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Matt-Sherwood |
Full Name: Matt Sherwood | Current Status: Active competitor and roping instructor
Two gold buckles. One flooring business sold on a hunch. Matt Sherwood didn't chase a rodeo career in his twenties like most world champions do — he was laying tile in Queen Creek, Arizona, at 36 years old when he decided to bet everything on team roping instead, and within months he was crying in the Thomas & Mack Center arena with a world title around his waist.
Biography Summary
Most world champion team ropers grow up dead-set on the professional trail from the time they can climb into a saddle. Matt Sherwood didn't. He spent his twenties working, going to school in Florida, and starting a family before deciding, almost on impulse, that rodeo deserved a real shot. What followed was a career built entirely backwards from the usual script — a flooring and tile business first, a full-time run at the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) circuit second, and two world championships almost immediately after that.
Sherwood, a header from Pima, Arizona, won back-to-back-adjacent world titles in 2006 and 2008, both times partnered with heeler Randon Adams. He's remained a fixture at the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo well into his fifties, a rarity in a sport that usually favors younger reflexes and younger backs.
Across interviews with former partners, competitors, and Team Roping Journal coverage, one trait appears again and again: preparation. Whether roping with Randon Adams during his championship years or mentoring younger partners like Hunter Koch decades later, Sherwood earned a reputation for staying calm under pressure, putting his horse first, and letting consistency—not ego—define his career.
Early Life
Sherwood grew up in Snowflake, Arizona, at more than 5,000 feet elevation, the son of Bill and Marci Sherwood. He's described growing up roping almost every day as a kid, even through the harsh high-desert weather Snowflake is known for, saying the Sherwood family broke, trained, and sold horses and simply didn't take days off from it. He credits his father directly for his work ethic, once explaining that Bill Sherwood was relentless with his sons and raised them all to work hard whether or not the weather cooperated.
He has four brothers — Steve, Dale, Kit, and J.C. — and his first cousin is Cody Hancock, the 2000 PRCA World Champion Bull Rider, which put competitive rodeo squarely in the family bloodline. Bill Sherwood, born in Snowflake on April 3, 1939, had served four years in the Navy aboard a submarine before working as a feedlot cowboy, where he met Sherwood's mother, Marci.
Sherwood served an LDS mission in Melbourne, Australia, before marrying Kim Carpenter, who had served her own mission in South Dakota. The two met while attending school together in Florida, where he competed in rodeo only occasionally — a detail that makes his eventual world championships even more unlikely on paper.
Turning Pro, Then Stepping Back
Sherwood turned professional in 1994, but a pro card didn't mean a full-time career. With children arriving and bills to pay, he put rodeo on the back burner and built Sherwood Flooring, a tile and flooring company in Queen Creek, Arizona, that he ran for roughly a decade. He's been candid that the sport can be a detriment to a young family without a guaranteed paycheck — PRCA rodeo doesn't pay contracts, only what a cowboy wins.
Professional Career
Everything changed in 2006. Sherwood sold his flooring business and hit the rodeo trail full-time, a decision that looked reckless right up until it looked prophetic. Church News later described him as having "taken the road less travelled" to a rodeo championship, since he didn't compete full-time until he was 36.
2006: The Storybook World Title
Partnered with Randon Adams, Sherwood rode into the final round of the 2006 NFR needing a 4.2-second run or better on the last steer of the entire season to clinch the world title. He and Adams made the run at 4.1 seconds, and Sherwood said he started crying in the arena — a moment he's called one of the most surreal of his life, given that he'd been laying tile professionally not long before. Sherwood and Adams clinched the gold buckles with PRCA record earnings of $189,568 that year, breaking a mark set by Chad Masters the year before. That same year, his head horse Nickolas — bought as a yearling for $600 and trained by Sherwood himself — was named American Quarter Horse Association (AQHA)/PRCA Heading Horse of the Year.
2008: A Second Gold Buckle
Sherwood clinched his second PRCA world championship on December 13, again in team roping heading, again alongside Randon Adams — his second world title in a three-year span. He rode Nickolas on nine of his ten steers that Finals. Church News noted that Sherwood, along with Adams and saddle bronc champion Cody Wright, helped make up three Latter-day Saint world champions among the eight PRCA titleholders crowned that year, and quoted him saying he tries hard to represent his church well.
The Lean Years and the Long Comeback
Winning two world titles didn't guarantee Sherwood a smooth ride afterward. Team Roping Journal's own recap of the 2007 season pointed out that the reigning World Champion Header was, ironically, the most noticeably absent cowboy at that year's NFR, sitting 17th in the standings with no path to qualify. He stayed in the game anyway, working with a rotating cast of partners over the following decade, including Walt Woodard, Quinn Kesler, and eventually much-younger ropers as his career stretched into his fifties.
2015–2019: A Second Wind
Sherwood strung together one of the more remarkable late-career runs in the sport during this stretch. Roping with Walt Woodard in 2017, he won the Missoula Stampede, the Lakeside Rodeo in California, the Bozeman Stampede, the Ute Stampede in Nephi, Utah, and the Cassia County Fair & Rodeo in Burley, Idaho. In 2018, the pair won RodeoHouston's Super Series title on March 17, worth roughly $56,000 a man — a win Sherwood tithed 10 percent of, as he does with all his rodeo earnings.
