ProRodeo Sports News - April 20, 2018

unnoticed by four-time bareback world champion Kaycee Feild (2011-14), Hooper’s good friend and traveling partner. “The way that he rode was with authority,” Feild said. “There was no one there who rode as good as he did, and his scores showed it. I saw the video of his ride on Raggedy Ann and I know for the past three or four years no one has ridden that horse as good as Tilden rode that horse.” THANKFULTO BE COMPETING Hooper joined the PRCA in 2006 and had his time in the spotlight, qualifying for the Wrangler NFR four times – 2008-09, 2011, 2014 – finishing 11th in the world standings in 2011 and 2014. Unfortunately for Hooper, while his rodeo road has had peaks, it’s also had valleys in the form of injuries. In 2011, he earned a bid to Las Vegas, but his season was sabotaged by a nagging neck injury. “Around Cheyenne (Wyo.) time in July, I had to come home because of my neck, and I sat out for six months,” Hooper said. “I had enough won that I qualified for the NFR and I rode there. The next year my neck got so bad I couldn’t ride anymore, so I had a single-neck fusion surgery between my C-5 and C-6 vertebrae at the end of that year. The disc between C-5 and C-6 was ruptured and the disc between C-4 and C-5 was herniated, but not ruptured. If they fused both levels (between C-4 and C-5 and C-5 and C-6) I wouldn’t be able to continue to ride.” Hooper chose the single-neck fusion and rehabbed with chiropractor Shawn Scott, who works with the Justin Sportsmedicine Team, to strengthen the disc between his C-4 and C-5 vertebrae. In 2013, Hooper came back on a limited schedule, and by 2014 he was back competing at theWrangler NFR. He was having a strong 2015 season before injuring his neck again. “The disc that was herniated and not fused shot into my spinal cord, and I took the rest of 2015 off,” Hooper said. Hooper didn’t compete in the PRCA in 2016, spending most of his time rehabbing. “Last year, I rodeoed full time and I had a decent year, finishing 27th, and this year I feel like I’m getting stronger and stronger,” he said. “I have been able to manage my neck injury with rehab and riding better and taking better care of myself. I feel that I still have the fire in my belly and I’ve always felt like I’m capable of winning a world championship and doing more than I’ve done.” Hooper acknowledged when he and his wife, Melissa, were married Oct. 28 it also put some stability in his life. “It’s crazy how getting a good woman by your side and having a great family behind you just makes things a lot easier and more enjoyable,” he said. “I met her around 10 years ago and we went on a date here and there. Then, we both went on our separate ways and life brought us back together a year or so ago. It has been all gravy since then.” STARTINGA BUSINESS Due to his rodeo injuries, Hooper had to find another way to make income, so he started Top Hand Landscape and Irrigation in the Fort Worth, Texas, area in 2015. “My business has gone so well that I can support myself and my wife,” Hooper said. “Rodeo now is a much more stress-free deal because whatever I make, I make, and what I win is just icing on the cake.” Making a return trip to the Wrangler NFR is something Feild sees in Hooper’s future. “He’s an amazing bareback rider and he’s had to deal with the worst of the worst when it comes to injuries for a bareback rider,” Feild said. “For him, it is just another stepping stone along the way. Right now, the next chapter in Tilden’s playbook is winning a world championship. I’m so proud of that guy. He has to go through me to get that gold buckle, but he definitely has a shot at it. You will not meet a better guy than Tilden, and I will tell you I would be happier if Tilden won the world than if I did.” Hooper, meanwhile, is keeping things in perspective. “At my age and (with) the injuries I have come back from, this is a huge blessing for me to still be able to ride,” he said. “It’s hard to put into words how it feels to still be riding and to feel that I’m riding better now than I’ve ever ridden. I’m just going to keep my head down and get the most out of every horse I’m on and see where I’m at when the regular season ends.”

POINTS BREAKDOWN • Points are awarded for any Tour Rodeo placing that earned prize money. • The number of points earned is relational to the overall placing for the long go’s, average, and short go’s. (Example: If a long go pays eight places, points earned will be 80 points for first down to 10 points for eighth.) For ties, total points available for the tied placings will be equally divided (i.e. 10 Points / 4 ties = 2.5 Tour points each). For all events except bull riding, only qualified scores or times earn Tour points. (Example: If there are only two qualified times/scores in a round that has six places, they would receive 60 and 50 points, respectively. No other points would be awarded.) Bull riding points can also be earned via ground money payouts. This means the total points available are split evenly between the top prize money placings in the bull riding event only. • • •

Saddle bronc rider Wyatt Casper had an 87.5-point ride on Sankey Pro Rodeo & Robinson Bulls’ Marquee to place second in the finals and win the average with 167.5 points on two head. Kirt Steinke photo

Complete results on Page 49

SADDLE BRONC RIDING 1. Wyatt Casper ........... 167.5 pts. on two 2. Allen Boore .................................... 167 3. (tie) Ryder Wright ....................... 165.5 Rusty Wright .............................. 165.5

TIE-DOWN ROPING 1. Marty Yates ............ 26.3 sec. on three 2. Cade Swor .................................... 27.5 3. Trevor Brazile ................................ 28.4 4. Stetson Vest ................................. 28.6

BARREL RACING 1. B. Pozzi Tonozzi ....... 34.36 sec. on two 2. Kellie Collier ................................ 34.56 3. Christine Laughlin ...................... 34.81 4. Two tied at .................................. 34.89

BULL RIDING 1. Tyler Bingham ............ 172 pts. on two 2. Brady Portenier ................... 86 on one 3. Chris Roundy ................................ 85.5 4. Shad Heiner ..................................... 84

ProRodeo Sports News 4/20/18

ProRodeo.com

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