Roper Tuf Cooper Wins Career First in San Angelo 

SAN ANGELO, TX — Friday night at the finals for the 2021 San Angelo Rodeo, the show honored Joe Mertz who is the oldest living past president of the San Angelo Stock Show and Rodeo Association. Hats off to him.

In bull riding, only two qualifying rides happened during the finals, also called the Short Go. One cowboy who stayed on for 8 seconds was the 6-time world champion Sage Steele Kimzey. He notched an 80-point ride on a bull named Southern Attitude.

The very next bull rider was Trey Benton, III who was good for an 88-point ride earlier this rodeo. Friday, his  83-point ride on a bull named Open Range earned him the 20201 San Angelo Rodeo bull riding title. He scored 171 points on 2 rides and that earned him a prize check for over $6,100.

In tie-down roping, it was the legend that is Tuf Cooper who took home the bling. The 3-time world champion has won the Cinch Chute Out in years past, but never the San Angelo Rodeo itself until now. Cooper's 9.9-second time Friday night contributed to his 25.3-second combined time on 3 runs earned him the title. As Cooper told us after his performance, "It's about time!"

Watch above and see a wrap-up of bull riding and tie-down roping at the 2021 San Angelo Rodeo Finals presented by Dierschke and Dierschke Realtors.