Schalmont High School has its very own nationally competitive roper: junior Eric Fabian. He was one of the top 12 team ropers in the nation at the recent U.S. Team Roping Championships in Oklahoma City, Okla. This impressive performance earned him a champion shoot-out buckle and $7,000 in cash and prizes.

 

Team ropers receive individual handicap numbers and compete at different skill levels based on their combined team number. With a 4 handicap, Fabian was able to pair with other team ropers for the #8, #9 and #10 roping. In the #8 roping, he finished 10th in the nation. In the #9 roping, he had the fastest time in his rotation and set an arena record for the first time anyone had the fastest time on a bonus steer. In that roping, his team finished 22nd in the nation out of 686 teams.

 

According to his mother, Maryl, "There's no youth division [at the championships]. For the most part, he was competing against adult ropers with many years of experience. That's why what he did out there is so impressive."

 

Fabian's mother was once a barrel racer, and she taught him how to ride horses. The grandson of retired Schalmont PE teacher Paul Volk, Fabian is the only member of his family who currently competes in professional rodeos.

 

He said, "I've been riding ever since I was little."

 

At age six, he was showing horses, and by age eight, he'd won a New York State title. Then he decided to take up roping four years ago, and quickly picked up on the sport. Since then, he has won several rodeo competitions, earning two saddles, a buckle and a coat - all awards given to top rodeo competitors. As a team roper, he won the Double M series in 2006, the Ridin Hy series in 2007, and recently qualified five times for the National Team Roping League Finals to be held this January in Florida. In addition to holding many roping titles, Fabian is the student president of the NYS High School Rodeo Association.

 

At Schalmont, Fabian is a member of the Golf Team (since eighth grade) and the Science Honor Society. His current interests include math and science, but he hopes to earn college scholarships through his roping skills.