A handful of industry sponsors have stepped up to create a new initiative in rodeo by partnering with military veterans as endorsees. Resistol Hats, Equinety, Cactus and RopeSmart are each signing a select group of military vets into a patch program with its own logo.
“We’re all about the red, white and blue over here,” said Barry Berg of Cactus Ropes, which already backs GOATs like Trevor Brazile, Clay O’Brien Cooper, Jake Long and Lari Dee Guy. “There are a lot of veterans who rope, which surprised me. We just wanted to do something above and beyond for the men and women who made sacrifices for us.”
Two of the new endorsees are currently president and vice president of the Professional Armed Forces Rodeo Association (PAFRA), and are also its defending world champion header and heeler—Aaron Auld and Travis Beck.
“The men and women of this country who protect all of us and allow us to have this lifestyle where we rope—nothing I’ll ever do will seem like enough to thank them,” said RopeSmart founder John McCarthy, whose team of existing endorsees includes Clint Summers, Tyler Wade, Dustin Egusquiza, John Douch and Joey Williams.
Resistol, the official hat of the PRCA, recently honored America’s 250th birthday by presenting a limited-edition Resistol 1776 to President Trump in March at the White House. The company’s CEO, team roper Dustin Noblitt, is glad to give back to veterans and said Resistol routinely donates hats to armed-services fund-raising efforts and is available to back affiliated events that benefit vets.
Meanwhile, Equinety, a maker of amino-acid supplements for horses, is one of roping’s newest big sponsors and recently funded the Lazy E Arena’s brand-new Equinety Center at the home of the Bob Feist Invitational and USTRC National Finals.
“When I was approached with the idea of doing a special military patch program, my first reaction was, ‘That is so awesome—we’re all over that,’” said John Dowdy of Equinety, which also backs world champs Taylor Munsell, Paul Eaves, Kaleb Driggers and Junior Nogueira.
“Roping is one of those things a vet can do as a hobby or part-time,” said McCarthy, who served seven years in the U.S. Air Force before developing training aids and roping gear. “We’ve shipped dummies all over the world to different active-duty ropers—even to aircraft carriers—and it helps morale.”
PAFRA will kick off its 26th season this weekend with the Permian Basin Military Rodeo in Odessa, Texas before hosting events in Farmington, N.M., and Selmer, Tenn., and wrapping up with October’s World Finals in Pawhuska, Okla. Official supporters of PAFRA include Equinety, Cactus and RopeSmart, as well as Hyer Boots, Performance Stall Mats, Priefert, American Hat, Coolhorse, Hooey, Cinch, Stateline Tack, Hyo Silver, Hart Trailers, HeelShot, M&M Award Apparel and Big R.
About PAFRA
The Professional Armed Forces Rodeo Association, comprised of active-duty and veteran servicemen and women, was founded in 2000 to provide a venue where men and women who share the bond of military service can compete together in the sport of rodeo. In 2025, it celebrated its 25thanniversary at the home of its first World Finals in Clovis, N.M.
