He has taken a rather uncharted path to becoming on of the best calf ropers in the PRCA.
Meet Nate Baldwin a Wrangler NFR-bound cowboy who has a degree of finance on his wall, and a two-year missionary stint to Costa Rica on his resume.
Needless to say, the list of Spanish-speaking missionaries with a finance degree in professional rodeo is rather short. But Baldwin has proven that the unorthodox approach can be quite effective.
Baldwin capped his first rodeo of the 2003 season with a one-head, 8.1 second win a the Brawley (Calif.) Cattle Call Nov. 10. Baldwin�s time outdistanced second-place finisher Luke Branquinho, who roped and tied his calf in 10.5 seconds.
�He was an awesome calf,� Baldwin explained. Baldwin, of Rigby, Idaho, hopes to carry the momentum gained in California to Las Vega, where he will enter the Wrangler NFT as the 11th-ranked roper in the field.
�I had come down here after the Cow Palace to practice for the Finals,� said Baldwin, who is staying the friend and fellow roper Brian Arave in Hemet, Calif. �The weather in Idaho is cold, so I bought some calves and brought my horses down here.�
Like most athletes, Baldwin is reluctant to change his practicing habits between now and Dec. 6, when the Wrangler NFR kicks off.
�I�ll probably leave everything here and fly home for Thanksgiving, but then I�ll come back here to get ready,� Baldwin said. �It�s so much easier on my horses because they don�t have to go through the snow and cold.�
Considering his success in 2002, it�s hard to argue with an y of Baldwin�s judgments. He won $85,818 after finishing in the top 20 of the Jack Daniel�s World Standing sin 2001. He�s smart, confident and riding a talented horse, a 15-year-old sorrel appropriately named Piggy Bank.
Baldwin�s unusual trek actually began as a child, when he watched his dad, Nick, rope as a hobby. A national collegiate champion, Nick chose to stay at home and raise his nine kids rather than hit the rodeo road. He�s now a professor at a junior college in Idaho, and he is savoring every bit of his son�s success.
�He loves all of this,� Baldwin said. �And he�s really pumped about the Finals.�
Father Nick also must be pretty pumped by what his son ahs become. Three months after graduating from high school, Nate hopped a plane for a two-year stop in Costa Rica, where his ability to speak Spanish came in handy. He returned, attended junior college for two years and finished his education at Utah State.
�Going to Costa Rica really helped me in the rodeo business,� Baldwin said. �Our work was really goal-oriented. We would try to help so many people a day or do something specific that particular day. I really leaned to work.
�It was two of the best years of my life, and I wouldn�t trade them for anything. It was a different life, a third-world country, and there�s a lot of rough living when you get out of the cities. Staying in a horse trailer is perfectly fine with me.�
And so is winning.