PAGE 6 ROPERS SPORTS NEWS JULY-AUGUST 2024 runs four generations deep in ropers and Ropers Sports News readers, including Jim, who headed at the National Finals Rodeo six times (1973-76, ’78 and ’81), and son Wade, who headed at the Finals six straight years from 2000-05. “I started reading Ropers Sports News when it first came out, and still read it all these years later,” Jim Wheatley said. “You knew where the ropings were going to be, and what time they were going to start. Before that, we were constantly on the phone trying to find out where we could go rope. There weren’t any cell phones, so you’d call somebody, nobody was home, and you’d just have to keep trying. “I’ve known Bob since long before he started Ropers Sports News. He was a roper himself, so it wasn’t some stranger stepping into our arena. He was hands-on, and he knew what we needed. Bob’s always been a promoter of roping in one way or another, whether it was with his paper or his roping. Bob’s a longtime promoter of the Western lifestyle, and that’s important to all of us.” Leo Camarillo will go down in history as a roping revolutionary, and won world team roping titles in 1972, ’73, ’75 and ’83. The 1975 world champion all-around cowboy, who heeled at the NFR 20 times and won the most 10-head NFR average titles ever at six, also was an original RSN reader. The now late Lion was never one to blow smoke with unearned compliments. “Communication is key in all business, and the Ropers Sports News made a difference when it came onto the scene,” Leo told me one time. “Word of mouth wasn’t enough anymore, and it was hard to get word out back then. Ropers Sports News stepped up. “I don’t know how I made it through my career without cell phones, like these guys have today. Ropers Sports News had a big impact on the jackpot roping community. It became a Bible for the ropers. It was the go-to to find out what was going on back in the day. This publication was a shot in the arm for those of us who loved to rope. It helped us plan our week around where we could go rope. It helped organize us, and get more players to the game.” Besides Feist’s parents, Alnight, and I felt like I had a copy of the Rolling Stone in my hand,” he said. “We addressed each copy by hand on the living room floor, put stamps on them one by one, and mailed them out.” Fellow roper Perry Blagg was one of RSN’s first advertisers. Perry was famous for running out to the parking lot and selling ropes out of the trunk of his old Impala between runs. Cowboys referred to Blagg’s car as “a rope can on wheels.” “The paper didn’t pay for itself for a long time,” Feist recalls. “We were the only team roping publication in the world back then, and my main mission was to encourage more people to go rope. I saw a future for team roping if we could get more people interested in it. “My intentions were pure, but not everybody saw it that way. The RCA (Rodeo Cowboys Association; predecessor to today’s PRCA) wouldn’t let Ropers Sports News advertise in their paper, because it was a jackpot-oriented publication, and they weren’t for that because it wasn’t rodeo.” Some of today’s young-gun ropers won’t remember the days when team roping was not a standard event and included in every rodeo. Team ropers make up the majority of the PRCA membership now, but back then so many rodeos didn’t even include team roping. And those that did rarely gave team ropers the respect of adding equal money. “At that time, only rodeos in California, and a few in Arizona and New Mexico even had team roping,” Feist explained. “I’ve always had a love for team roping, and my idea was that if we could get more people interested in our sport, some of those people would be on rodeo committees and would join us in helping our event. Team ropers are the ones with the greatest economic impact on any rodeo town, in terms of money spent in the community on food, fuel and everything else. “It all used to be so simple for ropers. People would ride to the neighbor’s ranch to rope. That’s all changed over the years. The good news is that more people are involved in team roping today than ever before. Team ropers drive the Western industry. They spend a ton of money on trucks, trailers, horses, saddles, ropes and all the rest of it.” The Wheatley family now End Of An Era... From Page 1 Bob Feist and Art Arnold reminisced about the evolution of team roping and the RSN at the Hall in Colorado Springs. Arnold was an original RSN subscriber, and remains one today. See page 7 for a closer look at the front page of the first-ever RSN. – Kendra Santos Photo Boss Man Bob flanked by two of his biggest fans, Stephanie Anderson and Kendra Santos, when he was honored in Colorado Springs in July. Behind every good man is a great woman, and Steph has been that workhorse woman for 50 years. Bob and Steph were the first to take a chance on hiring Kendra as a Cal Poly college kid. – Shayla Simpson Photo Feist, who this year was honored with the Ken Stemler Pioneer Award, was sitting under a shade tree on the patio with 1968 World Champion Team Roper Art Arnold, who was there to be inducted with the Hall’s Class of 2024. Bob whipped out a copy of that first-ever issue of the RSN, and there was Art, the lead photo on page 1 for winning the world alongside that year’s World Champion Calf Roper Glen Franklin. “The Ropers Sports News was where we got our roping news, and we all looked forward to it showing up in our mailbox every month,” Arnold said. “Us ropers owe a lot to this guy right here.” That’s a fact, but Feist wasn’t in it for the fame or fortune. Back when Oakdale, California was the Cowboy Capital of the World, Bob wanted to let ropers know when and where they could go rope, from Oakdale to Riverside, Cottonwood to Brentwood. Frustration also fueled his fire. “I drove all the way up to a roping in Elko, Nevada that ended up not being there,” remembers Feist, who forged on to reach readers in 48 states, Australia, Brazil, Canada, France and Germany with roping news in the RSN. “Bob Tallman, Ron Hognestad and I had driven all that way, and it didn’t happen. It was disappointing that there was no roping, so I said, ‘Maybe I’ll print out a newsletter to let people know when and where ropings are going to be.’ “The big ropings back then were big average ropings in Oakdale, Riverside and Chowchilla, and they would mail out entry blanks to ropers based on the year before. I contacted some of those people and told them I was going to put out a new newsletter. I said, ‘If you let me have your mailing list, I’ll make sure those guys get a copy of this paper with your entry blank in it.’ I went around to some ropings, and put together a list of about 150 people to send that first issue to. We were basically telling people where they could go rope, then who won it afterwards.” The Riverside Rancheros was the first roping to take Feist up on his offer. It’s funny now to hear him tell stories of how some human head duckers were concerned about the public reporting of roping results for tax reasons. The Godfather will never forget the paternal pride he had in his heart when he held that first copy of his baby in his hand. “I picked up that first issue from the printer on a rainy See END OF AN ERA On Page 8
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