Weatherford roper has strong outing at Fort Worth’s Stockyards Shootout

For Treg Schaack, wrapping up a faster tie-down roping run at the rodeo is a natural high.

“There are lots of variables that go into calf roping,’’ he said. “So, when a guy makes a good run and his horse works good, a lot of things have to come together. It’s kind of a relief when it all does because there are so many variables. It’s an adrenaline rush and it’s impressive when guys can put runs together because of all of the variables that go into it.”

At the Stockyards Shootout/San Antonio Qualifier last weekend at the Cowtown Coliseum in Fort Worth, Schaack, who is from Weatherford, made enough fast runs to earn a trip to next month’s San Antonio Stock Show Rodeo.

He tied for first in the first performance with a time of 8.4 seconds, won the semifinals round with an 8.3 and finished second in the four-man finals with an 11.7.

The Jan. 21-24 Stockyards Shootout featured 24 competitors in each event. The four finalists in each event are eligible to compete in the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association’s San Antonio Rodeo, scheduled for Feb. 12-13, Feb. 15-20 and Feb. 22-27 at Freeman Coliseum.

Schaack has a goal of qualifying for the PRCA’s Wrangler National Finals Rodeo and a strong finish in San Antonio could help him get there.

“That rodeo creates a great opportunity,” Schaack said of the San Antonio Rodeo. “You can get some money won early in the winter.”

Schaack, 26, grew up on ranches in Nebraska and South Dakota. He said he began roping at age six. He came up through the junior rodeo ranks and attended West Texas A&M in Canyon and qualified for the College National Finals Rodeo in Casper, Wyoming.

Schaack said he moved to Texas (Canyon in 2015 and to Weatherford in 2019) because there are plenty of savvy rodeo competitors to learn from.

“I wanted to surround myself with those people and be able to be around them where I could learn what they do to become successful,” he said. “Having to compete against them every day makes yourself better.”

While attending West Texas A&M, Schaack was coached by former Wrangler National Finals qualifier Raymond Hollabaugh. Today, he learns from former National Finals qualifier Adam Gray of Peaster, he said.

Schaack also takes in advice from his father, Tim, a respected horse trainer and breeding manager from Edgemont, South Dakota.

“My dad use to rope calves and he used to rodeo, so he’s trained quite a few cow horses,” Schaack said. “So, he helps me keep my horses working. I’m going to start riding some of the horses in his horse program. In the next couple of years, I’m going to be able to rope and go to rodeos on some of them. That will be a good access to good horses right there.”

Schaack said riding a savvy horse is a must for a rodeo competitor.

“The biggest thing is having a good horse,” he said. “To do good nowadays, there are so many guys that rope good. You have to have a really good horse and you have to have the right mindset when you’re rodeoing because there are lots of ups and downs. It can be tough. But if you have the right mindset and you have a really good horse, you can be successful.”

Schaack’s stepmother, Paula, said he has a high commitment to being successful.

“He would always want to be on top,” Paula said of Treg. “He’s not wanting to be second, ever. He’s always wanted to do everything he can to figure out what of he needs to do to tie faster, to flank better, to rope sharper, to ride his horse better. He’s always wanting to figure it out. Whether it’s making a gate latch or shoeing a horse, he’s a thinker. He’s going to do it and he’s going to do it the best.”

Stockyards Shootout champions

Blake Ash, a Missouri cowboy, clinched the Stockyards Shootout/San Antonio Qualifier tie-down roping title with a time of 8.7 seconds during the final round on Jan. 24. Other champions were bareback rider Craig Wisehart (86.5 points on Stace Smith Pro Rodeo’s Cactus Black); steer wrestler Chance Howard (3.5 seconds); team ropers Thomas Braman and Chris Young (4.4 seconds); saddle bronc rider Kash Deal (76 points on Stace Smith Pro Rodeo’s Pillow Talk); and bull rider Chance Schott (82.5 points on Stace Smith Pro Rodeo’s Slapping Bo).

PBR update

Kaique Pacheco, who is from Decatur, clinched the title at the Professional Bull Riders’ Jan. 23-24 Unleash The Beast (top tier) tour stop in Arcadia, Florida, and earned $30,200.

Pacheco, the 2018 world champion, was the only rider who stayed on all three bulls throughout the two-day show. He turned in scores of 88, 84.25 and 89.75.

Cody Teel, who is from College Station, finished second and pocketed $12,476. Marco Eguchi, from the Decatur area, finished third and earned $9,147.

Junior Patrik Souza, who lives in Chico, finished fourth in Arcadia. He is ranked No. 1 in the PBR world standings with 159.5 points. Pacheco is ranked No. 2 with 147.

Death of a legend

ProRodeo Hall of Famer Paul Mayo passed away on Jan. 24 in Stephenville at the age of 78, according to prorodeo.com.

Mayo snared bareback riding world titles in 1966 and 1970. When he earned the 1966 world title, he was from Grinnell, Iowa, where he grew up. But when he earned the gold buckle in 1970, he had a Fort Worth residence.

Mayo qualified for the National Finals Rodeo 10 times in bareback riding (1965-71, 1973-74 and 1979) and twice in bull riding (1965 and 1971). He was inducted into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame in Colorado Springs, Colorado, in 2010.

During his heyday in the 1960s and 1970s, Mayo helped pioneer a riding method of leaning way back on a bronc as he rhythmically spurred the horse, jump for jump, during an eight second ride. That style of riding is practiced by bareback riders today.

A memorial service is scheduled for 11 a.m. Feb. 6 at Cowboy Church of Erath County in Stephenville.

Brett Hoffman, a Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame member, has covered rodeos and horse show events for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram for more than 35 years. Email him at bchoffman777@earthlink.net.