A cowboy from Texas has been eliminated from contention at the 2015 Calgary Stampede following an incident during Wednesday afternoon’s rodeo action.
Tuf Cooper, a member of the famous Cooper family of tie-down ropers, allegedly whipped a horse during the tie-down event.
“He was disqualified for mistreatment of animals, of livestock, for how the judges felt he treated his horse during his run in tie-down roping,” said Kristina Barnes, Calgary Stampede spokesperson. “The judges felt that he repeatedly and aggressively struck his horse with the rope during his tie-down run.” According to Barnes, Cooper’s disqualification is believed to be the first of its kind in the history of the Calgary Stampede rodeo.
Tiffany, a member of Tuf Cooper's rodeo team, says Rio was the best horse that Tuf owns and has been a prized member of the Cooper family for years.
"Rio is not just a horse that he competes on, he is part of our family and we love him."
Tiffany adds Cooper would never mistreat Rio or do anything to cause pain to any of his horses, and the great care the tie-down roper provides for his animals is well known in the rodeo community.
Cooper's agent Shawn Wiese says his client accepts the Calgary Stampede's decision. Wiese adds the tie-down roper 'treats his horses like kings and would never intentionally hurt an animal'...
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UPDATE:
The CBC has a video of the run, which you can see here.
1 comment:
After seeing the video all barrel racers should also be disqualified for alleged mistreatment of their horses, then lets disqualify any jockey who uses the whip, and I am sure the dewy eyed PETA folks can come up with many other examples for disqualification.
We should also disqualify the judges at Calgary Stampede for caving into the pressures of the anti rodeo crowd. Tell those folks to shut up and go home and clean up their dogs' waste in all of the parks where they let them "roam free".
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