Power Washing Industry pro by day, Amateur Team Roper After Hours. Meet John Thurman of Farley’s Inc!

As the coil manufacturing manager and vice president of sales at Siloam Springs, Arkansas-based Farley’s Inc., John Thurman is known to be a “jack of all trades” who wears many hats … but you wouldn’t expect one of them to be a cowboy hat! But on evenings and weekends, you’ll find Thurman wearing said cowboy hat because this multi-talented man is as much at home on horseback as he is overseeing the production line at Farley’s. And, it turns out, he’s pretty skilled in throwing a lasso (rope), too.

Thurman has recently entered the amateur rodeo circuit as a team roper, competing in the Ariat World Series of Team Roping finale, which coincided with the National Finals Rodeo. It was held at the South Point Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, NV. This is the second largest equestrian event in the world and is focused on the sport of amateur handicapped team roping. The 2023 event paid out over $15 million to nine divisions over nine days and boasted over 3,000 contestants and horses from Canada, the USA, Mexico, Brazil, and other countries.

Thurman competed on his horse, Ned, along with roping partner Kevin Kendrick, riding Hippy, on December 13 and 14, 2023. (Thurman is the “heeler” of this roping duo, while Kendrick is the “header.”) The two lifelong friends and their horses traveled 1,300-plus miles through six states over three days to get there. While they didn’t win money in Vegas, it was a long and hard process to qualify, and they considered it an honor to compete among some of the world’s best team ropers. Thurman’s extended family, friends, and co-workers at Farley’s couldn’t be prouder.

The Long Road To Roping Success

Growing up on the family farm in Arkansas, Thurman has a long history working with horses and, in high school, dedicated countless hours competing in the sport of team roping. Unfortunately, a bad car accident in the early ‘90s and a resultant broken back put his team roping dreams on the backburner for a few decades. After the accident, he only rode horses for ranch work or pleasure. Around 2017, as a way to keep fit, reduce stress, and have something to do besides work, Thurman got back into team roping. In the last five years he started taking it more seriously, and it turns out, he was still really good at it.

Thurman and his wife, Angie Farley Thurman, live on the ranch that has been in the Farley family since the early 1990s. They moved in with Angie’s parents (Bob and Ethelyn Farley) in 2017 to assist them in their retirement. Bob passed away in 2018, and they continue to live on the ranch and take care of Ethylen and the family farm as well as Farley’s Inc. They still raise beef cattle and also have a herd of eight quarter horses and two ponies for the grandchildren.

“John does most of his own horse training,” explains his stepson, Henry Hardaway. “He definitely has a process that he likes to work through. If he doesn’t have time or the horses need some more intensive work and conditioning, he will work with another trainer. We are very proud of the fact that he has turned his hobby into being part of the amateur rodeo circuit.”

ABOUT THURMAN AND FARLEY’S INC.

Thurman has worked for the Farley family since 2006, starting as a cattle ranch manager on the family’s 1,100-acre cattle ranch just south of Siloam Springs. Recognizing that his management skills went beyond wrangling up to 250 head of cattle, the Farley family eventually moved him into a management role at the family-owned company. And, in 2016 he married Angie Farley. Angie and John had been friends since high school.

Farley’s Inc. opened in 1979 and was the first company to offer all makes and models of replacement coils, manufacturing over 700 different models of coils for all known brands. They have operated in the same location since the beginning. Company founders were Bob and Ethelyn Farley, and this family-run business remains solely owned and operated by their children and grandchildren. Today, son Calvin Farley and daughter Angie Farley Thurman work the business full time. CT

WHAT IS TEAM ROPING?

Team roping is also known as “heading and heeling.” The first rider/ roper is referred to as the “header” and is the one who ropes the front of the steer, usually around the horns. Once the steer is caught by one of the three legal head catches, the header must “dally” (wrap the rope around the rubber-covered saddle horn) and use his horse to turn the steer to the left. This event comes from actual historical ranch work that is still done today to provide needed care to cattle on large ranching operations.

The second roper is the “heeler,” who ropes the steer by its hind feet after the header has turned the steer. Team roping is the only rodeo event where men and women compete equally together in professionally sanctioned competition in both single-gender or mixed-gender teams.