Chasing seconds

As a professional team roper, Sid Sporer and his horses can rope up to 75 steers in a day.  

Top professional team ropers can catch a steer in less than five seconds, often with only half a second separating first place from tenth. Sporer’s fastest time is 4.0 seconds. He is the heeler, tasked with roping a steer’s back legs, while his partner, Dustin Bird, the header, catches the steer’s horns.

Sporer is on the road much of the year, competing in 50 to 85 rodeos across the western U.S. and Canada in pursuit of standings and a spot at the National Finals Rodeo. With response to the COVID-19 pandemic cancelling many rodeos this year, Sporer and Bird stayed close to Montana and won the Dillon, Mont., rodeo in September. 

Sporer grew up roping with his dad, Marty, who ran a family-owned paint store in Cody, Wyo. Every day during the summer, they would head to the roping arena for practice after work. 

“Dad always made sure I was on the best horses for my level,” Sporer says. “He took incredible care of our horses and that was instilled in me.”

That’s why Sporer works with Crystal White, a CHS animal nutrition consultant, to develop complete nutritional plans for his horses that include Equis® feeds, a brand of CHS. He feeds Equis® Element to his three competition horses and practice horses. 

“These horses are professional athletes,” he says. “The nutrition that goes into your horse is key. What you put in is what you get out.”

Check out the full C magazine with this article and more.