Rope Myers, Steer Wrestler

Rope Myers had just won a steer wrestling match at the recent Windy Ryon Memorial Roping.

The grounds had been a muddy quagmire caused by a rain earlier in the day, and Myers concluded the eight-steer match covered with mud from top to bottom. It literally had been a mud wrestling match.

But, there was his wife, Candice, and their two sons, Layton, 6, and Holden, 3, behind the chutes, awaiting to hug the new champion, mud or no mud.

Family is important to Myers, the 2001 world steer wrestling champion from Van, Texas, and the new setup that went into effect this year by the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association plays right into Myers' hands.

No longer do the timed-event contestants have to travel to around 100 rodeos, ranging from Helotes, Texas, to Licking, Mo., in order to qualify for the National Finals Rodeo, the sport's World Series.

This year, the PRCA has cut the number of rodeos to 50 for timed event cowboys, 75 for roughstock contestants. In addition there are two tours with increased purses, and three Finales with total purses, and three Finales with total purses ranging from $500,000 to nearly $600,000, to make up for the limited schedule.

Now the cowboys can pick and choose the rodeos they want to attend. It used to be a dicey proposition. They might win at a small rodeo, but they would lose money because of the travel expenses involved.

"Those new rules are right up my alley," Myers said. "I can stay at home more and spend a lot of time with the family. I get to go to the boys' baseball games, football games, and soccer games. It's all kind of new for me."

Before this year, married rodeo cowboys were practically absentee fathers. Always, on the run, traveling cross country and seeing their families for brief moments during the year. Earlier this spring, he even took a short family vacation, something that had been foreign in their previous lifestyle.

"It's the first time we've ever been able to do that," he said. "We went down to Corpus Christi and Galveston with the kids for several days, and had a good time."

He ranks seventh in the world standings with $19.589 in earnings, and in two weeks he will be competing in the $500,000 ProRodeo Winter Tour Finale (June 12-14) in Las Vegas.

"I didn't even get to go to all of the tour events," he said. "And, I still won enough to make it to the Finale. I'm having a lot of fun."

Myers knows whereof he speaks. In 2001, he wasn't even ranked among the top 15, the NFR's cutoff, in October. But, Myers qualified for the Summer Tour Finals at the American Airlines Center in Dallas where he got hot. He won $12,000, got into the NFR and the hot streak continued until he had been crowned the world champion in December.

Now he hopes that 2003 could take a similar path. And that's with a lot less time on the road.

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