For Warrenton resident Clayton Rivet, a shared passion for his family’s love of livestock took some time to develop.At age 10, he was still more into riding motorcycles than horses, but that would soon change on a drastic level. Rivet, now 17, had the opportunity five years ago to rope a dummy calf at a friend’s Beaufort home and was intrigued by the challenge. Today he is at the top of his game as a champion calf roper.“When you’re in the box, you get tunnel vision. You nod your head and the gates bang open — it’s an all-out adrenaline rush,” said Rivet, who has since ventured into the high school rodeo circuit.His most recent accomplishment landed him a trip to the national competition in Gillette, Wyo., where he has spent the past few weeks. Breaking through to that elite level was not easy, but it was certainly rewarding.“You get to meet a lot more people,” said Rivet. “Going out there helps you really get your name out there for sponsors, and it always makes it easier when you have help from sponsors. It’s a big arena and the stock is harder.”Used to performing in front of an average of maybe 2,500 people, Rivet will be seen by as many as 15,000 spectators in Wyoming.“You have to get used to the pressure of performing in front of a lot of people,” said Rivet.Rivet reached Nationals by qualifying at the state finals. He and his partner, Colten Kopp, separated themselves from the competition in the points system by completing crisp, clean runs on each of the three nights.“I just knew I had to make a businessman run and lay down a time that was going to get good points,” explained Rivet. “We ended up winning and that put us ahead of the team that was behind us by a lot, since they ended up having a rough night. That gave us some good separation to move on.”Rivet spends countless hours practicing his trade in the family’s arena behind their home in northern Warren County.“If it’s dry, I’m out in the arena,” said Rivet. “There’s nights when I can’t sleep that I’ll go out and practice at 1 in the morning. It’s a full-time job for me.”Rivet is the header for the time, while Kopp serves as the healer, roping the calves, hind legs. The timing and precision needed to execute a clean run takes hundreds of hours to perfect.“His previous partner was a senior and my partner was a senior,” said Rivet. “So we started roping together all last summer and seemed to work really good.”Rivet says he plans to hit the practice pen as much as possible to prepare himself for the next big challenge that awaits.Calf-roping