J.D. Yates

“J. D. Yates, he’s a roper.”

How many times have you heard that over the last, oh, 50 years or so?

“I am pleased to tell you just how much that statement falls short,” says American Quarter Horse Hall of Famer Bob Avila. “While J. D. Yates is one of the most recognized and well-liked people in our industry, most see him as ‘just a roper.’ I have known J. D. for well over 30 years. It was a long time ago that I asked a very talented young Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association roper if he would be interested in showing some AQHA rope horses. I had no idea at the time just what that would set in motion. Not only did J. D. accept my invitation, he took the Quarter Horse roping division by storm and has never looked back.”

A two-time college rodeo champion and the youngest cowboy to ever qualify for the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo, which he did at age 15, J. D. has won more than $1.6 million in professional rodeo, qualified for the NFR 21 times and the National Finals Steer Roping 13 times.

At age 14, J. D. started roping heels behind his dad, Dick Yates. The father and son spent many hours on the road, traveling to rodeos and jackpots. The days were long between competitions, keeping the horses tuned and ready to haul, and fitting time in for school. Through the years, the pair qualified for the NFR 11 separate times, including the year that the Yates duo became the Yates trio at the National Finals, when Dick and J. D. were roping together and J. D.’s sister, Kelly, qualified in barrel racing. J. D. shares his passion for roping with his son, Trey, a college rodeo champion who has qualified for the National Finals three times.

J. D. was also inducted into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame this year.

“When I started rodeoing, I didn't wake up that morning and say, 'I want to have a Hall of Fame of career,’”J. D. says. “I was blessed to do what I got to do. Anybody who says it isn’t a dream come true to get into that (ProRodeo Hall of Fame) is not telling the truth. For me to be put in with the people who are in there is a pretty amazing honor.”

What’s J. D.’s favorite win?

“The next one,” he says, every time he’s asked.

The next one begins at the Yates family’s Hitch Rack Performance Horses outside of Pueblo, Colorado.

It’s those family ties that put J. D. in the show pen. He still travels to select rodeos every year, but focusing on horse shows allows him to spend more time in the saddle and less time on the road.

So far in J. D.’s AQHA career, the 2004 AQHA Professional Horseman of the Year has garnered 47 world championships, 10 high-point senior horse of the year awards, eight high-point junior horse of the year awards and 10 leading open exhibitor of the year awards. He had a hand in the making of AQHA Superhorses Smoke Um Okie, Popular Resortfigure, RS Lilly Starlight, Chex This Dually and BFR Igniting Sparks.

J. D. carries a specialized judge’s card, has served on the AQHA Judges Committee and a number of task forces, and has recorded AQHA videos on roping and horsemanship.

J. D. also spent several years on AQHA Team Wrangler, participating in the activities, particularly at the AQHA World Championship Show, where he once rode a hunter-jumper to win the team competition.

“I can’t imagine anybody being more qualified than J. D. to be in the Hall of Fame, as far as his success in the arena and his contributions to the western industry as a whole,” says Trevor Brazile, the ProRodeo Hall of Famer who has scored a record 26 PRCA world titles. “With what he has done in the rodeo industry, as well as what he has been able to do in the horse show industry, he has had a really big impact on people like me who don’t want to just choose one direction or the other in this business. We feel like there can be horsemanship and winning and rodeo, and he proved that before anyone else. There have been a lot of guys who have been successful in one event or the other, but he was the one who paved the way to show it’s possible to do both.”

J. D. has also used his influence abroad, helping build the American Quarter Horse and the western way of life in South America.

“Mr. Yates was one of my first heroes as a kid growing up in Brazil, importing to our country great horses, great horsemanship and great roping,” says Junior Nogueira, the 2016 PRCA all-around cowboy, 2020 AQHA world champion header and 2021-22 PRCA world champion heeler. “He took the time to spread the foundation and finer points of his horse program to hundreds of ropers in Brazil, building the industry there with his exceptionalism.

“When I first came to the U. S., I looked to Mr. Yates as a leader here, as well,” Junior says. “I remember seeing him at the World Show when I came to work for Robbie Schroeder, and I paid attention to the way his horses worked and he carried himself. It was his example I tried to follow with my own horses.  Lastly, the family-first approach Mr. Yates has used throughout his career is an inspiration. The way they do everything together as a family has helped their horsemanship grow as a whole and has been a blueprint for the way I’d like to live my life, too.”

Trevor was influenced much the same.

“J. D. wasn’t just good with head horses or heel horses,” Trevor says. “He was a tie-down roper, he was a steer roper–he was so well-rounded, and that’s what brought me to be a J. D. fan in the beginning. I wanted to be an all-around cowboy, and that evolved into the horsemanship piece, as well. That’s why I always looked up to J. D.”

J. D. Yates. Roper. Horseman. Two-time Hall of Famer in the same year. He was inducted into the American Quarter Horse Hall of Fame in 2024. 

Biography updated as of July 2024.