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A M A T E U R S P O T L I G H T

The fearless Select exhibitor never says ‘No’

when it comes to roping or a challenge.

By Larri Jo Starkey

RodgerCODAY

Rodger Coday spends most days in the saddle with a rope in his hand. That’s just the way he likes it.

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Rrodger coday didn’t start roping until he was 52. “Most folks told me I couldn’t do it,” Rodger says. “They said,

‘You’re too old to rope calves.’ That’s when I started roping.”Ten years later, the fierce competitor from Owasso,

Oklahoma, had his first world championship. Today, Rodger has added four more world championships and three reserve world championships in heeling, tie-down roping and break-away, many on his prized horse Irish Whiskey Mix.

Rodger took a break from roping one warm Monday after-noon to sit down with the Journal to talk about his exuberant approach to friendships, horses and ropes.

How did you get started in roping? I had a little horse that I thought might make a rope horse. I took him to a friend’s, and he was going to help me, and he was going to show him for me. And you know, showing rope horses might as well have been cocaine and I was snorting it or something. I just went crazy.

He had an old horse there and he said, “Why don’t you rope some?” I said, “I don’t know how to rope.” I mean I’ve roped in the pasture, but in the pasture, you’re trying to catch a cow. And so he had me roping, and the next thing you know, he has me going to breakaway, and the next thing you know, here I am – buying horses. As it turns out, they didn’t get any cheaper. But it was a really won-derful experience.

Had you ridden before? I’ve ridden horses all my life. I’m not saying “rode well.” I thought I rode well. I thought I rode well ’til I went to Robbie Schroeder’s. I figured out then that I didn’t know what end of a horse to feed, much less ride. And he has made me a much better horseman than I would have been.

When did you start competing? Jack Anderson, a dear friend, was very encouraging to me all the time. Jack said, “Rodger, you need to start roping.” I said, “Jack, I’m not good enough to rope with these guys.” So he talked me into it. I finally started, and I would just about win the breakaway every time. But put a pigging string in my mouth, and I choked. I didn’t do too well, and it just took me a lot of prac-tice to get over that. I got better horses, and this and that, and things just kinda went along and … it worked for me. I’m bad about overdoing things.

How do you mean? Oh, like going to the Select World. If I’m not careful, I’ll rope so much at home that I’ll be so sore by the time I get there that I can’t rope. I overdo it. In 2012, I did not. I tried to rope and tie one or two down on each horse every day – good ones, good calves – and I think I roped sharper than I have ever.

Jim Jennings came to me and said, “Rodge, what are you doing? You’re roping so sharp.” And I said, “I don’t know. If I knew, I’d keep doing it.” He was laughing, “Whatever

you’re taking, I want some.”I did; I roped pretty sharp – missed one calf out there that

I should’ve, I probably could’ve, won the class on it. “Whiskey” had to take two loops; he ended up fifth anyway.

What was it like qualifying for your first World Show? This old horse, Soap Opera, I got him qualified there in the tie-down and breakaway. But that was … was … my goal. I never even dreamed of winning it. My goal was to – as it is for so many other people – get me one of them jackets. I’d shown some halter horses, and I had been in the top 10, but I wanted a jacket that I could put “tie-down roping” on. And I think the first time I placed up there and did any good, I was sixth, and I thought I’d won it, you know. That was wonderful. And it still is wonderful.

What was your first world championship in 2006 like? The first time I went to the Select World, I didn’t do too well. And then I think a couple more times, I didn’t do too well. I’d always take one or two to Amarillo and I wanted to send one or two to Oklahoma City (for open competition with Robbie). I had been trying to take my second string to Amarillo.

Well, I told Robbie, said, “Robbie, what do you think about my going for it now? I’m just going to take my best horses; I’m going to give it my best shot.” He said, “Let’s do it.”

I practiced here a lot, but I’d go down there a couple, three times before I went to Amarillo. And he helped me, and that year is when we went out there and won the break-away. And then in 2008, I won the tie-down. Of course, that was my goal. And I won the heeling that same year, and that was pure luck. I’m not a good heeler, but it was my day. It was my day.

And Robbie could head and handle cattle. If you can heel, you can catch behind him. He just handles cattle so well. To be honest, I can’t tell you how many world cham-pionships I’ve won out there. I think five. But every one of them, I cherish, I tell you that. I don’t live on last year’s; I want next year’s.

And those guys who compete at the Select World? Everybody asks me why would anybody want to go out

Irish Whiskey Mix helped Rodger earn his first world championship in 2006 in breakaway roping at Select World. In 2013, “Whiskey” and Rodger were third in heading, with Robbie Schroeder heeling for him.

