The Super Looper Had Team Roping Ties, Too

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Roy Cooper left an impact on the rodeo world that even stretched past calf roping.

Nobody loved roping—doing it, watching it, teaching it and talking about it—more than Roy Cooper. While the calf roping was his trademark event, the Super Looper was also a world champion steer roper and all-around cowboy. And he had cowboy friends—close friends—in every event. As we continue to honor one of our sport’s all-time greats, who left this world on April 29 at 69, I thought it’d be fun to share a few of the Super Looper’s most special ties to team ropers.

Clay Cooper

Clay and Roy Cooper were not blood relatives. But Roy always told me they were brothers. His exact words were, “We’re all brothers in God’s eyes, and Clay’s the greatest heeler I’ve ever seen.”

The Cooper boys definitely shared a mutual respect.

“It all started for Roy and I at the NFR in Oklahoma City, and when we were out there rodeoing in the early days of my career,” Clay recalls. “We got to be good friends, and hung out quite a bit together.

“One year during the (AQHA) World Show, I went to Roy’s house in Durant and stayed a couple days. Roy was showing me a gun he’d won—I think it was a 30-30—and was trying to jack the shells out of it in the living room. Luckily, Roy had that gun pointed down, because that thing went off and blew a hole in the floor. It kind of spooked us a little bit, but shag carpet was the deal back then, so it really didn’t leave much of a mark.”

There was Roy the person and Roy the cowboy.

“I thought Roy was the coolest human being that walked on the planet,” Clay said. “I idolized him. There was nobody like him in the arena or out. He was just a super cool person.

“As far as Roy the roper goes, in his era he could do things that nobody else could do at that time—athletically, when it came to handling a rope and just the way he went about it. He was just so much better. Roy had it all. He could go fast and rope smart.

“Roy was also one of the best storytellers ever. He had you hanging on every word, and a lot of his stories showed you how he got to be as good as he was. He told a lot of stories about the old timers before him—little wisdom stories he learned from all the great, notorious calf ropers before him. I loved listening to him. Roy learned from those guys, and applied it. He used what they told him and showed him, and it was inspiring. It helped me. I wanted to be like that. The Camarillos were my heroes, and I learned from them and applied what I saw them do like Roy did his heroes.

“Roy was just different. He had that dominating attitude and positive swagger. I liked being around that, and I fed off of it. It built goals inside of me, and added to them in a way. It came at the right time, and kickstarted me in my career. Learning those things from Roy came when I was trying to scratch and claw my way to the top. Roy and other guys I admired and respected did that for me. I’ll never forget it.”

HP Evetts

HP Evetts was a renowned pioneer among reachers who in 1974 was the world champion team roper. You all hear me talking about the size of Roy’s heart all the time, and H’s heart rivals Roy’s. Back when only 15 team ropers qualified for the Finals and invited their pick of a partner, HP tapped Roy to heel for him at the 1981 NFR.

Why?

“I’d had three or four partners that year,” HP remembers. “And Roy was just a real good friend of mine. Back then, if I remember the rules right, a guy had to win $1,000 during the year to be eligible to take to the Finals. Roy and I placed at Reno that year (1981) to get Roy that thousand he needed. Roy was a great friend, and I’d do it again.

“Roy loved to heel. The last time I talked to Roy was about a month before his misfortune this year. He told me he was going to work on getting in shape, so we could rope at Cheyenne. Sounded good to me.”

Roy won that 1981 world title in the calf roping, and cousin Jimmie Cooper beat him for that year’s world all-around crown by a scant $47. All told, the Super Looper won eight gold buckles, including that coveted cowboy triple crown two years later in 1983.

Tee Woolman

There was a time when Roy and ProRodeo Hall of Fame team roper Tee Woolman both lived in Durant, Oklahoma, which is still home to their alma mater, Southeastern Oklahoma State University. Many know that Leo “The Lion” Camarillo helped Tee win his first gold buckle his rookie year in 1980. But few will remember who played matchmaker on that partnership that made so many headlines.

“Roy called me one night during the 1979 NFR when we both lived in Durant, and told me I needed to go to the Finals (in Oklahoma City) with him that night, because Leo wanted to talk to me about roping,” Tee remembers. “He said, ‘You need to come with me tonight, and get it done.’ So I went.

*That’s Tee Woolman turning one for Leo and Stick at the NFR. | Jim Fain Photo*

“I’d met Leo before, but Roy’s the one who pushed it over the top for us to become partners. Roy was the greatest calf roper there ever was, and he had a heart of gold. Roy loved everybody, and he always had that million-dollar smile. There’s been no one else ever like Roy Cooper.”

You can say that again. God Bless the Super Looper.

Roy Cooper’s Celebration of Life was held on May 26, Memorial Day, at Cowtown Coliseum in Fort Worth. It will be aired tomorrow, June 6 at 7 p.m. Eastern, 6 p.m. Central, 5 p.m. Mountain and 4 p.m. Pacific on the Cowboy Channel.