American Rodeo Contender Tournament Finals
Globe Life Field. Arlington, TX
March 9th, 2023
Gold Buckles and Brothers: The Contenders are set
to rope in the American Rodeo
The Contender Tournament concluded with five-gold
buckles, a pair of brothers, and a past American team roping champion advancing
into the American Rodeo. The unique arena setup in the Globe Life Field, which
happens to resemble home plate from a birds-eye view, had a northside CowTown
feel in the team roping.
The setup was short and fast with the Priefert
Chute right in the dead center of the pen and the boxes directly in front of
and below the huge elevated "A" stage. The Contender field of players ranged
from Highschool rodeo champions to past Timed Event winners. The ultimate goal
is the Saturday performance of the American, where a possible $1.1 million
bucks could be theirs, but the steer right in front of them still held a
fifteen thousand dollar paycheck attached to it. This is where the mind comes
in. "Do we rope to win or do we rope to advance?" It was very apparent that
this exact question was on the minds of the contenders.
"I'm getting around a little better finally."
Said World Champion, 2021 American Champion, and 2022 Timed Event Champion Erich Rogers who just got done
competing at this year's Ironman at the Lazy E Arena. "I was pretty sore for a
few days but Paul (Eaves) and I are ready for tonight."
The teams that made it this far in the tournament
were a mix of sixth through twentieth in last year's PRCA standings plus
qualifying teams the roped at the Ariat World Series of Team Roping American
Rodeo Contender Tournament semi-finals qualifiers throughout the year. Erich
and Paul won the Buckeye, AZ WSTR in November then placed 4th at the Western
Regional Finals in Heber City, UT with a 4.83 and put together a run of 4.2
which earned them $6,250 and a shot at the American's $1M on Saturday night.
No surprise, Clay Smith and Jake long bested the
field with a 3.96, cashing a check for
$15,250. NFR All-Around man, Rhen Richard and the bearded World Champion
Jeremy Buhler placed second with a 3.98 earning $10,250. Paul and Erich placed
third while the Nebraska brothers, Cooper and Tucker White clocked in with a
4.23 for fourth and the last hole was won with a leg by Brenten Hall and past
American Champion, Payden Bray with a 9.34.
The roping was riddled with surprises like past
BFI Champions Chris Francis and Cade Passig exiting without stopping the clock.
Jeff Hilton and Zane Bruce only had to be 9.33 or better to qualify for the
million-dollar round and it seemed like a couple of extra swings changed the
complexion of their run which ended up being too far down the pen plus a leg.
With this much money on the line, it is a roper's
razor's edge to ride: Do we push or do we back off a little and make the layup?
The problem is, sometimes the absolute hardest thing to do, even at the open
level, is simply catch.
Now the top ten has been set for the American
and the Ariat WSTR team ropers have a great chance at taking home the $1M
American Contender bonus. The ten teams that will battle it out are sure to
make for some great team roping action. You can follow the entire American
rodeo on Teton Ridge+ app or by simply logging in to http://www.tetonplus.com
Header: Erich Rogers
Heeler Paul Eaves