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in a row, three years on “Soap” and two on “Sheba.”Carl McBeath, he’s a good friend; we compete, and I rope

better when he’s around. He’ll make you rope; you just don’t win. I mean, he gets ya. And he’ll get to running at the year-end breakaway standings; he won the tie-down roping almost every year in high-point stuff. And I just, I wanted to beat him, but I don’t think I ever beat him in tie-down high-point. But I’d beat him in breakaway. I’d get out there. I’d get it up and throw it down. If it landed on there, that was great. If it didn’t, that’s OK. I’ll getcha next time. It was fun. He’s a good guy.

How did you get Irish Whiskey Mix? When I lost Regers Sheba, I had seen Whiskey, and a friend told me about him and said he might be for sale.

I called Robbie, and Robbie said, “We might get him bought, but here’s the deal: I ride him in open; you ride him in amateur.”

There was a list of stuff.I said, “You got a deal.” Robbie’s still got his fingers on him. But Robbie and I

became, I mean, shoot, we’re like a couple of brothers. He’s a good guy. He is probably the best horseman I know. He can ride a reiner, a cutter, rope, pleasure, western riding. I don’t care what the horse does, that boy could ride him.

How much do you work Whiskey? I don’t tune Whiskey; he tunes me. I ride him every day. I might rope, not rope, maybe rope two or three calves, and score four or five, and lope him around. I might heel. I don’t do nothing hard on him.

there and compete with the old-timers. I said, “Them old-timers will kick your hiney. They won’t let up.” Those guys, the camaraderie’s great, but they’re tough. I mean, some of them were Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association cowboys at one time, you know. And they’re just better ropers than I’ll ever be. But they don’t have my horses. Let’s talk about your horses. You started off with Regers Sheba, so you knew right away that you need-ed a good horse. It didn’t take me long to figure out you need a consistent horse, because you need one who will do her part every time just in case you happen to get that luck of the draw and throw that good loop and everything works for you. You’ve gotta be there.

I bought Regers Sheba, and she was a sweetheart. And I just loved her to death. She had a reaction to a rhino shot and then foundered and died. She was a good mare. It sounds bad, but I’ve lost family that I didn’t take this hard. I mean, I get pretty attached to my horses.

You said Soap Opera was the horse who got you going? He was a great breakaway horse. His head was two miles long; I mean, he wasn’t pretty. But he could take about three jumps and just drop to the ground and slide; and you could just stand up and breakaway. And you could be 1.9, 2.2, 2.1 seconds all day. And I practiced it; I roped 20 calves, 30 calves a day. Not on him, but on another horse.

Most people don’t practice breakaway like I did. I lived it and breathed it. I won the high-point in the nation five years

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Rodger practices roping daily. “They’ve got to beat me every year,” he says. “I’m not giving it to them.”

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“Yeah.”We went up there and

stayed for the summer, a couple of months. I slept in the front seat; he slept in the back seat of the car. Or we might sleep in a stall somewhere on the racetrack in Omaha. And I took this horse and I’d lead, cool and warm up those racehorses.

And I’d match him on the racetrack at them for 100 yards. There couldn’t nobody up there outrun this horse for 100 yards. I mean he was a bad cat for 100 yards. And these brush tracks around here, I rode some racehorses around here. I was just a little ol’ skinny kid. It was fun. Breaking a set of gates is an awesome thrill on a race-horse – just awesome.

How’d you get in the asphalt paving business? I went into the Marine Corps in 1968, spent two years

active and four years in the reserve. After I got out of my active duty, I came back to Tulsa and I was working for a bank. I worked collection accounts and the next thing, I was in banking for 10 years or so. Then I bought a credit bureau. And I had a collection agency in Tulsa – that doesn’t make you very popular with people. But I did that for numerous years, and then I got out of that.

A friend I went to school with had an asphalt company in Tulsa, so I went to work for him and ran that for three or four years, and got to thinking, you know, I’m working here for a salary and commission, and I could be doing this myself. And I got to checking around and bought one. And it’s been pretty good to me.

This morning, I met for breakfast with my foreman and my crew and we troubleshoot stuff. Back at the office by 8, we go through things, and about 10, I’m back here. And then I’ve got a boy who works for me out here, and he gets my horses saddled. And the other guys (who like to rope with me) all show up about that time, and we rope calves usually ’til about lunch. And then we rope steers after lunch every day. Do you remember being inducted into the Oklahoma Quarter Horse Hall of Fame? There are several things that meant a lot to me in my life. But when I became an AQHA director, then I got to be an honorary vice president, and that was a highlight of my life. That was one of the great moments, I think. It’s great. I studied martial arts most of my life. When I got my first black belt, that was great. I’m not including family and the birth of my daugh-ter, Catherine, or none of that stuff. That’s a given. But you know there are just some things that are just … you’ll remember that moment vividly.

