ProRodeo Sports News - June 11, 2021

Day, one never experienced before. Only fatherhood can do that. “I don’t feel pressure to provide as much as I feel pressure to be a good father and husband,” said seven-time NFR contestant Hooper, whose wife, Melissa, delivered a son, Tell McClain, on Jan. 8. “I love riding, but the day he entered this world, my whole outlook changed. Sure, I want to be a world champ. Now I also want to be the greatest dad.” As the rodeo season begins its crescendo into the hectic summer season, both cowboys plan on extended runs that each hope will culminate with an eighth NFR qualification by the end of September. One will leave home with only a smartphone to send thoughts their way. Another will have the benefit of having the family on the road with him. Neither is complaining, though it will take some getting used to. “This is a new thing for my family,” said Hooper, of Fort Worth, Texas, who is the No. 1 bareback rider in the PRCA | RAMWorld Standings. “Fortunately, my wife has a job that allows her to go with me. That’ll really help me get through that first busy stretch heading into the Fourth of July.” Eldridge, who lives in Reedley, Calif., still gets to see Sally Lou, but only over the phone, which can be twice as heart-wrenching with today’s technology. “I’m about to be gone for 10 days, but I’m sure that’ll feel like three weeks,” said Eldridge, 13th in the world standings. “She knows when she hears dad’s voice. Now with FaceTime, you can see while you’re talking. That makes it harder when you do FaceTime because you can see that look, how much you miss them.” When Eldridge sees his daughter, he sees a part of his past, thanks to her name. Eldridge’s mother-in-law, Sally Freeman, who discovered a horse on which Eldridge won the average title at the RAMCalifornia Circuit Finals Rodeo in October, died of cancer in April 2020. “We knew it was going to be a girl, and it was pretty meaningful when we were at the hospital when she passed away,” Eldridge said. “We were still deciding on names, and I thought that’ll make it easy. My family looked at me and I said we better name her Sally. She’s got a lot to live up to. Those are big shoes to fill.” For Hooper, it was a boyhood memory, one that actually decided his rodeo future through the words and imagination of an iconic American fiction writer. “I got into reading Louis L’Amour books in the sixth or seventh grade,” Hooper said. “Tell was one of the Sackett brothers in his novels, and those Western books are what steered me into becoming a cowboy. I didn’t come from a rodeo family, but after that, I wanted to be a cowboy. I figured the fastest route was to be a rodeo cowboy, and I’ve been very fortunate to be where I am.”

Photos courtesy Tilden Hooper Bareback rider Tilden Hooper spends some time outdoors with his son, Tell McClain, who was born in January. Below, Tell looks at the camera while avoiding the rodeo noise with his headphones.

“I don’t feel pressure to provide as much as I feel pressure to be a good father and husband . . . I love riding, but the day (my son) entered this world, my whole outlook changed. – TILDEN HOOPER

ProRodeo Sports News 6/11/2021

ProRodeo.com

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