"It was really first or first aid," said Weatherford, Texas' Ty Crouch as he sat down with announcers Ben Clements and Dru Stewart at the Priefert sports desk, center stage at the Ariat WSTR Finale XV. "The money part doesn't really seem real yet."
Crouch came back high call in the YETI #10.5 Finale with long-time friend and roping partner Clay Dan Alexander to the tune of $326,000.
"I thought we drew good all day," said Crouch, who was in Las Vegas with his wife, Kristi, and 10-year-old son, Tex. "We talked about just making our same run that we do at the house. We practice a lot together—we've known each other a long time. We kind of capitalized and didn't make any mistakes."
"I kind of changed some things up on our first one and it worked." Alexander added. "I rode a little higher, shot a little lower. I kind of missed my dally there in the short round—it was that or sacrifice a thumb or a pointer."
Crouch and Alexander had 11 seconds to keep the lead and completed the course with an 8.66-second run for a total time of 32.72 on four head.
"We didn't talk much about the roping," Crouch said. "The first three, nothing was super-fast. Everything was feeling so good, we didn't really need to talk about it. There's always one you have to get by, but I don't think we had that today.'
A gas plant operator and rancher, Alexander will be putting the money to good use.
"The universe definitely provides," said the father of two, soon to be three, as he fastened his Gist trophy buckle to his belt.
Alexander was riding Smartmagicalmoment, an own son of Smart Little Lena. He purchased "Diddler" five years ago, just before starting a family with his wife, Mattie.
"I figured it might be a while before I could get another really good one," he explained.
"Four 8's is really what we were after today," said Crouch, who was riding a 12-year-old gelding he calls Oro—the horse he credits for his success in the roping pen.
This was the first Finale short round for both Texans who qualified together in Stephenville, Texas, in July.
"We roped in the #10 [Finale] in 2016 and had no luck then," Alexander said. "I think I would tell someone to enter up, max out. It can get you down, but it also gives you time to come back."
