From 24th call back all the way to the final
crowning moments the short round of the #14.5 Priefert division at the Ariat WSTR
Finale XV was solid and lightning fast—it wasn't until eighth call back that a
team suffered a single penalty. When 35-year-old David McCallister, Bosque
Farms, New Mexico and 36-year-old Pedro Maestas, Tome, New Mexico backed in the
box at second high call they had to go to work. It would require a 7.37-second
run to take them to the lead and a $150,000 pay day. They tied up their short
round steer in 6.58-seconds for a total time of 28.41 on four and officially
moved to first. It put the pressure on the high call team, who went out with a
no-time.
"In the short round we drew a good one and capitalized on
it," McCallister said. "I was so excited I was going to ride on out, and they
had to yell at me to stop and keep me there [for the victory lap] in case we
won."
"I was just looking at getting out and using the steer for
what he was," said Maestas who was riding his solid 16-year-old gelding, Peanut.
"My partner hasn't missed anything behind me all week, I just had to go catch.
It doesn't always work out, but it did today. We're just blessed to be here and
be able to do this."
It worked out the day before too. McCallister and Maestas headed
outdoors to the South Point Qualifiers produced by Mathews Land & Cattle
and secured the win in the #14.5 WSTR qualifier worth $21,670. In the outdoor pen
they had roped at team 70 and coincidentally they were team number 70 in the Priefert
#14.5 Finale as well. What's more, Tyler Tryan, Lipan, Texas and Denton Parish,
Mineral Wells, Texas had finished second behind them in the #14.5 outdoor qualifier
and were now sitting high call in the #14.5 Finale from seventh call back. It
was all the makings of a perfect story.
"I couldn't let an eighth grader beat us," McCallister
laughed. "We didn't have to talk about it. We just went out and did our jobs."
As a kid McCallister had predominately roped calves. When he
decided to start team roping, he turned to his long-time friend.
"We've known each other 25 years or so," he said. "Pedro was
one of the first guys who taught me to team rope about 10 years ago."
McCallister now owes some mount money to his 5-year-old
daughter, Brieley, whose horse he was riding. Fancy is a 12-year-old mare his
daughter uses as a barrel horse.
"I gave her $100 yesterday as mount money and told her to go
buy a new outfit," McCallister laughed. "Who knows what I'm going to owe her
now."
#14.5 Finale Results
Average
# Time Header Heeler Amount
1 28.41 David McCallister Pedro Maestas $150,000
2 29.21 Tyler Tryan Denton Parish $114,000
3 29.47 Jaxon Booth Colton Brittain $80,000
4 30.35 Radley Day Britt Williams $58,000
5 30.88 Bobby Baize Kevin Lozares $54,000
6 30.9 Micah Smith Levi Garcia $48,000
7 31.42 Kaden Profili Jayse Tettenhorst $40,000
8 31.64 John English James Gililland $34,000
9 32.01 Mason Johnson Billy Lam $28,000
10 32.03 Caroline Taylor Bode Baize $28,000
11 32.28 Rook Rawls Jory M Levy $20,000
12 32.39 Lee Griggs Kory Bramwell $20,000
13 32.69 Jimmy Ruiz Quisto Lopez $10,000
14 34.06 Michael Snooks Clancey Kreutzer $10,000
15 35.19 Isaac Gholson Daniel Reed $6,000
16 35.91 Ricky Gonzalez Romeo Moreno $6,000
17 21.11 Ken Matheson Daylan Frost $6,000
18 22.35 Carson Brown Jordan Allyn $6,000
19 23.67 Calvin H Taylor Calvin Taylor $6,000
20 23.8 Bobby Marsh Jake South $6,000
21 24.68 Luis A Azua JD Holland $6,000
22 24.71 Chick Wilfong Boogie Ray $6,000
23 25.09 Juan Gonzalez JR Gonzalez $6,000
24 25.24 Tico Aguilera Lightning Aguilera $6,000
Consolation Rot 1 Average
# Time Header Heeler Amount
1 19.53 Robert Pixley Justin DeLaGarza $10,500
2 20.77 Blake Bowler Cody Hall $8,500
3 21.04 Clint Cooper Jake Cobb $6,500
4 22.33 Denim Fletcher Dillon Graham $5,000
5 22.68 Milton Aguilera Coy Brittain $4,500
#14.5 Finale Results
Consolation Rot 2 Average
# Time Header Heeler Amount
1 20.62 Spunk Sasser Sam Morgan $10,500
2 20.91 Jake Barnes Glen Crane $8,500
3 21.28 Kyler Beshirs Sterlin English $6,500
4 21.51 Cole Carpenter Mike White $5,000
5 22.06 Casey Lambert Clay Elkington $4,500
Fast Time Rot 1
# Time Header Heeler Amount
1 5.64 Robert Pixley Justin DeLaGarza $6,000
Fast Time Rot 2
# Time Header Heeler Amount
1 5.83 Kyler Beshirs Sterlin English $6,000
