2012 USTRC ‘Heart of Texas’ Championships

By Ben Clements
Special To Ropers Sports News

     Waco, Texas is the home of the Heart of Texas Championships. The event took place January 13-15, 2012 and was held at the Extraco Events Center. Ropers from all over made their way to Waco to compete at the great USTRC event.
     The roping action began with the Open Division.  Luke Brown from Morgan Mill, Texas and Brad Culpepper from Poulan, Georgia were the high team back. They caught their final steer in 7.20 seconds to bring their five steer total to 33.99 seconds. That time gave them first place in the average. They won $4,844, trophy Gist spurs and 10 points for the Priefert US Open Tour.  Second place went to Chace Thompson and Tee Luttrell with a time of 34.36 seconds on five steers. The third place finishers were Keven Daniel and Chase Tryan. Cory Smothers and Clay Schneider won the incentive average.
     Caleb Smidt from Yorktown, Texas and his partner Jesy Austin from Flen Flora, Texas were the sixth call back to the short round. They posted a time of 6.49 seconds bringing their total on five steers to 36.40 seconds. That time gave them first place and paid them $7,690, trophy Gist spurs and $6,000 in USTRC Flex Earnings. Second place went to Cory Smothers and Clay Schneider and third place was Shane Williams and Austin.  
     Jason Nelson from Decatur, Texas drew into the the #13 Division and drew up with partner Kody Beach from Bryan, Texas. The team was high team back and finished the roping in first place with a time of 36.52 seconds on five steers. Second place in the roping was Lighting Aguilera from Athens, Texas and Wesley Thorp from Throckmorton, Texas. They won $5,435 plus $6,000 in USTRC Flex Earnings.  Third place was Casey Rice and Jesy Austin and fourth place went to Austin Robertson and Marcus Becerra.  

