story by Kyle Eustice
In an atypical fashion, 61-year-old Randy Pianalto got into rodeo at the age of 18, which is rather late compared to those who got into it as young children. He was introduced to it by a good friend and immediately fell in love with team roping. As fate would have it, his first open rodeo in Colcord, Oklahoma didn’t go as planned.
“Almost all of my fingers got ripped off on my left hand,” explained Randy. “I mashed up my hand completely. It healed in a month, but it was just one of those things the Lord let happen to see if I was tough enough to handle it. I was ready to do it again as soon as I healed.”
Armed with pure determination, Randy forged ahead and mainly participated in open rodeos around his hometown of Springdale, Arkansas. When he was 27, he married the love of his life, Kathy Jo and they had two boys, Jake, 30, and Clay, 28, who both took after their father, something Randy is audibly proud of when he speaks.
“I’m really proud of them,” said Randy. “They’ve been into it since day one. My kids made it to the National High School finals six years in a row.”
His sons essentially gave Randy his second wind in the rodeo world. After enduring several surgeries, Randy had to take a step back from team roping, but spent a lot of his time standing behind a roping chute with his sons, turning cattle out for them. It led to his career as a judge.
“I judged a junior high association in 2008 and went from there,” said Randy. “I’ve been judging for the past three or four years now.”
“Randy is a sweetheart and one of most fair judges I know,” said Ann Scroggins, who photographs the high school rodeos. “He calls it just like he sees it, doesn’t matter what your last name is!”
Judging in the ACRA and staying involved in the sport has been important to the Springdale High School graduate simply and solely because of his boys. It helps he still owns plenty of property and is able to host the men whenever they can make it.
“We have 15 acres, own cattle and a pen,” explained Randy. “The boys don’t rope much anymore at the house. Jake lives an hour away and has two daughters, and Clay lives 10 minutes away, and he has twin girls.”
For the past 22 years, Randy has worked for the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department (AHTD) as a crew leader, one step under the foreman. He’s in charge of snow duty, patching holes in the highways, running graters and, as he puts it, “just about everything it takes to care of a highway.”
Before that, he owned a dairy farm in Highful, Arkansas, but an airport bought him out in 1995, which led to his job with the AHTD. For now, he’s mostly judges Little Britches rodeos and is most proud of being invited to judge at the National Little Britches Rodeo finals in Guthrie, Oklahoma in July 2017, when 1,500 contestants descend on the small Oklahoma town.
“I love watching the kids,” said Randy. I really enjoy kids. You have to have a lot of dedication and a big heart to be good, but it’s worth it.”
