It was a $147,000 day for the Idaho and Utah boys.
Rayson Hillman of Dayton, Idaho, and Colter Buttars of Lewiston, Utah, topped the leaderboard in the #14.5 Zesterra Finale at the Ariat World Series of Team Roping Finale, stopping the clock at 28.68 seconds on four head to win $147,000.
Coming from the third high callback, the 21- and 20-year-olds finished strong with a 7.48-second short round to clinch the victory in front of friends and family in South Point's red seats.
"On our short-round steer, I wanted to get my horse as high as I could," Buttars said. "I knew he wasn't going to miss the corner, but I wanted to heel that one a little faster and have a chance to win it."
To reach the short round, they laid down runs of 7.11, 6.56 and 7.48 seconds.
"The cows were all good in the first arena," Hillman said. "We just drew a good one and used him."
The pair laughed about early miscommunication but found their rhythm quickly.
"I beat him to the cow by a long ways," Hillman joked.
"He said he didn't see me until I threw," Buttars replied with a grin.
Their best run came in Arena 2, where Hillman's start made all the difference.
"He was right on top of the barrier, and it slowed the cow down," Buttars said. "It turned out to be a good one."
By Arena 3, they had their timing dialed in.
"He kind of whipped the third one, but kept the cow's head," Buttars joked. "Somehow I caught."
"After our week in Arizona, I told him the last two days I was just going to go catch 'em," Hillman said. "I ride a really fast head horse, so that makes it easy, but my plan was just to catch every cow."
After entering six times together in Arizona without a paycheck, this win meant even more.
Hillman credited Casanova Prince, his 6-year-old gray gelding, for his speed.
"He doesn't score very good, but he's fast," Hillman said.
Buttars relied on Docs Hickory Bliss "Georgie," his 7-year-old bay gelding.
"He's plain and simple and doesn't mess up very often," Buttars said.
From the desert to Las Vegas, the young team proved that persistence—and a good set of horses—can turn things around in a big way.
