More than 60 athletes competing in the Calgary Stampede rodeo are from Texas, and they are keeping a close eye on what is going on back home. Ty Harris got off to a great start in tie-down roping. He had the top time of the day. But as nice as the win was, Harris couldn’t help himself. He’s from San Angelo, which wasn’t the hardest hit but has had some flooding. “I’m obviously really thankful that my family is safe from everything, but that hits home—there’s rodeo families that have been affected by it and different people in Texas that have been affected by it,” he said. Harris earned $7,000 for his work Monday and would like to do something to help the victims. “I don’t know if there’s going to be a foundation or a GoFundMe … I really don’t know what’s going on yet, but it was on my mind coming up here,” he said. Ty’s brother, Joel Harris, is also competing in tie-down roping. He says there has been some damage in San Angelo, but it’s not nearly as badly hit as other areas. He says it’s been tough watching what’s going on back home. “It just affects you emotionally, and you realize … this isn’t the most important thing, coming out here and competing as we do,” he said. “It really puts into perspective that people are going through a really hard time, and we have friends that have had flooding in their house. … I know that a lot of lives have been lost.” Sixty-three athletes from Texas are competing in this year’s Stampede rodeo. It’s a close-knit community. Breakaway roper Jordan Jo Hollabaugh lives in Fort Worth. “Rodeo is one of the few sports that it doesn’t matter if you’re blood or not; when something goes on in the rodeo family, we’re all hands on deck trying to help and be supportive where we can,” Hollabaugh said.
