’t know how to say it. They do a good job just for our sake. They put in all the work all year to get all that money together to put that rodeo on. That’s what it’s all about. For us guys who rodeo and rope for a living, it’s hard for us to get ahead, and for us to go to something like that and finally feel like you do get ahead and you can buy stuff you couldn’t before, it makes it all a good deal.
“The ERA—I think it might have a chance. Nobody knows, that’s the exciting part about it. But seeing what the team that puts on The American can do, we kind of look at it and think they set the bar. That rodeo in that stadium gives us guys something to look forward to and strive for. They proved it could be done. They raised the bar and we’re going to try to get to that point.”
“I’m looking forward to getting the ERA thing off the ground and pursuing that part, which is going to be eight rodeo sites and a finals, so it won’t take up much of my year,” Cooper added. “I’m looking forward to being home all summer. This year is shaping up awesome, and with the win yesterday it’s even better. It takes a lot of the pressure off.”
