By T. Scott Boatright
Cedar Creek School student Carter Perry has advanced to the Jr. High National Rodeo Championships as one of the top four competitors in roping and goat tying.
He’ll be representing Cedar Creek, Lincoln Parish and the state of Louisiana at the Jr. High championship to be held at the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines, Iowa from June 20-26.
Carter is in his rookie season with the Louisiana Junior High Rodeo Association (LJHRA). He lives with his parents, Chris and Stephanie Perry, and his younger sister, Cate.
After competing in youth rodeo from the age of 6, Carter also competed in football and baseball before deciding to narrow his focus on rodeo alone, competing in breakaway roping, tie down roping, team roping, chute dogging, and goat tying.
Carter heads and heels in team roping on a blue roan gelding named Blue that is 15 years old.
For breakaway roping and goat tying he competes on a 10-year-old black and white paint gelding named Scout.
“Both horses are pretty cool and laid back, I really like riding them both,” Carter told Rodeonews.com earlier this year.
Carter says his favorite professional rodeo athlete is world champion steer wrestler Tyler Waguespack, and that he hopes to steer wrestle like Waguespack in the future.
National competition is nothing new for Carter. He qualified for the 2018 Jr. NFR in Las Vegas, competing in breakaway roping. He returned to Las Vegas last December and competed in breakaway roping at the 2019 Junior World Finals as well as the Mike Johnson’s Tuffest Junior World Championships.
“I really like the LJHSRA rodeos and getting to hang out with all my rodeo friends,” said Carter, who hopes to become a professional roper competing at the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo.