In 2019, at age 50, he formed an unlikely partnership with 22-year-old heeler Hunter Koch, a 28-year age gap that made headlines of its own. The pair qualified for the NFR together and finished the year 11th in the world standings. That same season Sherwood also won rodeos across Alberta and British Columbia and picked up the Canadian Team Roping Header of the Year award, on top of winning Scottsdale's Parada del Sol with Derrick Begay.
Continuing Into the 2020s
Sherwood kept competing well past the point most headers retire, roping with Trey Yates during the 2020 season and continuing to climb the PRCA | RAM World Standings into his fifties. He's also become a mentor figure in the sport, helping develop the careers of both Koch and Yates, and teaching at roping schools and through instructional platforms like Roping.com.
Career Timeline
| Year | Milestone |
|---|---|
| 1994 | Turns professional, joins PRCA |
| 2006 | Sells flooring business; wins first PRCA World Championship (Heading) with Randon Adams; Nickolas named AQHA/PRCA Head Horse of the Year |
| 2008 | Wins second PRCA World Championship (Heading), again with Randon Adams |
| 2011 | Qualifies for the Wrangler NFR |
| 2015–2019 | Five consecutive Wrangler NFR qualifications; multiple rodeo wins across the U.S. and Canada |
| 2018 | Wins RodeoHouston Super Series with partner Walt Woodard |
| 2019 | Partners with 22-year-old Hunter Koch; named Canadian Team Roping Header of the Year |
| 2020 | Continues competing full-time, partnered with Trey Yates |
Major Achievements
Sherwood's résumé is built almost entirely around two gold buckles and a level of longevity that's rare for a header who didn't go full-time until his mid-thirties.
- Two-time PRCA World Champion Team Roper, Heading (2006, 2008)
- George Strait Team Roping Classic champion header
- RFD-TV's The American finalist, competing in the heeling position
- Eight or more Wrangler NFR qualifications spanning three different decades of competition
- 2019 Canadian Team Roping Header of the Year
Awards & Honors
| Award | Year |
|---|---|
| PRCA World Champion Header | 2006, 2008 |
| AQHA/PRCA Heading Horse of the Year (Nickolas) | 2006 |
| Canadian Team Roping Header of the Year | 2019 |
| George Strait Team Roping Classic Champion (Header) | Undated, career honor |
Career Statistics
| Category | Total |
|---|---|
| PRCA World Titles | 2 |
| Wrangler NFR Qualifications | 8+ (2006, 2008, 2011, 2015–2019, 2020) |
| Career Earnings (through 2019) | $1.3 million+ |
| 2006 Season NFR Team Earnings (with Randon Adams) | $189,568 (PRCA record at the time) |
A note on these numbers: PRCA career-earnings tallies for team ropers update continuously as cowboys keep competing, and Sherwood was still active as of his most recent reported world standings appearances, so his total earnings figure has likely grown since the $1.3 million mark reported for the 2019 season.
Records
Sherwood and Randon Adams set a PRCA single-season team roping earnings record in 2006 at $189,568, a mark that stood as the benchmark until later ropers surpassed it in subsequent seasons as overall rodeo purses grew.
Net Worth
Matt Sherwood's exact net worth has never been publicly disclosed, and any figures found on unofficial websites should be treated as speculation. What is well documented is that he owned and sold a successful flooring business before committing to rodeo full-time in 2006, earned more than $1.3 million in PRCA prize money, and has continued generating income through roping clinics, instructional programs, sponsorships, and horse training.
Gear & Equipment
As a header, Sherwood's most important piece of equipment has always been his horse rather than any single product. Nickolas, the gelding he trained himself after buying him as a yearling for $600, became his primary head horse through both world championship runs and was named AQHA/PRCA Heading Horse of the Year in 2006. Team Roping Journal has noted Nickolas had one of the longest, most versatile careers of any modern rope horse, starting out heeling in the Turquoise Circuit before Sherwood converted him to a head horse.
Playing Style
Church News once described Sherwood as known for "accurately throwing a quick loop a great distance," a phrase that captures the core of what makes a great header — arm speed and precision matter less if the loop can't reach a running steer's horns cleanly at full gallop. In his own instructional content for Roping.com, Sherwood emphasizes positioning in the box and keeping a calm horse under pressure over raw speed, a more cerebral approach that partly explains why he's remained competitive well into his fifties, long after the reflexes of younger ropers would typically pull ahead.
Injuries and Challenges
Sherwood's biggest professional challenge wasn't physical — it was staying relevant. After his 2006 title, he went through a rough 2007 season and ended up sitting out that year's NFR entirely despite being the reigning champion, a stretch Team Roping Journal covered as a genuine low point. He rebuilt from there to win his second title in 2008 and kept qualifying for NFRs into his fifties, a testament less to any single comeback than to consistency across nearly three decades on the circuit.
