76th SandHills Stock Show and Rodeo: Chapman hopes for better days down the road

Jeff Chapman joined the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association in 1990, but it wasn't until 1997 that the tie-down roper made his first trip to the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo.

Once there, however, he didn't take long in announcing his presence at the Super Bowl of Rodeo.

During the 10-day performance, Chapman earned his first round win in Las Vegas by setting an arena record at 6.8 seconds at the Thomas and Mack Center.

That mark stood until 2003. Chapman has been back to the NFR four other times since then.

On Thursday night, the Athens cowboy was in the fourth performance of the 76th SandHills Stock Show and Rodeo.

Having gone long in the first go with a 16.8-second run, the 38-year-old roper was going for some second-go money, but missed the head loop and rode out of the Ector County Coliseum arena with no time.

"Not the way you want things to go," Chapman said. "But that happens in this sport sometimes."

Chapman made his was back to the NFR in 2008, winning seven different rodeos to work his way back into the Top 15. Once back in Las Vegas, Chapman won the seventh and 10th rounds, finished runner-up in the second and eighth performances and third in the ninth go.

The put him 12th in the average after 10 days of work and he finished with more than $88,000 on the year, eighth in the world.

"It was nice to get back to Las Vegas," he said. "You want to compete against the best and it was nice to win some rounds."

Winning rounds, whether in the arena or slack, is something that Chapman is concentrating on as he tries to continue his rise back to the top of the sport.

He knows that runs closer to his record-setting performance in Las Vegas need to be the norm, not the exception the rest of the year.

"I'll be fine," Chapman said. "I just have to get ready for the next one."