Yee Haw to the first Deaf roper

"Georgia cowboy Clint Thomas is one of 15 tie-down ropers who qualified for the International Finals Rodeo."
http://newsok.com/deaf-roper-comfortable-in-the-world-of-rodeo/article/3432727

International Finals Rodeo brings some of the toughest ropers in the world to its rodeo. It is an initiation-only which means you have to earn your spot by competing in other competitions. Some get an automatic invitation by winning a competition. Some others get invited as wild cards. (Almost like NCAA and such).

Additionally, the rodeo offers several events:

• Bareback Bronc Riding => the rider gets on the saddle-free horse and holds onto the rope while the horse will try to throw the rider off. 
• Steer Wrestling => also known as bulldogging, is a rodeo event in which a horse-mounted rider chases a steer, drops from the horse to the steer (male calf), then wrestles the steer to the ground by twisting its horns.
• Saddle Bronc Riding => same as Bareback Bronc Riding, but the rider is sitting on a saddle. 
• Team Roping => also known as heading and heeling is a rodeo event that features a steer and two mounted cowboys or cowgirls. The first roper is referred to as the "header," the person who ropes the front of the steer, usually around the horns; the second is the "heeler," who ropes the steer by its hind feet. 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.
• Tie-down Roping => also known as calf roping that features a calf and a rider mounted on a horse. The goal of this timed event is for the rider to catch the calf by throwing a loop of rope from a lariat around its neck, dismount from the horse, run to the calf, and restrain it by tying three legs together, in as short a time as possible.
• Cowgirls Barrel Racing => a horse and rider attempt to complete a clover-leaf pattern around preset barrels in the fastest time.
• Bull Riding => a rider gets on on a large bull and attempting to stay mounted for at least 8 seconds while the animal attempts to throw off the rider.

Clint Thomas is the 2009 IPRA Rookies of the Year in Tie-Down Roping. 

Congratulations, Clint Thomas.