In 2005, the PRCA Board of Directors voted to make team roping a standard event at all PRCA-sanctioned rodeos, and the 2006 Southwestern Exposition and Livestock Show in Fort Worth was the first time that decision played out at a major rodeo.
Much like the National Finals of Breakaway Roping of today and the 2025 team roping at Calgary, the team roping was held off-site from the main rodeo in Fort Worth. And, coincidentally, it took place at Wade Arena in Terrell, Texas—home of then 13-year-old Tyler Wade.
Reigning world champions Clay Tryan and Patrick Smith won the inaugural title. They tied for fourth in the first round with a 5.2-second run. In the second round, they stopped the clock in 4.7 seconds, good for third in the round. Their two-head total of 9.9 seconds won the average and paid $6,324 each.
Smith said he remembers thinking it was “a huge breakthrough.”
“We didn’t care that it wasn’t at the main arena,” he said. “We’d have rather been featured, but we knew it was a huge stepping stone. Everybody was like, ‘It’s going to get there.’ It was a milestone for team roping.”
Smith described it as a tough setup, “like the old-school George Strait, like a super tough two-header.”
There was little room for error.
“It felt like team roping accomplished something that week to get a big rodeo to add it,” Smith said.
At the time, Smith said he was still learning the broader side of the business.
“I was so green,” he said. “I knew nothing about rodeo politics, nor did I care.”
The event was produced by Rafter G Rodeo, and the roping was held at Wade’s family arena.
“My dad used to stock contract a lot of the rodeos,” Wade said. “I’m pretty passionate about roping good cows because I remember how passionate my dad was about roping the best cows he could find.”
In preparation for Fort Worth, Wade’s father went early to the USTRC Finals to pick from the US Open steers. He bought 110 Mexican steers that Wade described as “as primo as primo got.”
“We put the neck rope on them, we hot-shotted them out,” Wade said. “It was a lot of prepping them. I remember all the details Dad put into it when we found out it would be at our house.”
Wade Arena was about five years old at the time. He said there wasn’t another arena in the area like it in the area back then.
“There was one for everybody,” he said. “Two head, and the best guys in the world were at my house.”
After the rodeo concluded, the Wades put on a jackpot later that day. Brad Culpepper won first and second, Wade recalled.
“I remember thinking, ‘Brad Culpepper does not miss cows.’”
He also remembers other moments from the day. In one instance, he said, a gate man missed a competitor’s nod. The roper caught his steer, returned to the box, and publicly criticized the gate man. That gate man had worked for the Wade family for a decade, and Wade’s father specifically brought him in to have the best help possible.
“It helped me understand that someone’s most vivid memories are not always of the guys doing well, but how they acted when they’re doing bad,” Wade said.
Wade said being around the event at that age, and watching his father prepare the cattle and manage the details, influenced how he operates today.
“That helped me in a lot of ways to learn what it takes to produce an event,” he said. “My dad put in so much effort to get the best cattle and do the best job for everyone coming. He took pride in it.”
—TRJ—
