The ice water that runs through Lari Dee Guy’s veins came—without a doubt—from her mother, Mary Guy, 74, who passed away Friday, Jan. 19, 2024, in Abilene.
And, just two days later, in true Guy fashion, Lari Dee loaded her horse, Rex, and longtime friend Rodie Goodwin jumped in the truck, and they made the trek from Abilene to Fort Worth for her first calf of the year.
“Hope (Thompson) and her parents followed us in the car,” Lari Dee said. “We stopped and got Jackie (Crawford) and the kids, and Cheyenne, and they helped me get everything situated. Roping that night wasn’t the hard part. It’s just what we do. The hard part was getting out of the arena, knowing how proud she was that I was there and that I actually did well.”
Her rope broke from the horn in 2.5 seconds, good enough for third place and $1,000 check and a shot to make a good run in Round 2 to qualify back to the semifinals in Fort Worth’s tournament-style format.
“The second night, my brother Tommy and his son Tegan went, and Jackie and Charly came and helped, and I had great bull dogger pushers,” Lari Dee said. “The thing about it was, whether I won or lost, Tegan was standing with me the whole time and was right behind the box, and that made my mom more proud than anything.”
The flag fell on her run in 2.0, winning the $2,000 in day-money and advancing her as the champion of her set with $3,000 won so far (also advancing: Joey Williams and Madison Outhier to the Wild Card Round).
“Turning out never crossed my mind from the day my mom went in the hospital in December until the day of Fort Worth,” Lari Dee said. “I turned out of everything else, but my mom’s favorite rodeo was Fort Worth. She was adamant about me going no matter what. I said I won’t let her down, I’d be there.”
Lari Dee will come back in the second semifinals in Fort Worth on Feb. 2, and in the meantime, she’s got funeral business to tend to, with friends and family coming from far and wide to bid their farewells to Mary, who lived BIG over 74 years on this planet, living her life as the gold-standard in rodeo moms.
“For all the stories about how tough mom was, she just loved her people,” Guy said. “She loved to take care. My whole life, my mom, this was her ranch. She gave us 10,000 acres, and she provided. My mom grew up fortunate, and her lifestyle after that was nothing like that. But she did everything she could do to help us. She’d eat a bologna sandwich so we could do what we wanted to do. Tee Woolman, Rich Skelton, Leo Camarillo, they all came through here. Of course, Super Looper (Roy Cooper)—it wasn’t just my crew today. It goes all the way back. She’s opened her door and her arena to everyone.”
That will be evident at Mary’s private burial Thursday morning, as ‘Mary’s boys’ lay her in the ground: Trevor Brazile, Shawn Mitchell, Logan Harkey, Josh Espenhover, Layne Ingle, Ty McClary, Bryan Whiteaker and Rodie Goodwin. After that, the family had to rent out the massive Taylor County Fairgrounds to host Mary’s Celebration of Life.
“My good friends ShaDee (Langston) and King (Josh Espenhover) have been getting the arena ready for me every day, and every day, I have the opportunity to rope if I want to,” Lari Dee said. “Right now I haven’t had the chance to do it, but I know she’d get on me pretty good if, when all the dust settles, I’m not back at it. I’d be in trouble.”
Mary was invested in Lari Dee’s rodeo career—proud of the world titles but more proud of her impact on the youth and future of the sport.
“I told my mom we’d just see what came of this year, rodeo-wise,” Lari Dee explained. “We’d see how it all panned out. If it was meant to be, I’d rodeo, if it’s meant to be for me to come back and take care of the ranch, I’ll do that. I’m thankful and blessed for the opportunities I’ve had, and if I get the opportunity to go, good. If I don’t, I’m satisfied.”
In lieu of flowers, Mary would love nothing more than a donation to the Justin Cowboy Crisis Fund in her memory.