He’s so consistent. If a calf doesn’t stumble, Whiskey will make one of those 73, 74 runs every trip. He’s just good. He’s got that presence. I noticed today that Whiskey gets a cookie. Whiskey gets any dad-gum thing Whiskey wants. And he knows it. I mean, that’s the thing about Whiskey. He knows where the cook-ies are, too. And he knows he doesn’t get one until after things are done. And then he gets one. I can’t tell what the brand name is, but I know what they look like. And that’s the only ones he’ll eat. He is spoiled rotten, but gosh, just think what he’s done for me.

You said you had been showing in halter before you started roping. The first halter horse I showed was a Bar None gelding in Pryor, Oklahoma, at the county fair when I was 19 years old maybe. So that’d be 50 years ago, back when I had hair and it was dark. Yep, and I won (the class), too.

And it gave you that bug. It did. I always loved horses. I was 6 or 7 years old, and my uncle had a farm sale. I came home that night, and my dad picked me up, held me up and looked out the window, and there was a little ol’ black horse out there that he’d bought me for $35. I didn’t have a saddle, and I didn’t need one. I rode that stinking thing forever. But I’ve always had horses.

I grew up around Locust Grove, (Oklahoma), and there was a guy named Vaughn Cook, who had no legs. Vaughn loved horses. He had a little ol’ one-horse trailer. He’d get somebody to get the horse in the trailer, then he came out to my house.

“Rodger, I’ll give you some bucks if you’ll ride this horse for me.”

I mean, I’d just ride him and ride him. My dad had a dairy farm, so of course, I’m feeding the horse dairy feed. And the horses are just getting slicker and fatter, and the next thing you know, it’d be 60, 90 days, he’d sell that horse and make him a few dollars. And he’d come in and give me five bucks. Back then, I thought I had just died and gone to heaven. I was rolling in the dough, and I had a horse to ride all the time. Couldn’t get no better.

What was your first job? The first job I ever had, Vaughn had a horse over with me and I rode this horse. And he said, “I’m going to Omaha, Nebraska; I’m gonna take this horse up there, and I’m going to sell him for a lead horse.” And I said, “OK.”

“Wanna go?” This was summertime, and I was 12, 13 years old. I said,

In 2013, Rodger was reserve world champion in heeling at the Adequan Select World Championship Show. Heeling is a relatively new addition to Rodger’s repertoire.

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Do you still practice your martial arts? I’ve got a bag in the barn out there that I practice on some. But it takes lots of practice to do that and do it right. I’ve had one knee replaced. I’ve got some weights in the barn; I work out about every day – not a whole lot, but a little bit.

So where do you go from here? You’ve made all your goals. What keeps you roping every day and returning to Select World? Because I can, I guess. And you know, they’ve got to beat me every year out there. I’m not going to give it to them. And I’ve been very, very lucky.

The people at Select, my visual on this is, most of those people have served their time, they’ve made a little money, they’re having a good time: They’re going to buy a horse that they can go win on. And it’s tougher. Those kids who go to Oklahoma City, I mean, I win some from them every year at the regular shows. Sid Miller’ll beat them in a heartbeat.

And it’s not that I can’t go (to Oklahoma City) and maybe win it, but I like the camaraderie. I like the atmosphere out there in Amarillo.

I’ve been blessed.

Larri Jo Starkey is an editor for The American Quarter Horse Journal. To comment, write to lstarkey@aqha.org.

RODGER’S GOOD HORSESSoap Opera – 1984 sorrel gelding by Taga Bert-My Sister Sue by Harlander. Bred by Tom Warren of Sapulpa, Oklahoma

Regers Sheba – 1994 red roan mare by Regers He Might-Boogers Sheba by Cee Booger Red. Bred by Clayton L. Schwab of Wagoner, Oklahoma

Coosa Jule – 1993 sorrel gelding by Coosa-Jet Will Jule by Mr Jet Will. Bred by Neal and Dee Dee Strauss of Carney, Oklahoma

Irish Whiskey Mix – 1997 bay gelding by Paddys Irish Whiskey-My Little Sugar Babe by Sons Doc O Sugar. Bred by John R. Scott Jr. of Billings, Montana

Sleek Toy – 1996 sorrel gelding by Squeak Toy-Clarks Sleek Sis by Clark’s Doc Bar. Bred by Dan E. Dobson of Millwood, Virginia

SL Lightning Spark – 2007 sorrel mare by Lena Spark-Zans Script to Parr by Lightnins Parr Bar. Bred by Sweet Lake Land & Oil Co. of Lake Charles, Louisiana

In 2013, Rodger was reserve world champion in heeling at the Adequan Select World Championship Show, but that’s not enough for the fierce competitor. “I’m always lokking for next year’s,” he says.

When the work is done for a day, Irish Whiskey Mix gets a cookie. The gelding has earned $72,757.06 at AQHA world championship shows.

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