PRORODEO Sports News - March 21, 2025

Tuf Cooper won the tie-down roping finals at San Antonio in honor of his late grandmother. ( PRCA photo by Click Thompson )

Tuf Cooper honors late grandmother in San Antonio win BY ZACH ALVIRA

Judy Smith, the night before. She was 91 years old. It was an emotional time, and one that for a moment took his attention away from San Antonio as he made the 6-hour drive to and from Childress to be with family the night of her passing. But a simple request from his

grandfather helped him regain focus. “My grandpa Friday night, while we were bedside, he said, ‘Hey, you go get that buckle,’” Cooper said. “When he put me on that mission it made my job a lot easier. It was the best mission I’ve ever been on.” Cooper completed the mission,

THERE WAS PLENTY weighing on the mind of Tuf Cooper Saturday, Feb. 22, when he was preparing to compete in the tie-down roping finals at the San Antonio (Texas) Stock Show & Rodeo. The 35-year-old Decatur, Texas, native had just lost his grandmother,

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PRORODEO Sports News April 2025