Kendra Santos is a Cowgirl Hall of Fame member known for perfectly summing up rodeo athletes, their careers, and the groundbreaking moments that come with them. However, when it comes to Roy Cooper, she says it is impossible to put it all into words.
“It’s impossible to describe that huge heart that beat in that champion’s chest of his. The first time I ever saw Roy Cooper do his thing was at the Cow Palace in San Francisco in 1976. I was a kid, I was there with my dad, who was that year’s All-Around Champ, Team Roping Champ at the Cow Palace. And when we got back in to go home, it was like ‘What was that?’ And I was talking about Roy Cooper, I was asking about Roy Cooper,” she said.
Looking back, Santos remembers Cooper doing things that nobody had done, including his trip to Oklahoma City as a Rookie. She had one word to describe it, and that was fearless.
“He was there to change things, and he did. You can’t measure the impact, obviously, he’s a Mount Rushmore of calf roping person. You can’t measure the impact he’s had on all future generations,” she said.
Conversations and a friendship with Cooper are two things that Santos always cherishes.
“In every condition, he was the man. Roy, there’s no one else like him or ever will be,” she said.