RFD-TV Events is suing three calf ropers, alleging them to be part of a scheme to take home a cut of a $1 million rodeo prize. The event, which took place in March 2015 and was billed as the “world’s richest one-day rodeo,” could end up costing people more than they bargained for.
The suit claims that two star ropers — Tuf Cooper, a three-time world champion, and Timber Moore, the top-ranked roper in the world — purposefully performed poorly so that Reese Riemer would come out on top and claim a $1 million side bonus. The bonus was to be given if the winner was someone who qualified for the event rather than being invited to it. Essentially, it was a prize pot for an underdog competitor. The status of Cooper and Moore assured that they were invitees, and were thus ineligible for the larger prize. Had either of them won, they would have had to settle for the $100,000 purse given to a winner of any of the event’s seven categories.
Reimer ultimately won only a share of the $1 million bonus because two other qualifiers won events at the rodeo.
The suit has been filed in Tarrant County, Texas, Civil Court.
Another roper, Cole Bailey, is believed to have refused to participate in the alleged scheme and later informed RFD-TV about it.
