story by Lily Weinacht
Brothers Trevor and Tanner Naylor from Hancock, Maryland, have been backing into the box together since they were small. Trevor, 15, competes in the MDHSRA and Tanner, 13, competes in the MDHSRA Junior High Division, while the brothers are finishing their fourth year competing in the APRA. They won their first APRA rodeo together this summer in Ford City, Pennsylvania. “We rope a lot together, and everywhere we go, we enter together,” says Tanner. “At Ford City, Trevor did his job, and the steer took a big hop, but I roped him coming away from me and everything came tight real fast.”
While the brothers aren’t set up to rope steers daily at their house, they practice often at their grandmother’s, and rope the dummy at home. Their dad, Tim Naylor, competes in the APRA as well and enters with them. He started them both with heeling, but Trevor, who is also a tie-down roper, switched to heading several years ago. “I heel at the high school rodeos, but I always wanted to head, so once Dad let me, I’ve been heading,” says Trevor. “Team roping is my favorite because I do it more, and I get to rope with my dad and brother. My motivation is the thrill to win, and the people I meet. I made the (national) high school finals this year and met people there I’d never get to meet if I didn’t travel.” Trevor also competed in the 2017 Frontier Showdown, a multi- state high school rodeo, where he won all-around cowboy.
Tanner has competed on the national stage as well at the NJHFR, and last year, he finished 15th in the nation in boys goat tying. He also competes in tie-down roping, ribbon roping, and chute dogging, but his favorite is between chute dogging and tie-down roping. “Roping calves is a little harder. In team roping, once the header gets the steer, you can do your job, but in calf roping, you never know what they’re going to do.” He was the high-money winner at the Pink Hat Classic in Dublin, Virginia, this year, and came home with several buckles and a Yeti cooler.
Striving to win keeps both brothers motivated , along with the help of their parents, Tim and Shannon Naylor, and friends like Justin Yost and Kenny Brown. Their late grandpa, Norman Naylor, also loved to help them with roping, and he was a gold card member of the APRA. “We get to work with our dad all the time. Mr. Kenny did a lot to get us to where we could heel, and Justin really helped me with my heading,” Trevor explains.
The Naylors make their home near Hancock, Maryland, with their horses, roping calves, and a donkey that they practice on. “He’s kind of tricky to rope, but that helps with positioning your horse,” says Tanner. He rides his 14-year-old heel horse, Joker, a recent addition to the barn, and Tanner loves that the gelding puts him in the right place every time. He also rides Trevor’s calf horse, Mojo, and Trevor heads off his dun horse, Gunner. “Gunner just needed some finishing, and Mojo has been around,” says Trevor. “He’s the horse that helped me and my brother take the next step up when we started roping calves.”
The brothers both attend Hancock Middle Senior High School, where Trevor is a sophomore, and Tanner is an eighth-grader. “My favorite is probably my Ag. class,” says Trevor. “I like my teacher, Mr. Mazzone, and he comes and watches us rope. Right now, we’re figuring out how to manage property to raise beef cattle on and figure out which cows will be the best.” Similarly, Tanner enjoys his Tech Ed. class, where they’re building fan-powered cars. “Mine needs some weight in the front, but so far, it’s going good,” he says. Trevor and Tanner also enjoy hunting with their dad. Trevor likes to watch the car races in Hagerstown, Maryland, while Tanner enjoys going fishing with friends.
Tanner’s goal by the time he’s a sophomore is to be a 6 heeler. He finished 25th in the APRA heeler standings, while Trevor finished 20th in the header standings, and their next goal is qualify for the APRA finals in 2018.
