Steering to Vegas

People from across the globe are attracted to the bright neon signs of Las Vegas. The most iconic of these signs can be found on the outside of the old Pioneer Club where stands the cowboy Vegas Vic with his greeting of “Howdy Podner!”
This sign represents another aspect of Las Vegas that attracts tons of people to its streets, which is the popular rodeo culture. The city is the home of the National Finals Rodeo and the Junior Finals Rodeo that are held in December.
Two brothers from Mamou will be making the trek this year to compete in steer wrestling. Rowdy Parrott will be in the National Finals on December 7, and right down the road at the same time will be his younger brother Remey at the Junior National Finals.
“It’s the Super Bowl of rodeo,” Rowdy said. “That’s what we train for, practice for, and work for. It’s the biggest and best event. The top 50 in the world go there, and I ended up 14th. I slipped in there, but it’s a blessing and an honor to go there.”
Rowdy’s wife Lynette stated, “I’m proud of him. It was a hard long summer and year, but it was well deserved. He worked very, very hard.”
Before heading to Las Vegas, Rowdy will be competing in the Southeastern Circuit finals this weekend in Miami. One constant that goes into events like the ones in Miami and Las Vegas is practice.
“We just try to practice everyday running steers on the ground and getting muscle memory,” said Rowdy. “Then we ride the horses and keep them going and working good. We’ll run probably 20 or 30 steers a day on the ground and run three or four off of horses.”
At one particular practice Tuesday afternoon, the brothers worked on bulldogging. According to Remey, bulldogging is when “you ride up and have a hazer, which is usually my brother Rowdy. He comes out the same time as me and keeps the steer running straight. I slide off the horse onto the steer, and I have to wrestle him to the ground.”
Remey said the practice at his parents’ rodeo ring Tuesday was going well. “We’re just getting ready to get to Vegas.”
For Rowdy, it was a good practice as well. “I just worked on my horse trying to get him right for the finals and practicing on him trying to get him going good.”
The Parrotts are the sons of Mitch and Tammy Parrott and first got into rodeo because of their grandfather Guy Landry. “My grandpa used to rodeo, and we showed cows,” Rowdy said. “We’d go to rodeos to watch him. It’s just something I always wanted to do. I started doing it, and I hadn’t looked back since.”
Rowdy tasted rodeo competition while attending Sacred Heart High School in Ville Platte, where he graduated in 2012. “I competed in high school and won the state finals,” he said. “I did well at nationals and just wanted to do it ever since.”
The rodeo circuit then took him to Texas A&M-Commerce where he competed at the collegiate level. “It wasn’t the level I was ready for,” Rowdy explained. “I wanted to go pro, so I only did it one year. It was fun and a good experience.”
He continues to compete professionally in steer wrestling and described why the event is so appealing. “It’s just what I love,” Rowdy said. “I used to rope, and I just like the steer wrestling because it’s a lot more contact.”
Rowdy’s main role model in rodeo is his grandfather. Other role models for him are fellow rodeo riders Luke Branquinho and Tyler Waguespack. He also admitted that his greatest inspiration comes from his family. “I couldn’t do this without my family,” he said. “My mom and dad have helped me, and I’d be nowhere without them. Everything works together, and I have a great support team.”
Remey also got attracted to rodeo because of his grandfather. “When I was little, my grandpa did it,” he said. “Growing up, me and Rowdy really played baseball. We always had cows, and Dad farmed. The older we got we just wanted to do rodeos more and more until we were old enough to get into it.”
Once Remey got into rodeo, he like his elder brother competed in high school at Sacred Heart. “It was a good learning experience growing up being around it,” he said. “I got to learn the sport and learn what to do and what not to do until I get old enough to be a professional.”
“Probably my first role model is my older brother,” he said. “He’s been with me since the start. Tyler Waguespack, Tyler Pearson, and all the other guys that Rowdy has traveled with and who I’ve grown up being around growing up” are some of my other role models.
Currently Remey competes for the McNeese State University Rodeo Team. “It’s just a step above high school,” he explained. “It’s kind of the same deal like a learning experience. It’s the first step to go out on my own and travel with somebody my age. I have to leave my parents behind and learn how to do the deal on my own.”
Remey’s goal is to keep competing in steer wrestling. According to him, “I’ve done other events growing up, but bulldogging and steer wrestling are just what I like the most and what I have the most fun doing.”
Both Parrott brothers shared what competing in rodeo has taught them about life. “It teaches you a lot of good qualities,” said Remey. “It teaches you about honor, respect, and treating your competitors the way you would want to be treated. It also teaches how to be honorable going up-and-down the rode and making a lot of friends. It’s just a good way to make a living.”
For Rowdy, who is the father of an infant son named Peyson, rodeo has given him “a lot of good life lessons.” He added, “It has very nice people and a lot of good lessons on how to do right to people and help people out. It’s just a good sport.”
He concluded, “I just want to keep going to rodeo as long as I can and hopefully to keep making the national finals over the next few years. I just want to see where it takes me from there.”