story by By Lily Weinacht
Luke Williams from Brock, Texas, finished the 2016 season in the AJRA by winning Team Roping Header World Champion in the 13 – 15 division, a title he had come just a few points shy of the previous year. “I was pretty confident going into the finals, but Kaden Prince, who won the heading last year, is a really good roper, so it was pretty neck-and-neck during the finals. But I really went at the team roping and practiced a bunch, so I was hoping to come out on top this time.”
While Luke, 14, used to tie-down rope, he now competes exclusively in the team roping in both the AJRA and THSRA, where he won Region 10 in 2016 with his roping partner, Tristan Sullivan. “I didn’t have the drive for tie-down roping,” Luke explains, “but I really like the speed of team roping – and the money!” He’s roping this year with Zant Lewis and Luke Phillips, and practices five days a week, joined by his dad, Shane Williams, also a team roper. Luke’s mom, Kit Williams, used to ride cutting horses, and she hauls Luke to rodeos when Shane is roping. “I look up to my dad, because he’s also a header, and if I’m not doing something correctly, he’ll tell me. We’ll get into arguments about it, but I know he’s just trying to make me a better roper,” says Luke. “The Lord also gives me a bunch of motivation to rodeo, and He’s blessed me and my family so much. I also want to give a big thank you to my sponsors: 2L Custom Trucks, Teskeys, Durham Trailer Ranch, and Fastback Ropes.”
For the past two years, Luke has roped off his nine-year-old bay gelding, Casino, named such because he took his previous owner to the Reno Rodeo. “I also rope on my older horse when Casino needs a break. He has a zero brand, so we call him Zero,” Luke explains. His family keeps roping steers throughout the year, and they round out their animals with a dachshund and two heelers. “I’m an only child, so I help out with most of the chores, but my dad does the feeding when I’m in school.”
A freshman at Brock High School, Luke enjoys English and his Ag. class, where they’ve been studying different breeds of cattle, horses, swine, and goats. He competes in 4-H and FFA rodeos, and plans to participate in the FFA horse judging this spring. Luke also plays baseball for his school. “When I get home from school, I’d like to lay around, but I go rope or clean stalls. That’s my least favorite chore,” he admits. “I really like to go fishing and hunting with my friends. We hunt for deer and doves, and we have a stock pond to fish at, or we’ll go to the Brazos River. I live in a very close community where everybody is everybody’s friend. We’re about seven miles from Weatherford, Texas, and a bunch of kids that I go to school with rodeo as well.”
The 2017 season marks Luke’s third year in the AJRA. “All their rodeos are pretty fun, and I enjoy hanging out with my friends,” he says. “I have a Saint Michael my mom gave me that I wear inside my hat when I compete. She gave it to me before the region finals so we’d have some extra luck and protection out there.” Luke hopes to defend his title with the AJRA this year and qualify for the NHSFR, and he’s set his sight on attending Texas Tech University in Lubbock. “I hope to rodeo with them on a scholarship, and study to become a vet or a horse chiropractor.”
