Eight-time world champion calf roper shares his story at CSC

Some fans gestured to the ceiling with Whitfield’s “raise the roof” signature and others wore Cinch apparel, a brand affiliated with Whitfield.

In his presentation, Whitfield noted with gratitude that the audience was about four times the size of a recent gathering near his home in Texas and thanked those in attendance for their supportive reception of he and his wife, Cassie, who attended the event with him.

He signed copies of his book, posters, bookmarks and rope containers and posed for photos with fans until 10 p.m., according to event organizers Laure Sinn, coordinator of student activities and sophomore student senator Garrett Lower of Alliance.

In recapping his rise to rodeo fame, he told the audience that he came from a troubled family situation and, against the odds, is still competing at age 46 and was invited to speak in Chadron. Whitfield is familiar with the region, mentioning his past competitions in Belle Fourche and greeting a friend from Hemingford who stopped by.

“I surrounded myself with the right people took advantages when they were presented to me,” he said, referring, in part, to long-time supporter Roy Moffitt, a wealthy, white neighbor who loaned horses to Whitfield, an African American, and even provided his transportation and entry fees at early rodeos.

Although Whitfield didn't talk about his upbringing when he was having so much success,he said, “It’s all in the book.”

“People were placed in my way to help me get off my tail. You need to get out and work on it if you want it bad enough. Day after day we roped calves. I had to start out using extension cords because I didn’t have a rope yet,” he said.

After receiving his first rodeo winnings in 1984, when he was just 16, he said he thought, “There might be a day when I'll be good at this.”

Audience members asked about his work-out routines and his physical resilience in the high-impact sport. Whitfield said he feels the wear-and-tear more as he ages but his technique has improved. His strategy in qualifying for the National Finals Rodeo is to earn many points early in the season and avoid injury until December when the event takes place in Las Vegas.

So far this year he said he has earned about $200,000 and plans to continue this spring and summer and “see what happens.”

When asked about his heroes he mentioned Ronnye Sewalt, Dean Oliver, Dee Pickett, Roy Cooper and Sylvester Mayfield, among others, but said he really developed his own, individual style of horse training and calf roping.

In response to a question about King Ropes from Miss Chadron State College Rodeo, Bailey McLean, Whitfield said the brand, produced in McLean’s hometown of Sheridan, Wyo., is the only kind he ever uses.

He answered questions about pay for professional cowboys, blood lines when selecting a roping horse, superstitions and many other wide-ranging topics.

He reminisced about “Moon” the horse he rode when winning world championships in 1995, 1996 and 1999. “Moon” died in December of 2006 after suffering a broken hip. Whitfield offered his advice when a special horse is lost. “Get over it and move on. There'll never be another one.”

Whitfield said one of the 10 or so horses he has roped off since he lost “Moon” has been that good. However, he has a new 5-year-old that has lots of promise.