The family also weathered a serious scare in March 2017, when Sherwood's son Logan was accidentally shot while working cattle near Springerville, Arizona. Sherwood has described the phone call as one of the most frightening moments of his life, though he's continued to speak about it as a reminder to keep family and faith in perspective alongside the demands of a rodeo career.
Training, Diet & Fitness
Little has been publicly documented about a formal training regimen for Sherwood specifically, which tracks with how most veteran team ropers describe their conditioning — it's built around daily practice, horsemanship, and repetition rather than a gym program. What is well documented is the influence of his father, Bill Sherwood, who raised his sons to rope daily regardless of weather, a habit Matt has carried into how he now teaches roping schools and mentors younger cowboys like Hunter Koch and Trey Yates.
Personal Life
Sherwood and his wife, Kim, have seven children together and, as of recent years, multiple grandchildren, including their first grandson, Houston, born to eldest daughter Megan Knight. A second grandson, Denver, was born in March 2018 during that year's RodeoHouston run — timing Sherwood has joked about, given how much time the sport keeps him on the road.
He's a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and has spoken openly about tithing 10 percent of his rodeo winnings, including his six-figure Houston payday in 2018. He served an LDS mission in Melbourne, Australia, before marrying Kim, who served her own mission in South Dakota.
Official Social Media Profiles
Sherwood maintains a presence through Team Roping Journal's coverage and instructional platforms rather than a single dominant personal account. His name and career are actively featured on Roping.com, where he appears alongside fellow world champions Jake Barnes and Trevor Brazile in instructional content.
Legacy
What makes Sherwood's career worth writing about isn't just two gold buckles — plenty of ropers have that many or more. It's the shape of the career around them. He didn't chase rodeo full-time until his mid-thirties, won two world titles within three years of going all-in, then kept competing into his fifties against ropers young enough to be his kids.
Along the way he's become one of the sport's more visible teachers, passing along technique to a new generation through Hunter Koch, Trey Yates, and the roping schools he runs across the country. In an event where careers are often measured in a handful of years, Sherwood's has spanned three decades.
Interesting Facts
- Sherwood didn't compete full-time in rodeo until he was 36 years old.
- He owned and ran a flooring and tile business in Queen Creek, Arizona, for roughly ten years before selling it in 2006.
- He bought his championship head horse, Nickolas, as a yearling for just $600.
- Nickolas started his career as a heel horse in the Turquoise Circuit before being converted to a head horse.
- Sherwood's first cousin is Cody Hancock, the 2000 PRCA World Champion Bull Rider.
- He won his first world title on the very last steer of the entire 2006 season, needing a 4.2-second run or better.
- He served an LDS mission in Melbourne, Australia, before marrying his wife, Kim.
- He's a father of seven and, as of recent years, a multiple-time grandfather.
- In 2019, at age 50, he partnered with 22-year-old Hunter Koch — a 28-year age gap between roping partners.
- He tithes 10 percent of his rodeo winnings to his church, including a $56,000 payday at RodeoHouston in 2018.
- He was the toughest childhood competition for future rough-stock legend Ty Murray, according to Team Roping Journal's oral history of Arizona ropers.
- He was named Canadian Team Roping Header of the Year in 2019, in addition to his PRCA world titles.
Frequently Asked Questions
What event does Matt Sherwood compete in?
Matt Sherwood is a team roper who works the header position, meaning he ropes the steer's horns first before his heeler partner ropes the hind legs.
How many world titles has Matt Sherwood won?
He's won two PRCA World Championships in team roping heading, in 2006 and 2008, both alongside partner Randon Adams.
Where is Matt Sherwood from?
He grew up in Snowflake, Arizona, and now lives in Pima, Arizona.
What did Matt Sherwood do before rodeo full-time?
He owned and operated a flooring and tile business in Queen Creek, Arizona, for about a decade before selling it in 2006 to compete full-time.
Who has Matt Sherwood roped with as partners?
His most prominent partnership was with heeler Randon Adams, alongside whom he won both world titles. He's also roped with Walt Woodard, Quinn Kesler, Hunter Koch, and Trey Yates at various points in his career.
Is Matt Sherwood still competing?
As of his most recently reported world standings appearances, he was still actively competing on the PRCA circuit into his fifties, while also teaching roping schools and mentoring younger ropers.
Conclusion
Very few world champions have taken a path quite like Matt Sherwood's. Instead of chasing rodeo full-time from his early twenties, he spent years building a flooring business before betting everything on the arena at age 36. That gamble paid off with two PRCA world championships, multiple Wrangler NFR qualifications, and a career that has stretched well into his fifties.
Add in the remarkable story of his $600 horse Nickolas becoming a Horse of the Year, and it's easy to see why Sherwood is remembered as one of team roping's most inspiring late-blooming champions. Which part of Matt Sherwood's journey stands out to you the most—his unlikely road to two gold buckles, his partnership with Randon Adams, or his longevity as both a competitor and mentor?
If you've watched Matt Sherwood compete, attended one of his roping clinics, or know a memorable story from his career that deserves a mention, share it in the comments below—firsthand experiences and additional details are always welcome.