ProRodeo Sports News - August 7, 2020

TUF COOPER

GARY GILBERT

EVENTS: Tie-down roping, steer

EVENT: Steer wrestling HIGHLIGHTS: Competed at the 2019 RAMNational Circuit Finals Rodeo in Kissimmee, Fla.; won round 1 in 3.7 seconds. NON-RODEO JOB: Car restoration. WORK THOUGHTS: I own a construction company. But last year when I blew my (left) knee out, I built a 1949 Chevy Rat Rod from the ground up. I grew up doing some mechanic stuff, but nothing like this. I pulled the frame off and put it on a 1997 GMC Sonoma and did a complete frame off restoration. I had the Rat Rod pickup since 2010 when I bought it frommy mother’s estate. I put a 327 (cubic inch) engine in the Rat Rod out of a 1968 Corvette. It has a 700r4 automatic transmission with a 2500 stall torque converter. I overhauled the engine, bore over 30 with new rings, pistons, valves and cam. The bed of the truck is custom- live cedar I mitered, planed and sanded. I have a neighbor friend who I’ve done some construction work for, and he has an older car and I would bounce ideas off him. I pretty much tried about anything, and if it didn’t work, I tried something different.

roping

HIGHLIGHTS: Three-time tie-down roping world champion (2011-12, 2014); all-around world champion (2017). NON-RODEO JOBS: Busboy at Partners Restaurant, Childress, Texas, owned by Shari Cooper (Tuf ’s mother) and her sister, Sealy; Tuf ’s Tack. WORK THOUGHTS: I was a busboy at my mom’s restaurant. My brothers, cousins and I all worked there. We all did whatever. I worked at the restaurant two or three years. I got demoted to busboy because when I was a waiter, I got all the orders wrong. Around that same time when I was like 13 years old, I used to travel with my dad (ProRodeo Hall of Famer Roy Cooper). I started a tack business. My dad would help me with it. We would go to all the surplus stores and get ropes, and we would build halters and I would get a lot of stuff from (tie-down

Photo courtesy Tuf Cooper Tuf Cooper poses for a photo as a youngster around the time he was running his business Tuf’s Tack, which ended abruptly after a trip to Canada.

roper) Matt Shiozawa’s dad, Kent. I would go around to the rodeos and take my little bag that was called Tuf ’s Tack and sell my stuff. It went good for a while. Then we went to Canada, and I sold all my stuff in one day to all these kids up there. I thought I was rich. I got back to the rig and that was my first lesson on exchange rate. It broke my business. I thought I was a good salesman, but apparently my prices were really good in Canada. I didn’t even know what an exchange rate was, and long story short, Canada put Tuf ’s Tack out of business. Every time I rodeo in Canada I try and get my money back. JUAN ALCAZAR JR. EVENTS: Steer wrestling HIGHLIGHTS: RAMNational Circuit Finals Rodeo qualifier, winning the second round in 2019 with a 3.3-second time. NON-RODEO JOB: Bail bondsman, 2011- 13, Pasco County, Florida WORK THOUGHTS: A buddy of mine said I could make a pile of money, so I tried it. I was always on my toes. It was late nights, more phone calls than you could shake a stick at and if somebody skipped bond on you, you had to go pick them up, and that’s when things got really interesting. I had to make sure they showed up in court. If they didn’t show up, I would have to go pick them back up and turn them back in. Parts of town I normally would not have been around, I had no choice but to be there; they were sketchy places. I would see a bunch of people laying down for reasons I wanted no part of. I would just creep over them, get who I needed to get and get back out. I didn’t make the money I thought I was going to make. Do I wish I could continue doing it? Heck no. That’s just a good way to know the life we live as rodeo contestants or even as ranch people is a good way to live. Working that job was an eye-opener that there’s some stuff that goes down that I want no part of. I really, really enjoy shoeing horses, day working and cowboying. I’m good, I’ll live the simple life. Alcazar

It took me six months to complete everything. It was a lot of fun. I drive it around, and it runs really well. I think this fall I’m going to restore a 1957 Bel Air Wagon for my in-laws. I really enjoy doing stuff like this.

Photo courtesy Gary Gilbert Steer wrestler Gary Gilbert completely restored a 1949 Chevy Rat Rod last year while recovering from a knee injury. Gilbert worked on cars growing up but had never done a big project like this.

ProRodeo Sports News 8/7/2020

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