Tapadero is owned by David and Gayla Jones.  David grew up in Llano, Texas and has roped his entire life.  He is currently a roping instructor and houseparent at Miracle Farm, a Christian boy’s ranch where the boys are required to learn to team rope, in Brenham, TX.

The Story of Tapadero

Tapadero is a reproduction of an old rodeo toy, ‘Little Red’.  One rainy afternoon David was trying to entertain the 6 teenage boys that live with him and his wife at Miracle Farm.  The boys were getting rowdy indoors and David was trying to think of things for them to do, and he remembered a toy he used to play with when he was their age, Little Red.  He wondered what ever happened to the toy and thought it would be a great tool for his boys to use.  A few days passed and David was still thinking about Little Red.  He called the man who used to make it and asked if he had any lying around that he could send to the boys at Miracle Farm. The man said he would be happy to send some old Little Red’s to the boys.  So, David received them in the mail and the boys loved them.

 Little Red was no longer being produced, and hadn’t been in production for about 25 years.  This made David think…Little Red would really be useful for today’s roper.  Over the next few weeks, David and the man who originally made Little Red talked several times, which resulted in David purchasing the mold and Patent for Little Red.  Since then, David has changed the name of the product to Tapadero and is producing them in several different colors.  A few other small modifications have been made to the product, only to make it easier and more user friendly.  The boys at Miracle Farm still enjoy roping the little foot dummy anywhere and anytime, not just on a rainy day.

 Tapadero is now bigger than just a little foot dummy to rope.  Its purposes are to help spread the Good News through the Scriptures on the back of it, and to help promote the ministry of Miracle Farm.  David and Gayla believe in the importance of the ministry of Miracle Farm, and that is why a portion of all sales will go back into Miracle Farm as a seed.  If you have a boy in need of Christian guidance or know of someone who does, please visit the Miracle Farm website at www.miraclefarm.org.

Click here to learn more about the Tapadero foot roping dummies!