story by Lily Weinacht
Tyler Boxleitner started roping just two years ago, and this summer, he’s competed on three of the largest stages in youth rodeo – the Best of the Best in Gallup, New Mexico, the IFYR in Shawnee, Oklahoma, and the NHSFR in Gillette, Wyoming.
The 17-year-old from Loveland, Colorado, grew up watching his mom and older sister barrel race in amateur and professional rodeos, and decided he wanted to start tie-down roping. He junior rodeoed for several years, but didn’t find his niche until he was a freshman. Tyler went into state finals this spring leading the tie-down roping and made two clean runs, but a mishap in the short-go cost him the average and quite possibly the state title. “My coil wrapped around my leg – it was kind of a freak deal – but I ended up hopping back on my horse and somehow getting out of it. I got my calf tied only two or three seconds over the time limit – I dang sure wasn’t giving up after that happened! It was a little heartbreaking, but it’s a lot easier to accept that it just wasn’t our time. I was pretty happy to make it to Nationals,” says Tyler, who finished third in the year-end. “It was cool to rope at that level of competition (at the NHSFR). Roping in the jackpots was definitely a highlight, and being able to rope with those guys and watch them was awesome. I’m pretty motivated to do what it takes to make it back next year and hopefully do better!”
A number of people have helped Tyler start his rodeo career, and he especially looks up to Trevor Thiel and Ace Slone. “Trevor lives right here in Greeley, and he’s a great calf roper and really inspiring. He’ll make me work, but it’s a lot of fun. Ace Slone is another buddy of mine from Texas, and I met him through buying one of his horses. I’ll stay with them and rope for a week, and he’s helped me with my roping for sure. A huge part in getting me down the road are my sponsors – Willard Ropes and Slone Saddles. Being able to rope with best ropes and strings from Willard, and Slone always keeping me mounted in a good saddle that fits my horse, makes a huge difference on the road.”
The other half of Tyler’s team are his horses. Sleepy, a 15-year-old gelding, is his main horse, whom he bought from Ace Slone last fall. “I won quite a bit on him in the spring, and he’s pretty talented. I think some days he loves it more than I do. He’s got that sixth sense a good calf horse needs. The only thing about Sleepy that drives me crazy is that in the box, he’ll turn his head to the left and won’t look straight ahead. My backup horse, Faith, is 19 this year. She was my first calf horse, and she’s done a lot for me. I call her Old Reliable because I feel confident in her, but she’s older, so I save her for the important rodeos.”
Tyler also competes in the CPRA and open rodeos in the area, and he and Sleepy placed 7th out of more than 70 ropers at the rodeo in Brush, Colorado. “There’s a lot of things that keep me going, but one of the biggest things is making all the people that have helped me out proud,” says Tyler. “My mom, Kari, or my sister, Taryn, will work the chute for me, and my mom unties my calves for me – she’s my number one supporter and biggest fan. My dad, Bruce, comes to a bunch of the rodeos and helps me as much as he can.”
Since he spends several weeks in Texas every winter roping, Tyler, a junior, does online school through Loveland High, and particularly enjoys social studies and politics. If he has a free moment, he goes hunting or fishing, but prefers to spend the bulk of his time improving his roping. “I’d like to keep working hard and get my pro card and be able to rodeo for a living,” he finishes. “It’s definitely a goal to win state in the calf roping, and I’d like to qualify for Nationals the next two years.”
