They say nearly half of all young Americans start the new year with a goal—something they hope to change or do better. That percentage seems to statistically dwindle as we age, but the New Year’s resolution frontrunners in our country typically involve fitness or finance. It’s no coincidence that gym memberships spike and credit cards are cut up on January 1 every year. Professional team ropers always think there’s something they can improve on, and don’t back down from the daily grind to get there. That’s the thing about high achievers in all walks of life—they never stop striving to raise their own high bar. We took a 10-man poll, and asked each one…

How do you feel about New Year’s resolutions, and do you have any for 2025?

Tyler Wade 

My plan for 2025 is to make a living team roping, whatever that entails. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve gotten big on progressing. Because if you’re not going forward, you’re going backward. I think New Year’s resolutions are a good thing, if people stick with them and get better. 

Wesley (Thorp) and I are on the same page with everything heading into 2025. We want to maintain our roping. We want to have a few more clinics this year. And we want to make our junior roping, the World Youth Team Roping Championships in Stephenville, bigger and better. We want to help kids progress with their roping from what we’ve learned.

Wesley Thorp

The thing I’ve learned about resolutions is that everybody has a plan this time of year when they’re sitting by the fireplace. It’s fun to talk about. But I think if you really care about doing something, you just start doing it. I’ve never put much thought or credit into resolutions, and I’ve never been one to tell a lot of people about my plans. 

New Year’s resolutions can be a good kickstart, but you have to be committed year-round for them to work. So I’m not a big New Year’s resolution guy. I have short-term and long-term plans, and I try to stick to those, and adapt and add along the way. I try not to let the hype of New Year’s resolutions influence me. 

Tyler and I are always pretty much on the same page as far as our plans go. We like to jackpot, and try to accumulate three or four horses, so we can go to all the good jackpots. He’ll do some lessons in his part of the world, and I’ll do some in mine. And we’ll do a few schools together again. Our World Youth Team Roping Championships in Stephenville will be March 21-23, and we want that to be really good for the kids coming up behind us. 

Dustin Egusquiza

I’ve never really been one to participate in New Year’s resolutions, but I think it’s good if you feel like you have something you need to be better about. January 1 is a good time to start fresh, and quit something bad or start something new. 

I’ve been kicking around quitting chewing tobacco, but I’m not going to lie to myself and quit for three days, then start back. So I haven’t decided if I want to jump off that cliff yet. 

As for roping, horsepower is always huge. I’m always looking to improve my horsepower. That’s the toughest thing about heading, and what I’m always worried about. I think I’ll be the most focused on that—horses that allow me to win no matter where I show up. 

I’m going to rope with Levi (Lord) again in 2025, and the main goal is to win the world. There are a lot of smaller goals that go into the main goal, but that’s the big one. 

Levi Lord

I’m not much of a New Year’s resolution guy. We try to do better every year than we did the last. We sit down after the NFR, assess how it went and set some goals. Dustin and I will try to get it going for 2025 in the wintertime, which is usually a pretty good time of year for us and suits our style. We like to go fast. 

We’ll get our circuit rodeos in in the springtime. Leaving for Reno in June with some money won makes the summertime a little easier. The main thing for Dustin and me is we want to keep getting better every year, and to do better this year than last year. 

Derrick Begay

I never have any New Year’s resolutions for myself. There are always things I want to do all the time. That doesn’t come once a year for me. And I don’t change who I am from year to year. It’s a constant process for me every day. There’s not an ending point and new beginning. An individual has to do what he has to do to accomplish whatever he wants to do. And everybody’s different. 

I have no New Year’s resolution for 2025. Maybe the night before or the day of I’ll come up with something. But I don’t think so. I didn’t have one last year. I have hopes, goals and dreams, like everybody else. It’s day-to-day, and continuous until I get it done. That’s just how I’m wired. 

Everybody needs a fresh start. It just depends on which day that is for you. For me, it isn’t a once-a-year thing. When I was younger, I think I had some New Year’s resolutions. But I’m at the stage of life now where the years just run together. We get busier. It’s a good thing. 

I’m always going to rodeo. I just don’t know much more than that. I’m going to the good winter rodeos this year, and we’ll see where life takes me from there. 

