ProRodeo Sports News - March 8, 2019

GRILLE COWBOY

COLE PATTERSON, a 23-year-old from Pratt, Kan., is embarking on his PRCA rookie season as a steer roper. He’s leading the March 6 PRCA | Resistol Rookie Standings in steer roping with $5,551. If his last name sounds familiar in steer roping circles it should. He is the oldest son of four-time World Champion Steer Roper Rocky Patterson. Cole is hoping to qualify for the ClemMcSpadden National Finals Steer Roping and to compete there with his father.

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What was your progression like to get to this point in your career? Cole: I was on my (PRCA) permit and I (tie-down roped) for maybe three years. Then I steer roped on my permit last year. I was just waiting to get out of college before I bought my PRCA card. I’m going to try and rodeo full time this year. I think steer roping is probably the most intricate in rodeo and probably the most difficult to master. There are just so many moving parts and so much trust between a guy and his horse that he has to have in order to leave his horse going a different direction than he’s going. Where did you go to college?

Cole: I went to Western Oklahoma State College in Altus for two years and then transferred to Northwestern Oklahoma State in Alva for my final two years. I got an associate degree in agriculture and associate in business at Western Oklahoma. At Northwestern, I got a bachelor’s degree in ag business in May 2018. I team roped as a header and heeler and (tie-down roped) in college. Your father is a steer roping legend. Did you always want to follow in his footsteps? Cole: I think I was 14 or 15 when Dad let me tie my first steer, and he only let me tie about two or three. Then, he told me that was all I could tie until I graduated from college. I think he wanted me to get a taste of it until I was hooked, and then I would work that much harder to get a degree. My dad knows so much about horsemanship and the technicalities of steer roping, and I hope one day I know half as much about steer roping as he does. What horses are you using this year?

Cole: I had two calf horses, and one of them was big enough to rope steers off. I remember last May we put them both in the fire at the same time. The one my dad bought from Nebraska I just call my Dun horse. The other horse is named Convict, my dad bought him when he was 2. He told me he was going to start steer roping on him when he turned 4, and I liked him so much that when he turned 3, I started (tie-down roping) on him so maybe dad wouldn’t take him from me. He turned out to be a good-enough calf horse that dad would never take him away from me, and now that I quit (tie-down roping) I need him for steer roping. What has been your biggest win this year?

Cole: I won the average in Rosenberg, Texas (at the Fort Bend County Fair & Rodeo, Oct. 5-7, earning $2,846). I set out with the goal that I wanted to win the average somewhere my rookie year, and it happened to be the first rodeo I went to. What are your goals for this season? Cole: The ultimate goal is to make the National Finals Steer Roping. If I could rope with my dad there, it would be a dream come true. When I started steer roping, one thing I wanted to accomplish is to rope with Dad at the NFSR one time. That would be super cool. Who are your favorite non-rodeo athletes? Cole: Tom Brady in football and LeBron James in basketball. I think it is cool to watch guys have long careers where they are so dominant.

What’s your favorite movie? Cole: Tombstone . I think it would have been cool to have lived back in those times.

What’s your favorite restaurant? Cole: Texas Roadhouse. I either get a ribeye or a filet. What’s your favorite type of candy and beverage to drink? Cole: I’m a sucker for a Snickers bar. I also like to drink Pepsi.

What rodeo are you looking forward to steer roping at? Cole: I’ve been looking forward to running one at Cheyenne (Wyo.) for as long as I can remember. The long start and the fresh cattle and the history of the rodeo is something I’ve been waiting to be a part of. What’s the last music concert you attended?

Cole: I saw George Strait last December in Las Vegas during the Wrangler NFR. That’s the first time I saw George Strait, and his concert is pretty hard to beat.

COLE PATTERSON

ProRodeo Sports News 3/8/2019

ProRodeo.com

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