story by Siri Stevens
Last year was Tyler Hobert’s first year in the KPRA. “We always rodeoed around the house and never really went hard for the whole year,” said the 21 year old cowboy from Clearwater, Kansas. Tyler team ropes, catching horns for his heeling partner, Tyler Mahlandt. Last year was their first year together and they made both the KPRA Finals and the CePRA Finals.
Tyler learned how to rope when he was young, but didn’t rodeo competitively until his junior and senior years in high school. He also roped calves and bulldogged in high school. His roping improved when he spent the summer of his junior year working for Tyler Magnus. “We went down there right before Nationals and afterwards we went back there. We rode for him and learned a lot about horsemanship.”
He went to Clarendon, Texas, for college, studying welding. He graduated and now he works for the railroad, maintaining track. He drives an hour to work every day, working four day weeks, which makes rodeoing easier. “I found this job five months ago and it’s great. It fits with what I like – I can’t sit in an office all day, so this works.”
His goal last year was to get to the KPRA and CePRA Finals. “We never tried to make the Finals like we did this year.” He treated the Finals just like another rodeo. “We’ve roped with these guys all year, so it wasn’t much different.” He didn’t have a good Finals, between the draw and missing his third steer.
His goal is to go again this year, and he plans on roping with Justin Binder.
Tyler moved back from Texas to help his family when his mother was diagnosed with cancer. She is cancer free now and he continues to live at home, saving his money to buy a place of his own.
He got his start in rodeo from his dad, Rod, who team ropes too. “He was a jackpotter.” He has a sister, Courtney, who also rodeos. She’s a freshman in college, rodeoing for Pratt Community College.
Any spare time is spent roping with friends and helping the family with the Longhorn corriente cattle.
He didn’t know about the Rookie run until the end of August. “I didn’t think I had a shot at it because all I did was team rope, but I got it and I’m proud of it.”
He is riding a bay horse named Scottie. “He’s been the one that’s brought me up from being a local jokal jackpotter to being able to compete at the rodeos. He just fits me like a glove. The more steers we run, the better we get. He’s the main mount.” Tyler has a gray horse that he started, a mare that he admits is a pain, but she’s good for practice.
“If I’m not roping, I’m working, if I’m not working, I’m sleeping.”
His goal is to retire from the railroad and run cattle.
