The wait to turn pro is over for Gabe Williams. He turned 18 in October and will graduate from high school at White Horse Christian Academy in Stephenville, Texas, in May. The son of eight-time World Champion Header Speed Williams and his wife, Jennifer, mostly heeled on his way up the roping ranks. Not many know that Gabe recently had to switch ends. But his can-do spirit is taking it in stride, and he filled his Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association permit on the first steer he ever ran in the pros—heading for his NFR switch-ender dad. 

Q: What do you remember about your dad’s roping career from when you were a kid?

A: All I remember is the buildings. I only wanted to watch the bull riding. Our hometown rodeo in De Leon was my first rodeo. I was 6 or 7, and entered the junior mustang riding. I was a mutton buster, too, and was adamant that I wanted to be a roughy. I didn’t care about roping until later. 

Q: What are your earliest roping memories? 

A: My first roping competition was the Junior Looper at the USTRC Finals in Oklahoma City. I was maybe 3 or 4 roping in the 5-and-under, and when I won it, I threw my rope down, jumped on the back of the bale of hay that had the dummy horns in it and rode it like a bull. 

Q: Did you play other sports growing up? 

A: Yes, I played baseball until I was 9 or 10. I pitched and caught. After that, I got into mixed martial arts—jujutsu and taekwondo. We were in the office one night watching the 10 worst arm breaks in the UFC lightweight division. That’s when my mom pulled the plug on my cage-fighting dreams. We went to Vegas right after that during the Finals when I was 11, and my dad gave me 100 bucks to enter all the little dummy ropings. I came back with $180, and since then it’s been all about roping. 

Q: So you were born a businessman?

A: I was 5 or 6 when I took in my first outside horse. It was a paint pony I got paid to ride, because he bucked off the people’s grandkids. The roughy in me loved riding the buckers. He bucked me off every way you can get bucked off, but he finally quit bucking.

Q: Did you and your two-time Wrangler National Finals Breakaway Roping qualifier sister, Hali, get bit by the roping bug at about the same time?

A: No, Hali’s roped since day one. I roped some as a little kid, too, but my sister followed my dad around, and that’s all she wanted to do. I wasn’t like that until I was 11. 

Q: Did you ever feel pressure to follow in your living-legend dad’s footsteps?

A: It’d be pretty easy to feel pressured into rodeo by who my dad is, but I did not care one bit about people talking about that. I’ve always done whatever I wanted to do, and roping is what I landed on. My parents never told me to rope. It was always my decision.

Q: Were there a lot of rules in your family arena growing up? 

A: When my sister roped, there were rules. Like when she was heading, she had to go two strides before she could turn her horse off. I was rarely out in the arena, so when I was, my dad was so glad to see me that there was a little more leniency. I’ve never really been a rule follower anyway. 

Q: Have you and Hali always been tight?

A: Oh yes. We’ve got the best brother-sister relationship you can have. She’s always looked out for me, and I’ve always annoyed her being the little brother. We share a bathroom, and when she was gone rodeoing last summer and I ran out of shampoo and conditioner, I realized she’s always stocked the bathroom for me. I had to make a round to get toothpaste, shampoo and conditioner, and my wallet hurt from having to pay for once. 

Q: Are your personalities similar or different?

A: Completely and utterly different. Hali thinks everything out. I’ve always been the more outgoing one who lives on the edge. Hali’s home knitting by the fire, playing bingo and watching “Wheel of Fortune,” while I’m wanting to cage fight. 

Q: Did your parents ever try to talk you out of roping for a living?

A: No. But my mom’s told me since I was a little kid that there are a lot of things I could do, if I wanted to. She always joked that Hali was going to rodeo, and I was going to do something else to pay for her rodeo habit. 

Q: Talk about your parents’ different roles in you and Hali’s roping careers.

A: While my dad, Hali and I are out in the arena, my mom’s always taking care of everything else. My dad tells us what we need to fix, and Mom lifts us up when we need it. Without her, none of this would be possible. 

Q: After heeling as a kid, when and why the switch to heading? 

A: All I did was heel until last July. But I got to where my (right) arm was hurting all the time. I was born without a joint in my elbow on either arm. That elbow joint is fused. When I was 5, I had surgery on both arms, and it helped. When I went back in at 18, there was a nerve in a bone that would not allow them to do more. I can’t rotate my wrist to keep my thumb up to dally when I heel. So I started heading. There’s no pain when I head. 

Q: What’s the best advice your dad’s ever given you?

A: Don’t ever let other people’s judgment change your decision. When I stopped heeling to head after heeling my whole life, a lot of people disagreed with me swapping. My dad knew it hurt to heel, and that I wouldn’t be able to do it much longer. That’s when he told me that. 

Q: And your mom’s best words of wisdom?

A: I’d probably say when I first swapped over to heading and had a lot of hell trying to figure it out. The first month or two was rough. We had a bad day of roping, and I went in to my mom and told her I didn’t know if I was cut out to be a header. She told me if I wanted to do it bad enough, there was no reason to turn around now. Because I’m cut out to do whatever I want to do. If you believe you’ve lost the battle, then you’ve lost it before you’ve even fought, and it’s already over. 

Q: Take us back to January, and your first pro rodeo in Odessa.

A: I’d planned to rope with Trigger Hargrove, but then found out two permit guys can’t enter together. So Hali and I entered Dad and me without telling him. He found out when the confirmation hit his phone. He was a little sour that morning in Odessa. I got “the look” when it was 20 degrees and snowing. We split second in the first round. I missed the second one, but I filled my permit on that very first steer. 

Q: Have you gotten much advice about roping and rodeo life from people outside of your family? 

A: A bunch. I always ask other people, like Coleman Proctor and Dustin Egusquiza, a lot of questions. There’s always something to be learned, and just because my dad is my idol and I think he’s the greatest team roper who ever lived doesn’t mean there’s not more to get figured out. 

Q: What’s the plan for this rookie year of yours in 2025?

A: I want to go to the rodeos out West this summer. I have three pretty good head horses I’m excited about and am planning to rope with Trigger. There weren’t many rodeos I could go to this winter, because I wasn’t in the top 50 last year. If I could enter every rodeo this year, I would. But I plan to hit it pretty hard this summer. 

Q: What’s your ultimate goal?

A: Of course it’d be winning the world. But I don’t care if I win 20 gold buckles or never get one. I want to take every opportunity I have to get better. I want to be the best I can be at whatever I decide to do.

—TRJ—