At 35, Tanner Braden is making a charge at his first Wrangler National Finals Rodeo back number. The Prairie Circuit cowboy, who makes his home in Dewey, Oklahoma, with his wife, Jade, and kids, Lexi, 12, Rian, 9, and Brenten, 4, is hoping this is the year he clears the hurdle between him and the bright lights of Vegas in December.
Q: When did you start roping, and who got you started on the right track?
A: I’ve been around it my whole life. My dad (Bucky) used to trip steers, and was 16th a time or two. My whole family—my mom’s side, too—ropes calves. So I grew up in it. I’ve always ridden a horse, and started roping competitively when I was 6 or 7.
Q: When did heeling become job one?
A: I actually headed all the way up to high school. I roped with Cody Doescher in high school, but as soon as we left the (National) High School Finals my senior year, I decided I wanted to try the heeling side. By my freshman year in college, I was a heeler, and heeling for my brother, Colt, at the (Prairie) Circuit rodeos.
Q: What’s rodeo life like in the Prairie Circuit?
A: We’ve got quite a few NFR qualifiers in our circuit. Even the guys who haven’t made it yet all rope unbelievable, so our rodeos are pretty tough.
Q: Have you lived in Oklahoma all your life, and was there a lot of roping activity in the area where you grew up?
A: Yes, I was born in Ponca City, but we’ve lived in Dewey for as long as I can remember. There are a bunch of junior rodeo associations, and my parents got me to all of them. There are a lot of jackpots in our area, too, so if you didn’t go anywhere it was your own fault.
Q: What’s Dewey like?
A: Dewey’s a small town with a couple gas stations that’s a suburb of Bartlesville. Our mascot is the bulldoggers, and there’s a bulldogger getting down on a steer on our basketball court.
Q: You heeled for Paul David Tierney the last several years before now. How hard did the two of you hit the trail, and weren’t there years you got close to making the Finals?
A: We roped about four years together, and came close a couple times (Tanner finished 19th in 2022). Paul David and I were good friends before we were roping partners, so there was never any tension. He wanted to stay closer to home this year is why I’m doing something different.
Q: Who all have you roped with in 2024?
A: I started the season with Bubba Buckaloo at Odessa, Fort Worth and Tucson. Then I roped with Ty Arnold at Austin, Cory Kidd at San Angelo, Guymon and Kansas City, Claremore with Jake Clay, and Andrew Ward at San Antonio and Houston. I started roping with Cyle Denison at Mount Pleasant (Texas) the first part of June, and we plan to finish the year together.
Q: How was your connection with Cyle made?
A: I’ve seen him rope for years, and knew he roped good. Tyler Wade is who told me I needed to give him a call. It’s gone great, and I’m excited to be roping with him.
Q: With $21,037 a man, you and Cyle were the second high-money-winning team over this year’s Cowboy Christmas run behind only Kaleb Driggers and Junior Nogueira, who won a team roping record $47,275. Hit the highlights for us on your 2024 Fourth of July run.
A: We won Red Lodge (Montana), and won rounds at Greeley (Colorado) and Prescott (Arizona). We also placed at Livingston (Montana), St. Paul (Oregon) and Oakley (Utah). It was the best Fourth I’ve ever had. We buddied with Clint Summers and Jake Long, so we got to go to more rodeos than I ever have in the past.
Q: What do you do when you’re not out there rodeoing?
A: I put on some small jackpots in an indoor arena near where we live in the wintertime. And Jake Clay and I have a big New Year’s Eve and Day roping in the Tulsa area.
Q: What’s been the favorite win of your career so far?
A: I would have to say Red Lodge, because it’s over the Fourth and the best in the world were there. But all the rodeos are pretty special, and a guy always needs to win.
Q: What’s been the best, most valuable lesson you’ve learned rodeoing over the years that would most help a young rookie coming in?
A: To not get too down on yourself. You can have the greatest week you’ve ever had, then the next week can be the worst. It can change in an instant, so don’t get too down or too negative.
Q: How much of rodeoing for a living is mental, and how natural has handling the highs and lows been for you?
A: It’s dang sure 80% mental. If you don’t believe in yourself, nobody else will either. I feel like I’ve always been pretty good about not letting a whole lot bother me. I’ve had a lot of people in my corner that I’ve learned from who’ve helped me. So I don’t ever get too worked up.
Q: What’s your ultimate goal as a team roper?
A: To be successful at the sport. If I’m going to be away from my family as many days and months as we are, it needs to be worth it.
Q: How much do you love this rodeo life, and what do you see your life looking like after rodeo?
A: I love it. We get to see and do more things than some people ever will. But it’s tough when my family can’t come. It’s all about family now, and it will be then, too.
—TRJ—
