Behind The Shield Charly Crawford (Cowboy Community, Equine Therapy and Housing Wounded Veterans) - Episode 1146
Charly Crawford is a ten time NFR team roper, trainer and the founder of the Liberty and Loyalty Foundation. We discuss his childhood around horsemen, the world of team roping, catharsis through equine therapy, identity, the importance of purpose, fundraising for veterans and first responders and much more.
Born and raised in Canby, Oregon, Charly Crawford grew up with his dad who was a bareback rider and the self-proclaimed biggest team roping fan on earth. Charly’s father, Chuck always had good horses and was one of the reasons the crossfire rule was implemented. Growing up in the Northwest, the summers were always fun because guys like Mike Beers, Allan Back, Jake Barnes, Clay Cooper, and Leo Camarillo would come rope at their house.
Due to the average rainfall being so significant, they could only rope about 4 months of the year outdoors. Chuck had a roping club where there were weekly practices and monthly jackpots. Charly always got to rope with guys that gave him no choice but to rope the best he could. He made the amateur finals before he made the high school finals. He and his dad would jackpot together, and Charly even did his first roping school at the age of 12.
It took winning for Charly to take roping seriously and once he was accustomed to winning, he never looked back. “I paid my fees for the Dummy Ropings by picking up beer cans around the arena” Before moving to Arizona to attend college at Central Arizona in Casa Grande, Charly took home a state championship and made the National High School Rodeo finals three times.
Charly qualified for the National Finals Rodeo 10 times in the heading and accrued over $1.4M in ProRodeo earnings. He now resides in Stephenville, TX with his wife Jackie and their three children. His passion for team roping and the western world is unwavering as he continues to train horses, instruct over 40 roping clinics yearly across the United States and abroad, hosts his own podcast, and pours his heart and soul into the Loyalty and Liberty Foundation.