Cole Clemons turned months of frustration into fuel with a breakthrough win at Guymon Pioneer Days.
Clemons won the calf roping title with 24.7 seconds on three head, earning $11,083 and moving to No. 18 in the PRCA world standings with $34,397 on the year. He roped in 7.4 seconds to win the first round, followed with a 9.0 in round two, then finished with an 8.3 in the semifinals to lock in the average.
“It’s been a while since I really won anything, so it really feels good,” Clemons said. “After the NFR, I told myself when I got home, I was never going to feel this way again.”
Clemons’ NFR debut last December left him questioning everything.
“I struggled a lot worse than I ever dreamed of struggling,” Clemons said. “I don’t know if I wasn’t prepared or if things just didn’t go my way, but I didn’t do good. I’ve been working my butt off ever since.”
Then came a rough winter run that offered no relief—until now.
“This weekend just felt different,” Clemons said. “I won the roping at Childress, then Guymon. Sure, I won a lot of money, but really, I got my confidence back. It felt like everything clicked.”
That confidence started with Clemons’ round one win in Guymon.
“The first-round kind of set me up,” Clemons said. “It was raining the whole time. I got a little jump on the average and didn’t have to press hard on the last two rounds. I just tied ’em down and didn’t make it hard on myself.”
Guymon never shows up without a forecast twist. Whether it’s wind, tornadoes or a downpour, Oklahoma weather always finds a way to keep Guymon week interesting—and this year was no exception.
“Me and Dylan Hancock were buddied, so our runs were back-to-back,” Clemons said. We were sitting under the trees, and it started sprinkling. We didn’t want to use our grass ropes in the rain, but it stopped raining right before we roped, so we switched to the grass ropes. Dylan goes first and it starts pouring. I rope in the rain, and then it quits raining again right after I run.”
With the round one win in his pocket, Clemons played it smart in the second round.
“I gave the calf a good start, made sure I didn’t break the barrier and just tied her down,” Clemons said. “I thought I’d be third or fourth callback but ended up first. So I went last out on Sunday and knew exactly what I needed to do.”
Much of the turnaround, Clemons said, is thanks to a new horse named Macaroni.
“I bought him from Paul David Tierney right after the Timed Event,” Clemons said. “He’s got a lot of run, real easy, and he makes up for some of the things I don’t do well. I wasn’t even looking for a horse, but it just worked out.”
Clemons said he’s holding tight to lessons learned last year in his rookie season.
“Last summer I figured out my run is good enough,” Clemons said. “I don’t have to do anything special. This winter, I forgot that. But this weekend I got back to it, and I’m going to try to stay there.”
He and Hancock plan to team rope in Vernon and then back to calf roping at the Windy Ryon before heading to Nashville, then kicking off the summer run in Woodward.
“Anyone who has ever been around me and Dylan know, we’re kind of dumbasses,” Clemons laughed. “We won $20,000 at a jackpot before the NFR last year and our heads have been kind of big since. It’s just fun, something we don’t take too seriously.”
As for horsepower, Clemons will lean on Macaroni and his familiar blue roan, Joe. A bay mare he rode in a couple rounds at the NFR is still sidelined with injury.
“Guymon reminded me—I’ve got what it takes,” Clemons said. “Now I’ve just got to keep it rolling.”