Three-time National Finals Rodeo qualifier Jake Cooper and Sid Sporer picked up $3,961 for their efforts at Rodeo Rapid City (South Dakota), held Feb. 3–5, 2022.
It was a smooth 4.2-second run that led Cooper, of New Mexico, and Sporer, of Wyoming, to victory at the start of the 2022 ProRodeo season to showcase their hard work from the practice pen.
“It was one of our better runs,” Sporer said. “We roped last fall and I feel like we made a handful of good runs, but we didn’t have a whole lot of success. For the last month, we have really been working at it and making a lot of good runs at the house. It’s finally good to see that the hard work at the house is paying off in other places.”
The horsepower is what makes a team successful, and Sporer is fond of the lineup that Cooper has, including the speckled sorrel that Cooper headed on at Rodeo Rapid City, whom he purchased from Zac Small, named Sun.
“Honestly for me, I don’t have a preference,” Sporer said. “Jake is a professional. He knows what it takes to win. I know Jake is going to do whatever it takes to give us the best chance to win. I’m really excited about his horsepower.”
Sporer rode his 12-year-old buckskin gelding named Buck, who he purchased from Ryan Zurcher.
“He’s not one you would pick out of a crowd, not one of Joseph’s (Harrison) horses, that your jaw is going to drop every time you watch him go, but he’s very easy,” Sporer said. “I’ve had him for the last three years. I got him the year I was roping with Dustin Bird in Montana. He’s a little bit watch-y. He’s just kind of a winner.”
