Meet the Member Daryl Thrasher

story by Lily Weinacht
Daryl Thrasher’s rope has been a constant friend his entire life thus far. The 50-year-old tie-down roper from Columbia, Tenn., learned to walk and talk around the arena, watching his dad, Lane Thrasher, rope. Since there were few junior rodeos nearby, Daryl learned to team rope with the “big guys” before moving on to amateur and high school rodeos. “Today, high school rodeos have around 20 rodeos a year, but when I was in high school, we had one rodeo, and that was state finals – the qualifying rodeo for Nationals,” Daryl recalls. “I competed in it in ‘82 and ‘83 and won state both years, and I qualified for Nationals in ‘83. I never did college rodeo, but I joined the IPRA when I was 24.”
Daryl grew up team roping but was hard pressed to find other team ropers nearby, so he switched to tie-down roping, the event his dad had competed in for many years. “That’s the event I really wanted to do anyway, and I really like how it’s just you and your horse. If anything goes wrong, there’s nobody to blame but me!” Daryl adds, “I’ve always wanted to be a cowboy, and I love the way of life and the people. I also take a lot of pride in my horses – I’ve trained horses for about 25 years and I’ve qualified several horses for the AQHA World Show.” Daryl last competed in the AQHA World Championship Show in 2012. “I had a few customers that wanted me to show their horses,” Daryl explains. “I showed them in the tie-down roping, and one of those horses placed in the top ten in 2008. It was a big deal to be out there – those are all good horses when you get to the world show!”
Since retiring from showing horses, Daryl has been roping calves in the SPRA for the last three years. He is now competing in the association with his 16-year-old son, Chase, also a tie-down roper. “Chase made the SPRA finals last year, and he’s second or third again this year,” says Daryl. “We rope at least three times a week and help each other practice, plus my dad comes out. My dad is my biggest role model and inspiration. I also thought a lot of his friend, Pete Allan, who I stayed with as a young roper. He helped me a lot.”
Daryl and his wife of 30 years, Tabbatha, make their home near Columbia, Tenn. Daryl pro rodeoed with the IPRA until 2003, when he wanted to stay closer to home and  his family. He and Tabbatha have three children – Courtney (26), Chase (16), and Chaffin (15). “Chaffin is leaning more toward basketball than rodeo, but we all go together to rodeos a lot. Tabitha supports us all – and she’s the video camera operator,” says Daryl.
He works during the week for Columbia Power and Water Systems, and uses the remaining daylight for practicing and riding his horses. Both registered with the AQHA, they are best known by their barn names, Pistol, a ten-year-old gelding, and Polly, a 12-year-old mare, who is half-sister to Pistol. “Chaffin likes to ride motorbikes on the trails sometimes, but almost everything we do is horse related,” says Daryl.
The IPRA Southeastern Region Tie-Down Roping Champion in 1999 and 2000, as well as the Longhorn World Champion Tie-Down Roper in 1998, Daryl plans to start competing in the IPRA again this year. “I’ve joked that I want to try and qualify for the finals once before I’m too old,” says Daryl, “and with Chase doing so well, I want to give him an opportunity to make the finals too!”