Shane Hanchey: 2009 Resistol Rookie of the Year
No one still chasing the Finals this year has owned the title longer than Shane Hanchey, a former world champion who’s been wearing the 2009 rookie buckle for going on two decades.
“There’s only one rookie of the year each year. Winning it in 2009 was a big deal to me,” Hanchey said. “My rookie class has had 3 NFR guys.”
His advice, seasoned by seventeen years of highs and lows, is equal parts warning and philosophy.
“My advice to rookies now is it ain’t as easy as everyone says. Never give up and use everything as a learning lesson,” Hanchey said. “Yes the junior ropings and all the junior events help you but until you come out here and experience the highs and lows, nothing can get you ready for that. Don’t let your highs get too high or your lows too low. Don’t get caught up in praise or criticism, it’s a weakness to get caught up in either one.”
Haven Meged: 2019 Resistol Rookie of the Year
For Haven Meged, the rookie season was the start of everything that came after.
“My rookie season was a dream come true! It opened up so many doors for me in my life today,” Meged said.
His message to the next class is simple and hard-won: “The road isn’t easy out here so don’t be afraid to take help and never give up on your dreams.”
Beau Cooper: 2021 Resistol Rookie of the Year
Beau Cooper won his title as a long shot—the first Canadian to claim the Resistol Rookie of the Year in the calf roping—and everything since has been more than he let himself imagine at the start.
“I think I was a wildcard to win the Rookie of the Year, nobody from Canada had ever accomplished it in the calf roping,” Cooper said. “Before winning the Resistol Rookie of the Year, I didn’t even know if I could make the Canadian Finals Rodeo. Here we are five years later and I’ve done things I never dreamed of doing along the way with another legitimate chance at making the NFR again. You never really know until you go put yourself out there.”
Dylan Hancock: 2023 Resistol Rookie of the Year
Dylan Hancock keeps his advice short and sweet.
“Bear down and trust the process,” Hancock said. “You never lose, just learn.”
Cole Clemons: 2024 Resistol Rookie of the Year
Cole Clemons remembers his rookie year as a blur he’d tell anyone to soak up while it lasts.
“I left with one horse and two of my best friends my rookie year and just had fun and somehow won a little, it went by so fast, I looked up and the NFR was over,” Clemons said. “My advice to rookies would be to have fun and go at them but take it all in, you only get one rookie year so have a damn good time and make some bad decisions.”
Tyler Calhoun: 2025 Resistol Rookie of the Year
The newest name on the list is already living the grind his predecessors describe. Tyler Calhoun, the reigning Resistol Rookie of the Year, sums his approach up in a single line.
“Hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard,” Calhoun said.
The bottom line
Sixteen years separate Hanchey’s rookie title from Calhoun’s, but the advice rhymes across every class: never give up, keep the highs and lows in check, take the help, put yourself out there, and enjoy the one rookie year you get. The buckle goes to a single calf roper each season, but the lessons behind it keep showing up at the top of the world standings, year after year.
