Jaxson Tucker, 16, dominated both the Open and #15 at the South Georgia Classic in Perry, Georgia, December 29, 2017. In the Open, Tucker headed for partner Ty Ethridge to turn in a time of 32.74-seconds on four head worth a total of $3,030. Not long after, Tucker roped in the #15 with Caleb Anderson. Their team won the roping with 31.17-seconds on four head worth $3,990 plus 6000 in flex earnings.
“It was fun,” Tucker said, “That seemed pretty crazy to me to do it both in the same day right back to back—I got lucky. The guy that I roped with in the Open, Ty, I don’t rope with him a whole lot. We’ve roped at couple Opens around there. But Caleb Anderson and I rope quite often.”
Tucker started off with some nerves going into the short-round of the Open, but after he won that, put those nerves aside to take home his second win of the day.
“I was nervous in the Open first because it was right there at the beginning of the day and I was going to rope all day,” Tucker said. “Then in the #15 I wasn’t nervous at all. I knew the steer that I had.”
Tucker was roping off his 13-year-old sorrel gelding he calls MC that he purchased a few years ago from Manny Egusquiza.
“He’s tiny—super, super tiny,” Tucker said. “It wasn’t very easy. The steers were a little bigger down there but he did good. I’ve rode him forever ever since I got him.”
Currently in high school, Tucker wakes up everyday and works on his schooling a few hours before getting in practice with Luke Brown and Kaleb Driggers, who he got to know through his dad’s rodeo career.
“At first Luke was heeling for my dad and that was kind of the start of that—they were best friends forever,” Tucker explained. “Then when Kaleb was in Georgia back home amateur rodeoing my dad always rodeoed with him so kind of from there that’s where I started. I’d always go to those rodeos with them so I’ve known Kaleb since then.”
While being able to rope and practice with Brown, Driggers, and his dad, it’s no wonder that Tucker has what it takes to win.
“Without them or my dad and everybody I wouldn’t be able to get this far I think,” Tucker said. “They help me with horses, heeling and heading, whatever. Kaleb, Luke and my dad taught me how to be good to everyone, treat everyone the same and learn to win.”