Paul Eaves

To be blunt, I think New Year’s resolutions are stupid. In my opinion, we’re supposed to always be doing more and better than we did before. We’re supposed to try and improve ourselves every day, and that should be a year-long thing. If you haven’t been doing that all year anyway, you probably don’t care to get that much better. Just doing it in January isn’t going to help you. 

I don’t want to get ahead of myself about 2025, because I honestly don’t know who I’m going to rope with yet (as of press time). I’m not yet sure of my partner or the plan, so I’ll take that as it comes. 

Nelson Wyatt

I don’t know why it’s gotta be a first-of-the-year thing. Why can’t we just try to be our best all year? I do think it’s a good time to re-evaluate what you’ve got going on. Is there anywhere you’re maybe slacking a little bit? Work on that. 

I’m roping with Jonathan (Torres) again in 2025, and I’m going to try to do a better job of running every steer like it’s the last one. I tried to do that in 2024, and I think I did for the most part. But there are steers you let get away here and there. And if you lose focus on one or two, it can be a pretty big deal in the end. 

The first thing that comes to my mind as a good goal for 2025 would be to win $3,000 more (Wyatt finished 16^th in the world with $101,988.06, which was $3,080.49 behind 15^th-place header Begay). I can get there if I run every steer like it’s the last one of the year. 

Tee Woolman

I think everybody makes New Year’s resolutions, but I don’t think anybody follows up on them. They tell themselves, “I’m going to do this or that and get better at something,” and nothing changes. I don’t think there’s much follow-through in the roping world. Not many people change, because they just keep doing the same thing.

It’s a new year, and I’m going to get up, go to the arena (377 Arena in Stephenville), make sure everything’s rolling there and try to rope a little bit. No more, no less. I don’t need to lose weight. I’m not going to quit drinking, because I don’t drink. 

I like sweet tea, and I like dessert. Jacque (Tee’s wife) wants me to get off the sugar. But I’m probably not going to do that, because I like strawberry shortcake and banana pudding. I don’t dip, chew, smoke or drink. I don’t drink Coke, just maybe an occasional Sprite. I’m not going to say I’m giving up sweet tea or dessert, because that’s not going to happen. 

Walt Woodard

To me, a New Year’s resolution is a goal. I was roping with a guy one time, and we were getting killed in October, November and December. He says to me, “It’s all going to change on January 1.” 

I told him, “This is not Cinderella. We don’t just click our heels, and it all changes. We’ll be miserable January 1st, just like we were in November. That’s how it works.” 

I rodeoed in 2024, and won $25,000 (heeling for Devon McDaniel), which was $75,000 short. I roped a leg to win Lovington (New Mexico), and missed to win Logan (Utah). What I took away was things I was weak in, and I made adjustments and changes. I’ve changed horses, and worked on my swing speed. 

Travis Graves says, “We’re all champions at home.” You’ve got to go compete. There are so many distractions that are hard on your focus when you’re out there rodeoing. You’ve got to be able to do it under the lights. I believe I still can. 

I’m going to rope with Tanner Green in 2025, and the plan is to make the NFR. Every old boxer gets knocked out and carried out unconscious. I’m close, but I believe I can make the NFR again. I have a young horse I built myself. She’s going to be great. 

I’m 69 years old. So what? How old would you be if you were on an island and didn’t know how old you were? I unloaded a semi of hay yesterday. I’m super healthy. I can work all day. I can still do this.

Clay Cooper

New Year’s resolutions have never really been a thing for me. You’re either doing something, or you’re not. The only resolutions I ever made when I was rodeoing were in the form of partner changes. When I didn’t have a very good year for one reason or another, I evaluated what needed to change and what I wanted to accomplish the next year. 

Rather than making New Year’s resolutions, it’s always been about re-goaling for me. But that’s at work constantly in a competitor’s mind. And that doesn’t just happen when the calendar turns a page. 

I always liked starting a new year. That was the fun part for me—bam, you’re starting a whole new race again. I enjoyed being in the fight, then starting over with a clean slate. That’s what you get addicted to when you rodeo for a living.

—TRJ—

New year, new roping goals. Elevate your team roping skills with masterclass video instruction from the coaches at Roping.com. Learn from Trevor Brazile, Miles Baker, Dakota Kirchenschlager, Clay O’Brien Cooper, Jake Barnes and more. Start your free trial today.