Tuf Cooper claimed the calf roping win at the inaugural Music City Rodeo in Nashville, Tennessee, with a 7.2-second run that carried far more emotional weight than the paycheck alone.

Tuf Cooper arrived in Nashville not just to compete, but to carry on a legacy that’s been passed down from one of the greatest to ever hold a rope. Amid grief and transition, Cooper has remained grounded in the principles his father Roy taught him—hard work and an unwavering drive to win.

“Honestly, in the roping department, I’m just really focused on dialing in my craft,” Cooper said. “Trying to find my on and off switch because there’s a lot to deal with. It sometimes makes roping a nice outlet.”

That outlet became vital in the wake of his father Roy Cooper’s passing on April 29, 2025, in a tragic house fire. Roy—the legendary “Super Looper”—left behind a legacy that stretched far beyond arena fences. For Tuf, that legacy now lives on every time he backs in the box.

“His spirit is always in the building,” Cooper said. “Now he’s there in a different way, and I promise you his coaching still echoes. He always kept it simple: Just win, baby.”

Roping Through Grief

Even as his father’s legacy was honored in opening ceremonies across the country, Tuf has found a way to push forward with the clarity Roy taught him to chase.

“The strategy was always simple with Roy, go for first,” Cooper said. “You don’t show up to see if you’re going to win. You show up to see how much you’re going to win.”

After taking some time off from rodeoing earlier in the year, Tuf cherishes that reset more now than ever.

“I didn’t go anywhere, I just hung out at the house with my dad,” Cooper said. “ We roped. We laughed. We lived. That last month was a gift.”

Rerun with Roy

The moment that set Tuf’s future in motion came at age 16, when he chose a pen full of fresh calves over another failing day in the classroom.

“It was Monday morning, Roy’s gone, he’s coming back that afternoon,” Cooper said. “I wake up late, I’m already driving myself to school, and Roy said 35 calves were getting dropped off, fresh ones, right at the house. I go in first class and I’m failing. I go to the second class, I’m failing. I go to the third class. You know the story. So I tell ’em I’m sick, I need to go to the principal’s office.”

After calling his dad and getting the green light to leave, Tuf made a beeline for home.

“I called Roy and said, ‘Pops, you cannot have 35 fresh ones waiting at the house and expect me to be in school. I’m not going to do it. I can drive now,'” Cooper said. “Roy said, ‘All right, get ’em saddled. I’ll be there in a couple hours.'”

What followed was the practice session that sealed his fate.

“That afternoon, we had the best session of my entire life,” Cooper said. “I was 16 years old. It was just me and Pops. I was getting handy because I was getting to rope on great horses and have great calves and great conditions, and it was set up for success with the best coaching in the world.”

After that practice session, the two sat down and talked about the future.

“I told him, ‘This is for sure what I know I want to do. I’m not going to be at school when I want to be at the practice pen.’ He went there the next day and signed me out of school,” Cooper said.

But that decision didn’t go unnoticed.

“We didn’t tell my mom or sister for as long as we could,” Cooper laughed. “They finally catch wind. Roy says Shada has still got the skid marks in the driveway from how fast she slammed on her brakes. From that point on, the pressure was on for me.”

It was also the beginning of a lifelong roadmap.

“From that point on, that day that we decided to rope, we laid down all of our goals,” Cooper said. “We built it out all the way until I’m 50 years old. Roy truly believed if he had his hands on you long enough, he could make a world champion. And he made several of them.”

Nashville Debut

The Music City Rodeo was a brand-new stop on the ProRodeo trail, but Tuf saw something timeless in it.

“It captured the cowboy spirit,” Cooper said. “Downtown Nashville, Reba played, Jelly Roll was there, and the calves in that first perf—unreal. You could’ve won on any of them.”

Tuf’s run didn’t start perfect. He nearly dropped the ball before the rope left his hand.

“I dropped my hand leaving the box and picked it back up quick,” Cooper said. “I almost blew it. That’s why my dad always said you need an old horse. I’ll do stuff like that. I had way too much bit on him and picking my hand back up quick just stalled us for a second. Luckily, we stayed moving forward and the calf ran a perfect pattern.”

Cooper stopped the clock at 7.2 seconds, winning $6,345.

“When I rode in the box, I thought to myself, what would my dad say,” Cooper said. “He would say, ‘Add six inches to the start. Stick it on. Score for first.'”

Eyes on Half a Million

Sitting fifth in the PRCA World Standings, Tuf’s goals have shifted with the times.

“Riley Webb won $475,000 last year,” Cooper said. “I think this year it takes $500,000 to win a gold buckle. That’s insane to say out loud. But that’s the game now.”

Despite the growth of the sport, Tuf sees it as a continuation of the same dreams his dad once chased.

“In 1978, the world champ left the NFR with $7,000,” Cooper said. “That’s second to last in one round now. There’s so much opportunity these days. It’s a great time to be a cowboy.”

The Fans That Followed

In the months since Roy’s passing, Tuf has felt the outpouring of support from fans who followed the Super Looper for decades.

“I’ve inherited the best fans in rodeo,” Cooper said. “You can feel the love they shared with my dad. The real love.”

And while the wins matter, it’s that kind of legacy that keeps Tuf riding forward.

“I’m just grateful to rope,” Cooper said. “Grateful to be a calf roper today. And yeah, I still want to be the oldest to qualify for the NFR one day. I’m still chasing those goals Pops and I set when I was 16.”