     The last roping of the day was the #12 Division. Tanner Green from Cotulla, Texas and Ty Arnold from Midway, Texas were the fourth call back to the short round. They roped their final steer in 8.45 seconds and took their four head total to 33.10 seconds. They had already won the incentive average and were guaranteed $800 and trophy Gist buckles plus they were in the lead of the roping until the high team back roped. Rebecca Neuhaus from Huntsville, Texas and Bobby Simmons from Breckenridge, Texas were high team and finished the roping with a time of 32.17 seconds on four steers.  That gave them first place and paid them $7,328, trophy Martin saddles and $6,000 in USTRC Flex Earnings. Green and Arnold won $4,886 and $6,000 in USTRC Flex Earnings. The third place team was Wesley Troyer and Dylan Powell, while Cooper Robertson and Tyler Sieber finished in fourth place.   
     The #12 Gold Plus was the roping for Salado, Texas heeler Darin Chick. He had three call backs to the short round. His first attempt came with partner Lari Dee Guy from Abilene, Texas. They were 39.27 seconds on four and took the lead of the roping until Chick roped again.  This time with Jackie Hobbs from Stephenville, Texas. After a run of 7.77 seconds Hobbs and Chick took the lead with a time of 36.42 seconds n four steers. Chick’s final attempt in the short round came at the second call back position with Quinten Andrews from Lampasas, Texas. They made an 8.74 second run on the final steer and took the lead with a total time of 34.19 seconds on four steers. There was one team to rope, and it was a good one.  Sloan Kuehl from Mart, Texas was heading for Stuart Lenoir from Grosbeck, Texas.  They had roped consistent and outstanding all morning and just needed one more good run to cinch the average title.  They posted a time of 7.75 seconds in the short round and finished up with a four steer total of 31.89 seconds. That time gave them first place in the average.  The pair won $3,958, trophy Gist buckles and $6,000 in USTRC Flex Earnings. Chick rode out of the arena with second, third, fourth and a big smile on his face. Clint Herrin and Phil Doss won the incentive average and the winners of the Century Bonus was Wallace Townsend and Mike Macy.  
     Clay Rathkamp from LaVernia, Texas teamed up with Lucas Marbach from Victoria, Texas to claim first place in the #11 Division. They were 7.17 seconds on their final steer to finish the roping with a time of 32.69 seconds on four steers.  The win paid them $8,672, trophy Martin saddles and $6,000 in USTRC Flex Earnings. Second place was Jim Fletcher and Riley Williams and third place was Josh Palmer and Jim Bynum. The team of Preston Tatum and Egan Boschee won the incentive average.
     The #10 Division provided an exciting conclusion to the second day of team roping at the Heart of Texas Championships. Thirty teams came back to rope for more than $53,000 plus all the prizes.  Dale Detten from Paige, Texas and Mark Manning from Normangee, Texas were fourth call back and roped their final steer in 9.76 seconds and finished the roping with a time of 36.74 seconds on four steers. That time landed them in first place. They won $10,146, trophy Martin saddles and $6,000 in USTRC Flex Earnings. Second place in the roping was Donnie Lee and Jackie Hobbs. They won $6,340 and $6,000 in USTRC Flex Earnings. The third place team was Cody Kyle and Blake Wheeler and fourth place was Brian Uptmore and Gary Campos. The incentive winners were Stacy Kropik and Ryan Fleming.
     The final day of team roping at the Heart of Texas Championships began with the #9 Division. Team ropers from all over came to compete for over $66,000 in cash alone. Dave Roberts from Ft. Worth, Texas and Larry Thaggard from Wichita Falls, Texas teamed qualified to the short round in the second call back position. They caught their final steer in 7.52 seconds and finished the roping with a time of 34.44 seconds on four steers. That time gave them first place in the average.  They won $12,942 in cash, trophy Martin saddles and $6,000 in USTRC Flex Earnings. Second place went to Keiston Gatson from Fairfield, Texas and Montrel Gilder from Dallas, Texas.  They earned $8,090 and $6,000 in USTRC Flex Earnings. Third place was Grant Turnbow and Matt Thornton and fourth was Chris Lobban and Jason Jurcik.  The incentive winners were Jake Wagner and Bo McCraw.
     Daniel Valek from Ennis, Texas and Blaine Greener from Sealy, Texas were the high team back in the #8 Pick/Draw.  They won the roping and took home $5,964, trophy Martin saddles, and $6,000 in USTRC Flex Earnings. Second place in the roping was the team of Chris Maddox and Mark Hancock. They received $3,728, trophy Gist buckles and $6,000 in USTRC Flex Earnings. The third place finishers were Tate Elston and Shane Hill. They won $2,982, trophy Gist buckles, and $6,000 in USTRC Flex Earnings.

Winners of the #15 roping were Caleb Smidt and Jesy Austin.
(Allen’s Rodeo Photos)

