When they handed that gold buckle to Tyler Wade at the close of the 2023 Wrangler National Finals Rodeo, it was a ceremonial gesture. Nothing’s ever been handed to TWade, and his first world team roping title was actually the culmination of a lifelong journey that was anything but easy. He was not raised with privilege. His was a path paved with potholes that included trading a college education for a lesson in getting his ass handed to him straight out of high school, and hard life choices that bucked peer pressure and weren’t always popular with the cool kids.
TWade’s parents, Jerry and Raelyn, have a commercial roping arena in their hometown of Terrell, Texas. They built an indoor arena in 2000, but before that had a modest outdoor about 100 yards from their trailer house.
“My room faced the arena, and I can remember being sent to bed, because the roping was on a school night,” Tyler said. “It was right there outside my bedroom window, so I had a front-row seat, and always watched the
