For Jake Barnes and Clay O'Brien Cooper, a day in the practice pen is just another day doing what they love, but there is nothing random about how they go about it. They have reprogrammed their sessions to get the most out of every run, using slower cattle for their horses and faster cattle for themselves. Jake is on an 18-year-old rodeo horse he still takes down the road, and Clay talks about reading the play and reacting accordingly. They cover getting a good start, the heeler knowing the play before it develops, handling a steer correctly, and the debate between a brand new rope versus a broken-in fuzzy one. Jake also opens up about two serious accidents that put life in perspective.
Up Next in Practice Sessions
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Horse Personalities, Scoring, and Pra...
Team roping training insights from Jake Barnes and Clay Cooper focus on managing horse quirks, scoring correctly, and using muley cattle to improve practice sessions.
Hall of Fame ropers Jake Barnes and Clay Cooper share stories and strategies from their decades in the arena—covering everything...
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Roping “Draggers”
In this in-depth discussion, Jake Barnes and Clay O’Brien Cooper break down one of the most technical—and often misunderstood—aspects of team roping: how to handle dragging or heavy steers.
Clay explains the difference between a steer that’s dragging versus one that’s getting heavy, and how the...
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Fine-Tuning Runs and Roping Smarter
In this episode, Jake Barnes and Clay O’Brien Cooper focus on details that separate good practice from great preparation. Jake rides a seasoned 17-year-old horse—one he admits he almost overlooked in the past—and shares how this horse has become one of his best yet. From Ariat World Series of Tea...