     Results through 10th in the average are as follows (payoffs are per team). For complete results go to www.ustrc.com.
OPEN ROPING (total payout $18,209).
Average: 1st. Luke Brown and Brad Culpepper, 33.99, $4,844. 2nd. Chace Thompson and Tee Luttrell, 34.36, $3,633. 3rd. Keven Daniel and Chase Tryan, 35.31, $2,422. 4th. Quincy Kueckelhan and Dakota Kirchenschlager, 35.67, $1,210.
Overall FT: 1st. Quincy Kueckelhan and Dakota Kirchenschlager, 4.80, $910.
#15 HANDICAP (total payout $25,610).
Average: 1st. Caleb Smidt and Jesy Austin, 36.40, $7,690 + $6,000 Flex. 2nd. Cory Smothers and Clay Schneider, 37.15, $5,126 + $6,000 Flex. 3rd. Shane Williams and Jesy Austin, 38.66, $4,058 + $2,000 Flex. 4th. Twister Vinson and Clay Schneider, 39.99, $2,990 + $2,000 Flex. 5th. Heath Kocurek and Austin Santikos, 41.73, $1,496 + $2,000 Flex. 6th. Jeffrey Pridgen and Cade Rice, 41.90, $600 + $2,000 Flex. 7th. Clay Lewis and Djalma Lima, 43.20, $600. 8th. Daniel Braddock and Kent Shankles, 46.21, $600. 9th. Jim Young and Kolby Miller, 46.47, $600. 10th. Chance Savage and Cooper Vandiver, 29.09, $600.
Overall FT: 1st. Clay Lewis and Jeff Hilton, 4.85, $750. 2nd. Jesse Harville and Hanner Caudle, 5.26, $500.
#12 ROPING (total payout $29,482).
Average: 1st. Rebecca Neuhaus and Bobby Simmons, 32.17, $7,328 + $6,000 Flex. 2nd. Tanner Green and Ty Arnold, 33.10, $4,886 + $6,000 Flex. 3rd. Wesley Troyer and Dylan Powell, 34.31, $3,776 + $2,000 Flex. 4th. Cooper Robertson and Tyler Sieber, 35.00, $2,666 + $2,000 Flex. 5th. Junior Orefice and Rick Rosaschi, 35.76, $1,998 + $2,000 Flex. 6th. Craig Stafford and Kody Beach, 40.22, $1,554 + $2,000 Flex. 7th. Fred Elms and Steve Henderson Jr., 40.60, $600. 8th. Garett Chick and Dakota Shipp, 42.04, $600. 9th. Clint Buckland and Santiago DeLaCruz, 46.51, $400. 10th. Junior Cervates Jr. and Omar Alvarado, 24.16 on 3, $400.
Overall FT: 1st. Wesley Troyer and Corey Bader, 5.41, $884. 2nd. Chase Elder and Tanner Caudle, 5.77, $590.
CENTURY BONUS (total payout $800).
Average: 1st. Wallace Town-send and Mike Macy, 32.17, $800.
#11 ROPING (total payout $38,218).
Average: 1st. Clay Rathkamp and Lucas Marbach, 32.69, $8,672 + $6,000 Flex. 2nd. Jim Fletcher and Riley Williams, 33.15, $5,492 + $6,000 Flex. 3rd. Josh Palmer and Jim Bynum, 33.46, $3,758 + $6,000 Flex. 4th. Carl Marsh and Jesse Wofford, 35.17, $3,180 + $2,000 Flex. 5th. Bill Crossan and Caleb Sanders, 36.83, $2,602 + $2,000 Flex. 6th. Rees Cash Taylor and Danny Trowbridge Jr., 39.64, $2,312 + $2,000 Flex. 7th. Logan Colbert and Kelly Spikes, 43.15, $1,734 + $2,000 Flex. 8th. Dylan Pugh and Cody Garrett, 43.24, $1,156 + $2,000 Flex. 9th. Richard Chaves Jr. and Sam Massey, 43.29, $600. 10th. Randy Gaydos and Corey Bader, 44.31, $600.
Overall FT: 1st. Alicia Stockton and Coleby Payne, 6.17, $956. 2nd. Wade Almon and Trent Spivey, 6.42, $574. 3rd. Jody Judson and Cody Gantt, 6.49, $382.
#10 ROPING (total payout $53,760).
