Walker Guy selected as new Texan Rider

BY MACKENZIE JOHNSON

Editor-in-Chief

Walker Guy is used to the feel of his horse’s feet shifting beneath him on an arena dirt floor, and while his horse’s movements are essentially an extension of his own, he’s less accustomed to those sweeping stops and swift turns on the turf of a football field.

It’s a feeling he’s quickly becoming familiar with as the new fall 2025 Texan Rider – an unprecedented role for a Tarleton State Rodeo member. And while Texan Rider is a new résumé addition for Guy, the word rider is anything but.

“I’ve been on a horse since I was about four,” Guy said. “I just kind of played around with it until I started taking it seriously as I got older. I’ve now turned it into a business and a lifestyle, and that’s all I really know at this point.”

Originally from a small mountain town in North Carolina, Guy comes from a ranching family that specialized in raising cattle, not riding horses. That changed with his generation, when he and his brothers decided roping steers was much more fun than just feeding them.

Now, as a college freshman at Tarleton, Guy isn’t just a first-gen roper but a first-gen trainer.

“I train and sell rope horses for the public, and that's been my forte for the past three or four years,” Guy said. “Training and jackpots are my 9-to-5, or as I say, 5-to-5.”

From the ground up, Guy has built a six-figure training program, keeping about 15 head of horses in his barn year-round and specializing in head and heel horse training – and when he’s not schooling those colts, he’s cashing in big checks at rodeos and roping jackpots.

“These last couple of months have gone pretty well for me,” Guy said. “I split a $14,000 check on Thursday (Sept. 18), and then won two rodeos over the weekend. Since January, I’ve been fortunate enough to win over $200,000 rodeoing and jackpotting.”

For his debut college rodeo season, he will be team roping with his brother, Tucker. A junior this year, Tucker is excited for the opportunity to share the college stage with Walker.

“I’m very thankful that Walker and I get to rodeo at the collegiate level together, which has always been one of our goals,” Tucker said. “Walker is not only my brother but also one of my closest friends, a mentor and a coach. He has a winning mindset with the desire and dedication to be the best.”

Alongside Tucker—and for himself—Walker wants to make an impact in his first college rodeo season.

“A lot of people in general college rodeo just to say they college rodeo,” Walker said. “They enter, wear the vest and do the whole nine yards, but they’re not really in it. I want to make an impression on myself and the team. I don’t want to be just average. I want to take it to the next level and do my best to show that Tarleton’s team is the best team.”

Although considered a rookie in college rodeo, Walker still knows his way around the Tarleton arena and the coaches and athletes who fill it.

“I’ve never college rodeoed before, but I’ve been around it and the environment,” Walker said. “So I know it like the back of my hand. And I know Mark (Eakin) really well. We have a very good relationship.”

Eakin, Tarleton’s head rodeo coach, has known Walker since before he enrolled at the university. So when Eakin proposed having a Tarleton Rodeo member represent the Texan Rider this fall, Walker immediately emerged as a top candidate.

“We had tryouts open to anyone on the rodeo team who wanted the job,” Eakin said. “Walker was one of seven who tried out and stood out to everyone from the start. He is very outgoing and always willing to help. Walker takes pride in everything he does. I know he will represent Tarleton and Tarleton State Rodeo in a very positive way and is very excited for this opportunity.”

For Texan Rider tryouts, candidates hauled their horses onto the football field to showcase both their horse’s skills and their own horsemanship in front of a group of judges, proving they could complete a lap around the field and a few spins at midfield on gameday.

“Mark contacted me actually and said, ‘Hey, do you have time to come by and ride your horse on a football field?’” Walker said. “He told me to bring a good horse, so I did. The next thing I know, I’m running around the field with my hand up in the air.”

After tryouts, the candidates were narrowed down to a pool of three before Walker was ultimately selected.

“Mark, the president (James Hurley) and everyone else involved could have picked anybody, and they picked me,” Walker said. “For me to have the title means a lot to me. It’s impressive to get to do that for my school.”

Walker made his Texan Rider debut at the home opener against Mississippi Valley State on Sept. 6, and while Walker will be at every game without fail, the horse he rides may change from time to time.

“The horse I brought to the last game (Saturday, Sept. 20) is the head horse I trained, and he is fancy looking,” Walker said. “He has a tail that drags the ground and has such an impressive spin. I had never taken him on a football field before, nor has anyone else. So we went in blind, but I knew he would be fine. I’ve got enough confidence in my horses that if I can’t go and succeed at a job that’s been given to me, then I probably shouldn’t be calling myself a horse trainer.”

What makes Walker especially unique as a Texan Rider in Tarleton history is the authenticity he brings to the job.

“The opportunity to represent the Texan Rider is straight up and it’s real. I didn’t buy a hat and rope at Tractor Supply the morning of the game – it’s my life,” Walker said. “I’m excited to represent this Tarleton tradition in the way I think it should be represented.”

Walker is a Texan Rider in every sense of the word, beginning a new legacy for the beloved Tarleton tradition – one based upon not just portraying a cowboy, but being one at his core.

“I think it’s important to have your shirt tucked in and talk to the little kids who want to pet your horse when you’re on the job,” Walker said. “I don’t want to get in and get out, and I don’t want to do it for the title. I want to do it for the school.”