TORRINGTON – The Fourth Annual Hadly McCormick Memorial Roping took place at the Goshen County Fairgrounds in Torrington over the weekend. Roping fans from Nebraska, Wyoming, and beyond traveled to the pavilion on Saturday, June 27 to remember a great cowboy whose life was cut short when he was killed in an automobile accident.

McCormick (23) was a member of the Central Wyoming College (CWC) alumnus and he had been active in rodeo all of his life. 

“McCormick was on the CWC rodeo from 2016-18 and later transferred to Oklahoma-Panhandle State University. The Scottsbluff, Nebraska native competed in tie-down roping, team roping, and steer wrestling,” CWC released on March 29, 2021.

McCormick’s Oklahoma Panhandle State University (OPSU) rodeo teammate, Cinch Bullock (19), was also killed in the crash. 

“The best way to describe Hadly is he loved to rope calves and absolutely lived life to the fullest. It didn’t matter what I asked of him he was willing to do it with a great big Hadly smile. He was a great student, teammate and anyone that had the opportunity to meet him are better because of it,” Drew Schrock, CWC rodeo coach in a past publication. 

“Hadly was a giver,” his mother, Katherine McCormick, said. “He gave his horses. He let other people ride his horses in high school. He let other people ride his horses in college. Hadly was a giver. If there was something to give, he gave.” 

A memorial roping and scholarship seemed like the perfect fit to continue to honor Hadly, his love of rodeo, and his unquestionable desire to give to others.

“It’s putting his perspective into everything,” Katherine explained. “It’s always a good thing to do, give back to young people.”

The memorial roping also awards four $1,000 scholarships to area high school seniors on behalf of the fallen cowboy. 

Years previously, scholarships were awarded during the first rodeo of the valley, the Panhandle Rodeo in Bridgeport, Nebraska however due to a scheduling conflict, this year’s scholarships were awarded to area students at the Harrison, Nebraska roping, according to Katherine.

“From now on, I think we are going to try to stick with the Harrison roping,” Katherine explained. “We will give it out at the Harrison roping high school rodeo. We gave out four $1,000 scholarships out this year. We give out everything we can.”

Katherine further explained once expenses had been covered, the remainder of the funds were given back to the community.

At the event on Saturday, ropers had the opportunity to win buckles, headstalls, a saddle, and more. 

“The buckles were hand-designed by me and Sheridan Buckle Company. We have done them all four memorials,” Katherine explained.

Katherine also explained AW Laser Art in Kimball, also provided some of the items at the roping event such as banners and silent auction items. 

“A lot of the banners and a lot of silent auction items came from Amber Wilke,” Katherine said. “She has done an amazing job. She did about 80% of the silent auction items and I did have a lot of rodeo people donate.”

The track given out during the event was done by Scott McClain and his wife, Tracey, of Chalk Butte Tack in Crawford. 

“They designed it (tack) and made it. They did it all handmade. It is handmade stuff,” Katherine said. “The saddle was from Trent Ward. It was a Trent Ward saddle, and it was a very good saddle.”

“We had a wide variety of people,” Katherine explained. “We had a gal from Alabama and a young boy from New Mexico. We also had some of Hadly’s classmates there roping from Goodwell, Oklahoma.” 

Katherine hopes to someday expand on the memorial roping events in honor of Hadly.

“I would like to see it expand,” Katherine explained. “My dream is to give out as many scholarships as we can but also to expand to the college kids. I think we need to expand into the ones that make it through that tough year, that first year. You know, everything doesn’t quite go as planned or if you have a great first year, so be it. I would kind of like to expand. I would like to find a college kid that is going into the second year of college and give them $1,000 too,” Katherine said. 

“We don’t get a lot of donations,” Katherine said. “Which I hope to get more. We just make barely enough to cover the saddle and the tack that we have out, and the roping helps a bunch too.”

The scholarship is given to high school seniors in Nebraska, but according to Katherine, it is a matter of time before the scholarships are also opened up to Wyoming students. 

“We would like to keep at seniors and rodeo, but we would definitely like them to go on to rodeo in college,” Katherine said. “Some of that is really feasible and some of it is just not. Our intentions, our full intentions are to have absolute rodeo all four years. We kind of want to stay with Nebraska I don’t know if we will be able to stay with Nebraska or if we will venture out with Wyoming too or not. We very well could and should.”

Katherine and her family continue to keep Hadly’s memory and his equally important willingness to give alive through the roping event. 

“This is my grand thinking, I would love to give out four scholarships to high school kids and two scholarships to college kids,” Katherine said. “Who couldn’t use $1,000? That is just more burden off their parents and more burden off them.”

“I believe in our young people and Hadly did too,” Katherine said. “He was going to be an ag teacher. He was three weeks away from graduating from OPSU. I think it is all about keeping our young people and keeping them going. Don’t drop out. Keep going. If you failed, so what, get up and do it again.”