Learning by Doing Has Seen Tyler Waguespack Rise to the Top

Watching his father compete created a passion to win.

While growing up in Gonzales, Louisiana, participating in team sports was the farthest thing from Tyler Waguespack’s mind. He played some t-ball when he was very young, but by the time he got into junior high and high school, his dedication to steer wrestling was evident. 

The drive to become the best steer wrestler in the history of the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association started when he was a toddler watching his father.  Tyler has earned five gold buckles in his event, tied with Luke Branquinho and one short of Homer Pettigrew. As of June 1^st, he is at the top of the world standings and is gunning for buckle number six. 

His father, Micheal Waguespack, was wrestling steers until he was 55 years old. Tyler grew up watching his father in the practice pen, then going to circuit and amateur rodeos every weekend. 

“When I was a little kid, I got drug around with them everywhere,” he said. “I made them play cards with me all the time going down the road. I was just the annoying kid going with them when they were trying to go rodeo.” 

As he grew, so did his desire to participate. That started with roping before Tyler hit double digits. Mike bought him a breakaway horse named Pistol and they started going to youth events. Prior to getting Pistol, Tyler would get on any of his dad’s horses whenever he had the chance. Pistol was a game changer. If anyone was riding him it was Tyler. 

As a toddler, Tyler would pretend he was steer wrestling using anything he could. As he grew, his dad got creative. Tyler wasn’t big enough to handle any of the steers in the practice pen, so his dad taped PVC pipe to a calf’s head to mimic horns. The lessons started in earnest. 

Tyler loved the calf roping and was competing in that event as well. He was a senior in high school and they had purchased a really nice calf horse. But even in high school, his success in steer wrestling was outweighing the other events. After the Louisiana High School Rodeo Finals, he had one question for his dad. 

“Do you think we could sell this calf horse and maybe buy a couple of steer wrestling prospects?” Tyler said. “I think dad had that horse sold before we even got home and then he already had young horses lined up for the steer wrestling. We never looked back.

“That’s just how my dad was,” he added. “I put forth the effort in the calf roping and he did whatever it took for me to have success. But as soon as I told him that I really wanted to focus on steer wrestling, he was all for it.”

That all-in approach meant countless hours in the practice pen – something that Tyler is still known for today. If he’s not competing, he’s practicing, even on the road. 

“Every day that I’m at home, I practice,” he said. “And, I’ve got several practice arenas of buddies of mine on the road that we swing in and practice at.” 

That practice is intentional and has been from the beginning. His father and another mentor, Tom Carney, taught him to go to any practice like he owns it. 

“I like to practice with a lot of good quality guys,” he said. “Anytime somebody is making good runs and having success it pushes me to do better. Ever since I was little, I’ve just always had an itch to help me get better. Whenever you quit learning in this sport is when you start losing.” 

Another huge influence in Tyler’s career came from Ote Berry who has four gold buckles of his own. When Tyler was growing up, if he saw Ote, he would sit on the fence next to him and talk about steer wrestling. Ote always took time for him. That led to an opportunity for Tyler to go live with the steer wrestling legend. 

“Ote taught me how to win,” Tyler said. “He was super good at helping in all types of situations. He would make me look at the game of rodeo different than what I was assuming when I went out there. He had a ton of experience and so much knowledge. He was able to pass off those situational deals to me. That was tremendous for my career.”

There are a lot of things that Tyler has never done. He didn’t play any team sports in junior high or high school. In fact, he’s never even attended a game. He’s never been to a homecoming or prom. 

He sat in the back of his high school classes doing what he had to do to get through. But as soon as that end-of-day bell rang, he was headed to the practice pen. He had horses saddled, steers loaded and was ready to go as soon as his dad got home from work. 

Friday night light’s were in an arena and the beginning of a weekend of rodeo. Monday was back to school and then to practice. Through it all, his mom, Vicki, has been the biggest cheerleader. 

“She would always holler out that was enough practice for the day and that we needed to come inside,” he said. “My dad and I never listened.” 

It’s all added up with 11 consecutive NFR qualifications and over $2.5 million in career earnings in the PRCA. And it started in a practice pen south of Baton Rouge, Louisiana. 

“There are a lot of opportunities around the south for rodeo,” Tyler added. “I love where I live and there are a lot of great cowboys that come from down here.”

In 2024, Tyler nearly missed the NFR. He was at Sisters, Oregon, on June 8 and suffered a detachment of the bicep tendon on his left arm. He missed some critical rodeos but came back in September and won enough to qualify for the NFR. That was just the second injury of his career. He also tore his pectoral muscle in 2013, two years before making his first trip to Las Vegas in December where he finished in the 11^th spot. 

He came home from that more determined than ever, and he and his dad hit the practice pen. The next year he left with his first world title. He finished at the top in 2018 shortly after marrying NFR barrel racer Sarah Rose McDonald. Then he earned three consecutive titles starting in 2021. 

Everything Tyler did growing up was preparation for his career. From the hours in the practice pen to riding different horses and competing in other events. Through it all, he never stopped learning and is finding ways to improve on every run today. His history in the rodeo record books already runs deep, but his story is far from being finished.