Average: 1st. Dale Detten and Mark Manning, 36.74, $10,146 + $6,000 Flex 2nd. Donnie Lee and Jackie Hobbs, 36.76, $6,340 + $6,000 Flex. 3rd. Cody Lane Kyle and Blake Wheeler, 37.91, $5,072 + $6,000 Flex. 4th. Brian Uptmore and Gary Campos, 38.59, $3,594 + $6,000 Flex. 5th. Drew Elliott and Cody Hancock, 38.59, $3,594 + $6,000 Flex. 6th. Carl Marsh and Doyne Wofford, 38.97, $2,960 + $2,000 Flex. 7th. Will Rosser and Cody Atherton, 39.10, $2,536 + $2,000 Flex. 8th. Buck Mallette and Blake Wheeler, 39.25, $2,114 + $2,000 Flex. 9th. Michael Bailey and David Fletcher, 39.41, $1,690 + $2,000 Flex. 10th. Stacy Kropik and Ryan Fleming, 39.47, $1,690 + $2,00 Flex.
Overall FT: 1st. Todd Parish and Ricky Hibbeler, 6.55 $1,076. 2nd. Steven Blain and Dylon Garcia, 6.90, $806 + $2,000 Flex. 3rd. Charles Quinn and David Fallin, 6.95, $538. 4th. Caleb Ford and Carter Gurrola, 6.98, $268.
#13 HANDICAP (total payout $30,212).
Average: 1st. Jason Nelson and Kody Beach, 36.52, $8,152 + $6,000 Flex. 2nd. Lighting Aguilera and Wesley Thorp, 41.78, $5,434 + $6,000 Flex. 3rd. Casey Rice and Jesy Austin, 41.91, $4,200 + $2,000 Flex. 4th. Austin Robertson and Marcus Becerra, 43.93, $2,964 + $2,000 Flex. 5th. Brody Bellett and Kolby Miller, 44.46, $2,222 + $2,000 Flex. 6th. Bodee Gist and Shaun Berry, 46.22, $1,730 + $2,000 Flex. 7th. Ike Jackson Jr. and Travis Hobbs, 47.04, $600. 8th. Robby Vosburg and Jeremy West, 48.23, $600. 9th. Junior Orefice and Rick Rosaschi, 48.98, $400. 10th. Jackie Hobbs and Rick Rosaschi, 54.39, $400.
Overall FT: 1st. Houston Jinks and Clay Sieber, 5.68, $906. 2nd. Chance Savage and Rhett Wilson, 5.99, $604.
#12 GOLD PLUS (total payout $20,144).
Average: 1st. Sloan Kuehl and Stuart Lenoir, 31.89, $3,958 + $3,000 Flex. 2nd. Quinten Andrews and Darin Chick, 34.19, $2,640 + $3,000 Flex. 3rd. Jackie Hobbs and Darin Chick, 36.42, $2,090 + $3,000 Flex. 4th. Lari Dee Guy and Darin Chick, 39.27, $1,540. 5th. Bill Crossan and Monty Jacobs, 43.76, $770. 6th. Al Magg and Jackie Hobbs, 43.88, $600. 7th. Phillip Dempsey and Monty Jacob, 44.22, $600. 8th. Mike Manore and Justin Concillio, 44.69, $400. 9th. Shane Boston and Jim Bynum, 44.94, $400. 10th. Andy Mahard and Seth Jordan, 45.54, $400.
Overall FT: 1st. Kenny Kuykendall and Dave Daube, 6.57, $604. 2nd. Sloan Kuehl and Stuart Lenoir, 7.05, $402.
#9 ROPING (total payout $66,032).
Average: 1st. Dave Roberts and Larry Thaggard, 34.44, $12,942 + $6,000 Flex. 2nd. Keiston Gatson and Montrel Gilder, 36.42, $8,090 + $6,000 Flex. 3rd. Grant Turnbow and Matt Thornton, 36.67, $6,472 + $6,000 Flex. 4th. Chris Lobban and Jason Jurcik, 37.47, $4,854 + $6,000 Flex. 5th. Jake Wagner and Bo McCraw, 38.01, $4,314 + $6,000 Flex. 6th. David Hammit and Alton Walker, 41.16, $3,776 + $2,000 Flex. 7th. Zane Murphy and Matt McDaniel, 41.69, $3,236 + $2,000 Flex. 8th. Jake Weaver and Cody Garrett, 42.03, $2,696 + $2,000 Flex. 9th. Kirby Hill and Dillon Brown, 43.05, 42,158 + $2,000 Flex. 10th. Donnie Clipper and Robert Clipper, 43.20, $2,158 + $2,000 Flex.
Overall FT: 1st. Jake Weaver and Cody Garrett, 6.78, $1,320. 2nd. Garret Miller and John Kirbow, 6.95, $990. 3rd. Todd Parish and Bill McElroy, 7.05, $660. 4th. Zane Murphy and Matt McDaniel, 7.15, $330.

Winners of the #12 roping were Rebecca Neuhaus and Bobby Simmons.
(Allen’s Rodeo Photos)

Winners of the #11 roping were Clay Rathkamp and Lucas Marbach.
(Allen’s Rodeo Photos)