Family ties helpful to champion

In the world of professional rodeo, family is often more than just the tie that binds.

It's the tie that wins.

That's certainly the truth for Tuf Cooper, the quickly rising son of renowned roper Roy Cooper, who won eight world championships in his day - six in tie-down, one in steer roping and one all-around. Tuf Cooper is coming off his first world title, winning last year in tie-down roping as just a 21-year-old rodeo pup.

And not surprisingly, just like his famous father, he's back for more at age 22, qualifying for the National Finals Rodeo for the fifth time. He was second in the tie-down world standings heading into the 2012 NFR, having made $124,421 in the regular season, about $20,000 behind leader Justin Maass.

It's pretty easy to make up money at the NFR, with its total purse of $6.125 million. And if Cooper delivers again, he'll surely point to his father as the root of his success.

"My dad plays a huge role in my roping," Cooper said. "He's a living legend at what I do. I have the biggest advantage in the world, because my dad IS calf roping. He changed the sport, and he knows everything about it."

Cooper has the advantage of following a trail that's already been well used.

"I'm going down the same path that he's already been," he said. "To be able to have his input and advice along the way, it sure makes the road a lot smoother."

At the same time, there's certainly some pressure to deal with when you're carrying the family legacy.

"Being the son of an eight-time world champion, there's definitely pressure," Cooper said. "People expect you to perform. But that's the best kind of pressure in the world. I'd rather have pressure to perform well than not have pressure, and not perform well at all.

"So even the negatives are a positive for me."

Cooper isn't the lone one benefiting from his father's expertise; he's got two roping brothers, Clif and Clint.

"My dad expects us to do our very best," he said. "And we've done that because we have him as a coach."

Roy Cooper's consistent success, season after season, and at the season-ending NFR, has taught Tuf Cooper a great deal about the need to be consistent and to never be satisfied with what happened last year.

"He's helped me be able to come back year after year," he said. "He's showed me how to compete again and again. Because once the year is over, it starts all over again.

"Even though I won the world championship last year, there's another one to be won the next year. They're not just gonna give it away."

And though many cowboys would be thrilled with just one world championship - and while Cooper is certainly proud of his first - that's not why Cooper got into this business. He wants to be the multi-time world champion that his father was, and he's wanted that for a long time.

"That's what I've been working on ever since I was 10, 12 years old," he said. "I'm not just looking for one gold buckle. Our goal from Day One is to be the best in the world every year.

"I have a great opportunity to do that again this year, but I'll have to bust my tail day in and day out to make that happen. I have to take full advantage."

After all, if you want to outdo your dad as a rodeo legend, there's no time to waste. And Tuf Cooper isn't just pursuing his dad's marks. He wants to surpass Dean Oliver's record eight tie-down roping championships.

"My goal is to get the most calf roping titles that anybody has ever got," Cooper said.