Hooper, Alberta Child match for big score at Texas Stampede

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This was written for Carr Pro Rodeo and the Texas Stampede.

Tilden Hooper craves great bucking horses. It’s why he’s a cowboy, one of the top bareback riders in the game.

Tilden Hooper
Tilden Hooper

It’s also why he was part of the Tom Thumb Texas Stampede Nov. 12-13 at the Allen Events Center, where he proved why he’s a among the elite bucking horse riders in ProRodeo. He won two of the four go-rounds and the average title, pocketing $7,000 for his two days of work.

Oh, and he set an arena record with a mind-boggling 92-point ride, matching moves with the Carr Pro Rodeo horse Alberta Child during the final round Saturday night.

“I felt like I rode better this weekend than I have my entire career,” said Hooper, a two-time Wrangler National Finals Rodeo qualifier from Carthage, Texas. “Things were going right, and I was dang sure on a roll.

“As far as Alberta Child, that horse was just outstanding. It was really getting into the air and breaking over the top.”

Pete Carr owns Alberta Child and Carr Pro Rodeo. A former bareback rider himself, he likes watching great rides.

“Tilden asked me about that horse during the day,” Carr said. “I said, ‘You’ll have fun.’ That’s what he did. The horse stalled out and was exceptional. He was supposed to be that many points.”

The Dallas-based livestock producer is relatively new to the business, just in its fifth year in the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association. But Carr Pro Rodeo has made a name for itself in a short time, primarily in bareback riding – Real Deal was named the 2005 Bareback Riding Horse of the Year, and Riverboat Annie was the runner-up in 2007.

Real Deal was just 6 years old when he won the halter. Not only did the brown gelding set the standard for and put the wheels in motion for Carr Pro Rodeo, he also proved that the best horse in the business could still be quite young.

“Alberta Child is just 6 years old,” Carr said. “This year, she won Stephenville and Silverton (in Texas), and people are just getting to see her out there. We’ve got some 5- and 6-year-olds that will be turning some people’s heads.”

Alberta Child definitely got Hooper’s attention Saturday night.

“It was a smooth ride that was way, way up in the air,” he said. “That gives you plenty of time to set your feet, but then that rigging was dropping straight down. It’s one of those deals that if you’re doing things right, you’ll be a lot of points; if you stub your toe at all, she’ll put you on the ground.”

While Hooper won bareback riding, Heith DeMoss of Heflin, La., won saddle bronc and $6,500; Kanin Asay of Powell, Wyo., won bull riding and $5,500; and Jill Moody of Letcher, S.D., won barrel racing and $8,000. But there were plenty of highlights involving the great bucking animals from Carr Pro Rodeo.

–        Bradley Harter of Weatherford, Texas, won a round of saddle bronc riding with an 86-point ride on Coffee Bean

–        2007 saddle bronc riding world champion Taos Muncy of Corona, N.M., scored 88 points on Ginger Snap.

–        Bull rider Shawn Hogg of Odessa, Texas, won a round on Fletch.

“Pete hasn’t been in the business super long, but he’s come along like gangbusters,” Hooper said. “A guy knows that if he goes to one of Pete’s rodeos, he’s going to have a good chance, especially where there are all those top horses. He has a really nice set of bareback horses, and they can damn sure buck.”

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