Cruz Melanson has been focused on calf roping from the beginning, and his early success on the WCRA‘s Division Youth front suggests he’s just getting started.
For Melanson, there was never back-up plan.
“Some kids want to be bull riders,” Melanson said. “All I’ve ever wanted to do since I was little was rope calves.”
Melanson got his start early with the help of his uncle who team ropes. While his dad brought the ballplayer genes to the family tree, it was his mom—rodeo-raised and still boots-on-the-ground today—who helped anchor him to the sport. Literally.
“She pops the chute in her flip flops, runs to the calves, unties, yells at me to hustle,” Melanson said with a laugh. “She’s my number one fan, for sure.”
These days, Melanson is making good on those early dreams. He’s sitting fourth on the WCRA Division Youth Leaderboard and gearing up for a summer run that includes the International Finals Youth Rodeo (IFYR), the National High School Finals Rodeo (NHSFR) and the World Championship Junior Rodeo (WCJR). While last year’s summer run started off rough for Melanson, he capitalized at the WCJR and has plans to do it again this year.
Melanson has a couple horses in his trailer, but his main mount is a sorrel gelding he calls Pop-Tart.
“Every time I swing a leg over him, I know I’ve got a shot,” Melanson said. “He reads calves, strong or weak, and makes it easy.”
Backing Pop-Tart is a black gelding named Payday, a green horse Melanson picked up in January and finished out with the help of a friend. He’s been hauling Payday to amateur rodeos, and the horse has stepped up enough to make the trip to Guthrie this summer for the first two rounds of the WCJR qualifier.
Surfin’ to the Top
Melanson’s no stranger to the big stage. This spring, he turned heads with a win at the WCRA’s Division Youth Showcase at Rodeo Corpus Christi in a setup that tested more than just his skill.
“I’d been in a slump and just couldn’t win,” Melanson said. “I’d roped an 8.6 at a high school rodeo on Sunday, felt good in practice Monday, and Tuesday at Corpus it just came together—kind of. I made probably the worst wrap and hooey of my life. I counted to six at least 25 times in my head. But he stayed tied.”
He won the round, $2,000 and walked out with a surfboard for a trophy. True to form, Melanson took it home to Vinton, Louisiana, where it got exactly one use before retirement.
“Our yard floods all the time,” Melanson said. “So I skimmed across the water in the yard once and then hung it on the wall.”
Now, with his six-month goal set—win one of the three major youth rodeos this summer—he’s logging runs daily, keeping things simple and sharp.
“I’m just practicing as much as possible,” Melanson said. “The more runs I can make before we leave, the better.”
Cruz juggled traditional school and rodeo until his seventh-grade year when his parents made the decision to homeschool him, giving him more time to practice and compete.
“I hate school,” Melanson laughed. “I don’t like being stuck in a building doing something I don’t want to do. Once I got homeschooled, I could rope in the morning and again in the evening. That changed everything. My roping really took off.”
His long-term goals are just as focused. While college rodeo isn’t in the cards, ProRodeo is.
“I want to win the Permit Finals, get into Houston and buy my card,” Melanson said. “That’s specific, but that’s the plan.”
And behind every plan, there’s support. His mom, Caroline—who, Cruz jokes, must be called “Carol” despite her objections—runs the barn and the practice pen.
“She won’t even let me feed,” Melanson said. “She says if I do it, she’ll just have to double-check and do it again.”
With his mom managing the details, his dad videoing every run and two dependable horses in the trailer, Melanson is staying sharp and showing up ready.