story by Lindsey Fancher
The fourteen-year-old cowboy from the Mardi Gras city of Church Point, LA, did a lot more than ribbon rope during High School Nationals last year. After learning of a nearby team roping jackpot, Colton asked his very tall friend if he could borrow his horse to win some extra cash. Borrowing the horse also meant he had to use his friend’s team roping saddle which had stirrups that were, even on their shortest setting, much too long for Colton to stand up in. After leaving the box, one thing led to another when Colton went to throw his trap. “My left foot came up behind me and spurred him in the flank,” he said, “He bucked all the way down the pen.” Rather than pulling up right away, Colton gave the cackling crowd more of what had them busted up in stitches over his tack malfunction. “My friends were yelling at me to ‘Spur em’ 90!’ I let my left hand go free—that was the most fun I had all week,” he recalled.
This memory was the icing on the cake for Colton from his accomplishment of making it to Nationals for ribbon roping. He went in on the number eight spot and finished fourth at the Louisiana Junior High Finals, which secured Colton a spot representing his state at Nationals. Out of 150 ribbon ropers Colton made the top 50, despite his wild ride at the jackpot. “I probably could have done better if I hadn’t gone to that,” he admits. Although he is going to miss ribbon roping when he moves up to high school competition, Colton’s dad and two older brothers have been preparing him for tie down and team roping. Because of them, Colton has been been around roping his whole life. His dad, Brent, and his 26-year-old brother, Collin, both roped in high school and the amateurs. His fifteen-year-old brother, Cayden, is currently tie-down roping and heeling as a Sophomore in high school. What Colton is most looking forward to next year is to head for Cayden and compete in high school with him as an all-Summers team.
Brent is the one who Colton calls ‘coach’, but he considers his mom, Jennifer, his biggest supporter. “She keeps us in line. She takes care of us and all the little things that go into rodeoing. I want her to know how grateful I am for everything she does for me.”
Brent works as a fuel and oil salesman while Jennifer is the scheduler for emergency room doctors. Both parents haul with Colton and Cayden, and they consider the LHSRA and their rodeo community to be their extended family. On raising his three sons, Brent assures that, “They’re not cookie cutter. It’s been an experience of a lifetime raising them and watching them come into their own.”
Besides rodeo, Colton loves to fish and hunt. The fishing is something he enjoys with his oldest brother, Collin, in between rodeos. “One of my favorite memories with him is when we fished some islands. I caught a big red fish, and he caught a flounder. We have fun together.”
Some other members of the Summers family include Colton’s horses and his dogs. Although his heading horse, Taco, is 23 years old, Colton says, “He looks and acts like a young horse, so I’m planning on riding him all through high school.” For tie-down roping and ribbon roping, Colton shares 20-year-old gelding, Buddy, with Cayden. Their puppy Slack is the newest addition to the Summers family. Colton thinks he will be a cow dog for their roping steers one day.
Colton and Cayden practice roping on their steers and roping dummy daily. The brothers set their alarm to 6 am in order to get their chores done and get to school on time. On balancing school and rodeo Colton says, “It takes a lot of responsibility. In order to rodeo I have to get good grades.” He is finishing up his eighth-grade year at St. Ignatius School and is looking forward to attending Beau Chene High School with Cayden.
To accomplish his ultimate goal of winning state in team roping with his brother, Colton considers practice as the key. “The right mindset and consistency is what allows me to put all I’ve worked on into play in the arena,” he said. After high school, Colton can see himself college rodeoing one day. Whether he does it for a school, or he does it on his own, Colton dreams of one day making it to the National Finals Rodeo for team roping (and hopefully making his Mom proud while he’s at it). Rest assured he won’t be blowing any more stirrups for 90-point bronc rides in the team roping any time soon!
