story by Lily Landreth
Cole McCorkle represented Winona, Mississippi, at the 2019 NLBFR and returned home the Junior Boy World Champion Breakaway Roper. It is the 13-year-old’s first world title in the association, which he joined as a Little Wrangler when he was 5. “(Winning) that really surprised me,” says Cole, who was competing strong in the ribbon roping with partner Meadow Raymond, but didn’t get the dally he wanted. “The first two rounds of breakaway I was really confident in my roping, and my last one I was kind of on edge about. But my parents didn’t tell me I was winning it, so I was just roping for fun.” Cole attributes his success to hard work, and coaching from Jeff Chapman, who is a 5-time WNFR qualifier in tie-down roping. Andy, Cole’s dad, knew of Jeff from his own time rodeoing and they approached him about coaching Cole last year. “We were going down there once or twice a week and Jeff was really helping him,” says Andy. “He was at the Little Britches Finals because his little girl was competing there, and he was there for Cole’s first two rounds and really coached him. He had to leave before the short round, but he had Cole call him before the short round and talked Cole through it.”
Along with breakaway and ribbon roping, Cole competed at the NLBFR in goat tying and team roping, also with Meadow Raymond. “I like team roping the most. I’m working on getting out from behind the barrier,” Cole explains. He also competes in all of his Little Britches events plus tie-down roping in the Mississippi Junior High Rodeo Association. “Rodeo is fun and I get to have a good time, and after the rodeo I get to hang out with friends. Hopefully I can make a career out of it.” He’s already qualified for the 2020 NLBFR in all of his events—his eighth year qualifying—competing in the Mid-South and Deep South Little Britches rodeos.
Cole won the world title on his 21-year-old gelding Spider, whom he also ribbon ropes off of. He heads off his 14-year-old gelding Hawk, and tied goats off of his 10-year-old mare BB. Cole trained BB for goats and his family has several younger horses coming up, including a calf horse they recently purchased from Casey Hinson. Cole is excited to be competing in tie-down as a senior boy in the future. “We’re going to make a head horse out of a Peptoboonsmal colt, and we have another coming up that we hope will be a kid horse, who’s an own son of Vegas Resort,” Andy adds. “We also have a mare we bred and she’s going to have a grandson of Vegas Resort.”
Cole’s day starts with feeding animals before he does school. A seventh-grader, he’s been homeschooled the last three years, and while he prefers being with the horses to bookwork, Cole especially does well with math. After he finishes school, he rides his horses, practicing at least three times a week and going to an indoor arena if it’s too muddy outside. Cole and his dad are also the manpower running their family’s cattle ranch. “I’m really proud of him and he works really hard,” says Andy. “He pretty well does a grown man’s job here.” Cole, Andy, and Cole’s mom, Delinda, travel to all of the rodeos together. “We’ve pretty well retired from rodeo because we’d rather watch Cole compete, and rodeo is a special kind of family,” says Andy. “Cole devotes his full time to rodeo and we enjoy watching him as much as he enjoys doing it himself.”
“I’d like to thank Mr. Jeff for helping me,” Cole finishes, “and one of the main things I want to do is win the (NLBRA) world title twice in a row.”
