Joe Beaver and Byron Walker talk to Janie Johnson about 4X world champion tie-down roper Tuf Cooper’s chances to overtake newcomer Shad Mayfield before the NFR, especially in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, which will dramatically affect the 2020 rodeo season.
Mayfield, 19, currently sits at No. 1 in the PRCA | RAM World Standings with a lead of more than $80,00 in total earnings and is hungry for his first gold buckle, while Cooper, 30, has plenty of NFR experience and four world titles to his name.
“I don’t know if he can make up $88,000, but be can chip away enough of the lead to make it interesting,” says Beaver, “but here’s the deal — is Shad Mayfield going away? No. You know, I watched him last week in a match roping, and he run 8 head and he was flawless, no mistakes.”
They also give their predictions as to who will take the gold buckle this year.
“It boils down to the bottom line fact — ten head, ten nights, Las Vegas,” Beaver says. “The guy that ropes the best is gonna win the most, and the guy who wins the most is gonna be hard to beat.”
Both Mayfield and Cooper will be roping Memorial Day Weekend in Cave Creek, Arizona — watch them go head to head LIVE on The Cowboy Channel or the Cowboy Channel Plus app.
Cave Creek Rodeo Days will broadcast and stream live May 22-24 at 10:30 PM ET, with each day’s performances re-airing at 1:00 PM ET and the following day at 8:00PM ET.