He’s Been Winning Since He Was 7. Now Lil Michael Calmelat Is Ready to Go Pro.

Lil Michael Calmelat is a rare roping prodigy who was winning adult rodeos at 7, and was raised to a #10 roper last year at 16. Lil Michael, who’s the son of team roping parents Michael Calmelat and Rachel Mendoza, lives near Tucson, Arizona. He’s 17 now, and will turn 18 in December.

Q: How deep are your roping roots?
A: My mom and dad have both roped all my life, and both of my grandfathers—Michael Calmelat and Eugenio Mendoza—roped.

Q: What are your earliest roping memories?
A: I have a sorrel horse now, Chico, that was my first horse. I’ve ridden him a lot growing up. Before him, I had a little black pony, Lady Bug, and I remember roping steers that walked on her. I roped the dummy a lot growing up, too.

Q: Have you always been Lil Michael?
A: Yes, it’s been my nickname all along, because my dad’s always been Big Michael or Big Mike. Everyone still calls me Lil Michael, and that’s how I enter the jackpots. The only bad part is when they put Lil Michael on the checks, and I can’t cash or deposit them.

Q: What do you consider your greatest roping achievement to date?
A: One of them was going 3.25 at the Junior Patriot with Ketch Kelton last year after he was 3.26 with Denton Dunning. It was pretty cool that they broke the arena record, then we broke it again.

Q: In May, you won the Arizona state team roping title heeling for Carlee Hays. How’d you two connect?
A: My dad grew up with Carlee’s dad, Junior, so we’ve known each other our whole lives. I wasn’t going to high school rodeo, then decided to at the last minute, and to rope with Carlee.

Q: Have you always heeled?
A: I’ve done a lot of both, but have mainly heeled. Since I became a 10 (world champion heelers are #10s), I’ve taken my heading more seriously, just so I can rope in the numbered ropings (he’s a #7+ header).

Q: Which heelers have you liked watching most on your way up the roping ranks?
A: When I was younger, I always watched Trevor Brazile, because he did both ends and multiple events. When Junior (Nogueira) started, I liked watching him. Those are the two I remember paying a lot of attention to when I was younger.

Q: Yourself aside, who’s the rankest heeler in the world right now, in your eyes?
A: Probably Jade Corkill, because he’s never impatient and you never see him mess up. He always rides his horse good, and does things correctly. I watch him, and try to learn from it, because I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve seen him miss.

Q: Describe your roping style.
A: My heeling style is not very textbook, just because I sometimes have to make crazy shots because I’m not in the right position—over or under my horse’s neck. I get it done, but it’s not the consistent, correct way. I’m working on that.

Q: Did the non-stop number raising ever feel frustrating when you were a kid?
A: I don’t look at it that way. My dad always told me that whether I win or not is up to me, so just rope my best and let it pan out. There’s a saying that practice makes perfect. I believe practice makes us better and helps us improve. But people who think they’re perfect won’t get better or stay good for very long.

Q: Have you patterned any part of your style after anyone in particular?
A: I feel like I have my own style, but it’s somewhere between Jade and Junior. I try to ride a little better, be more patient and not rush anything, like Jade, and I’ve made some wild shots, like Junior can.

Q: How’s your heeling changed since the days you were so small you had to heel with a head rope?
A: I was too small to swing a heel rope, and tied on for a while when I was little, too. As I’ve gotten bigger and stronger (he’s 6 feet, 200 pounds now), I’ve switched to a stiffer rope. Three or four years ago, I used a medium heel rope; now a medium hard.

Q: In 2016, you and your dad won the #12 incentive at the Grand Canyon Professional Rodeo Association Finals when you were 7, right?
A: Yes, it was in a coliseum, and I remember riding down the tunnel to the boxes. I also remember going on stage to get my saddle, then having to leave, because the awards were in a bar at the casino and kids weren’t allowed to be there.

Q: Have you always felt super serious about your roping?
A: Yes. I went to public school until fourth grade, then started doing school online, because I was missing half the days to go rope (he just finished his junior year of high school). Roping is all I’ve wanted to do for as long as I can remember.

Q: Are there other things you like to do besides rope?
A: I’ve been golfing a little bit, but not for very long. I’m not very good at it, but it’s fun. I like the challenge of it.

Q: Who’s helped you most outside of your family?
A: When I go to Texas, I usually stay with JC Flake. He’s been a real blessing to me. He’s helped me a lot, having a place to rope and stay. I get to hang out and rope with Dustin Egusquiza there, and he’s awesome. Paul Eaves is JC’s neighbor, so we go rope over there sometimes, too. He’s one of the best to do it, and I’ve learned a lot from him about riding my horse. I like to pick Paul’s brain about horses and position. I talked to Cory Petska about roping when I was younger, too.

Q: Has it felt like forever waiting to turn 18, so you can go pro?
A: I can remember being 12-13-14, and thinking it was going to be forever. Now it’s not even a year away. Time kind of flew, really. In the moment it can feel long, but looking back it was not very long at all.

Q: If you could pick one header to rope with right now, which one would it be?
A: Pedro (Egurrola; they won the West Regional Finals in Las Vegas leading up to The American last spring). That’s been my plan since the beginning, and I’ve roped with him for a really long time. It’s almost like roping with family.

Q: What’s your ultimate goal as a team roper?
A: If you’d asked a few years ago, I’d have said to be a world champion heeler, and to go down as one of the greatest. It’d be cool to make it at both ends, and winning a world title at both ends would be very cool. But I definitely want to be a world champion heeler.

—TRJ—