WOMEN WHO MOLD THE WEST BY KELLI KISSACK
Shelly Patterson
The women of the rodeo industry are their own breed, cut from a very different cloth than even the rest of their female counterparts. They cheer. They console. They drive all night. They raise kids. They keep life organized at home. They make sacrifices. They are strong, unyielding, kind, and somehow they manage to look utterly flawless doing it all. They are the kind of women we want in our circles, the kind we dare to raise, and the kind we aspire to become in life. One woman who so perfectly fits this mold is Shelly
Patterson, of Pratt, Kansas. As a wife and mother of two boys, Shelly knows the rodeo road all too well. Her husband Rocky is a 25-time Clem McSpadden National Finals Steer Roping (NFSR) qualifier, and a four-time World Champion Steer Roper. Together, the Patterson’s have two sons, Cole (24) and Caden (20), and since their marriage in 1991, have made a life from the sport of rodeo.
“Rodeo has been a way for us to make a living for the past 28 years. It was never a hobby for Rocky,” she notes. “Rodeo is such an emotional sport. When things are going well, it’s all good. And then when things don’t go well, it’s hard on everyone. When Rocky was rodeoing full time and the boys were little, we depended on what he won to pay the bills, so you can imagine how stressful things would get when he wasn’t winning.” Present day, Shelly has an even more unique, and sometimes stressful, role on the sidelines, cheering for both a spouse and a child who are competing against one another in the same event, with Cole competing alongside his Dad in the Steer Roping. “I have learned over the years that sometimes it's best to just be silent when things don't go well. My heart always hurts but sometimes I just have no words. I feel like Rocky has been doing this for so long, he doesn't really want consoled. When Cole doesn't do well, I really hurt for him. I usually just say a few
words like, ‘It just takes one steer to turn things around’.” Thankfully, Shelly didn’t have to do much consoling this year, with Cole securing the event’s 2019 Resistol Rookie of the Year Award, and both Pattersons making the NFSR in November. “Cole has had an outstanding year. His goal at first was to just win Rookie of the Year and then with his continued success, that goal changed to making the finals,” Shelly said. Going into the NFSR, Rocky sat at 8th place, while Cole hung
on to the 13th spot. As the family makes this year’s 96-mile trip from home to the finals in Mulvane, Kansas, a lot will be on Shelly’s mind.
“Every year going into the finals, I usually just pray for a good one, and a healthy one. This is a chance for the guys to make some good money. For these finals, anywhere from $25,000 to $50,000 is a pretty good amount. The perfect outcome would be for Cole or Rocky to win the average and the other to place up high in the average, as well. I hope Cole can also win a round this year, and it wouldn’t hurt my feelings if Rocky won one, too! They both know that I am their biggest cheerleader!”
MAKING MEMORIES IN STYLE Early on in Rocky’s career, Shelly spent the majority of the summers at home, raising Cole and Caden while her husband was hitting rodeo after rodeo. “I haven’t always gotten to travel with Rocky as much as I would have liked, but when your kids are little and involved in things, someone has to stay home. Economically, it’s cheaper to travel and share expenses with someone than it is to haul around your family.”
Those sacrifices are part of what has made the last few years so sweet, as Shelly has been able to spend more time on the road with Rocky, now that the boys are older.
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