Clayton Bacon says he knew he would win national title
Clayton Bacon never had a blanket or stuffed animal to cuddle up
to when he went to bed. Instead he would curl up a rope, snuggle it
close and fall asleep.
Clayton Bacon says he knew he would win national title
Clayton Bacon never had a blanket or stuffed animal to cuddle up to when he went to bed. Instead he would curl up a rope, snuggle it close and fall asleep.
It may not be the reason the 5-year-old recently became the national dummy roping champion at the American Cowboy Team Roping Association finals in Reno, but it shows his love for the sport that he began competing in when he was 2 years old. Over his very short career, he has accumulated seven buckles, including one for holding the national title.
At the national finals, for which he qualified by finishing second in the state championship, Clayton beat out more than 30 competitors from all over the United States in the 6-years-old-and-under division, earning him a custom-made roping saddle emblazoned with his title in bold, black letters.
When his feet are long enough to reach the stirrups, Clayton hopes to use the saddle in team roping competitions, but until then dummy roping, which is like tee-ball for ropers, is his sport.
Dummy roping requires competitors to lasso the horns of a stationary metal-framed bull. In competition ropers start out standing at a close distance and move back in six-inch increments with each successful lasso.
At the national finals Clayton roped the fake steer 15 consecutive times, moving back to a distance of 7½ feet.
The kindergartner at Bitterwater-Tully school is most proud of the fact that he roped all slicks – that is when the rope catches both the horns – and only one neck catch.
“He had a blast. After every loop he would run over and give me a high five as hard as he could,” said Clayton’s mom Robbie Bacon, who also had a hard time curbing her enthusiasm, jumping up and down with nervous anticipation during the competition.
Clayton looks like a natural as he effortlessly swings a sturdy rope known as a MoneyMaker Junior above his head before cleanly releasing it with a flick of the wrist. The four-foot circle tightly snags the two horns of the dummy, which sits on the front lawn of his family’s house on the Peachtree Ranch at the southern end of Highway 25 in San Benito County on the outskirts of King City.
Clayton makes it look easy. He simply shrugs his shoulders and answers a quiet “no” when asked if he finds the sport difficult.
Clayton’s dad, John, who was born and reared in Hollister and works as a cowboy on the ranch, taught Clayton how to rope when he was barely old enough to walk and swing a rope.
Now the sport is a family affair. Clayton’s 11-year-old sister Kindra King placed second in her division at the finals, and his older brother Cody King competed in the team roping competition.
Once a month a teacher from Southern California comes to the ranch to teach Clayton, his siblings and few of the neighbors roping techniques.
But roping is not the only thing on Clayton’s mind. In between practicing dummy roping and performing tricks with a rope, on a recent afternoon he would pick up a giant red plastic bat and practice swinging at Wiffle balls.
“I want to be a baseball player,” Clayton said.
Though he doesn’t sleep with a baseball glove, his swing and pitch look pretty good. He can hit a powerful line drive and pitch a pretty wicked fastball just as easily as he ropes horns.
Next up on the agenda of roping competitions for Clayton is the Pro Rodeo Cowboy Association national finals in Las Vegas in December.
He’s confident he’ll do well, just as he was confident he would win in Reno.
“I knew I was going to,” Clayton said.
