Open team roping champions Jim Ross Cooper and Charly Crawford. (Lone Wolf Photo)
Spicer Gripp Memorial Team Roping
By Stephenie Wolf
Special To Ropers Sports News
HEREFORD, TX — Never settling for good enough, the production crew once again created not only one of the premier events of the year for ropers, but also for spectators. More people turned out to watch this year’s Spicer Gripp Memorial Roping than ever before and they definitely got their money’s worth.
The Spicer Gripp Memorial Roping draws the elite of the rodeo community to Hereford, Texas. For many of these men and women the event is an opportunity to pick up some cash on their way to the National Finals Rodeo in December, the Women’s Professional Rodeo Finals in October or the National Finals Steer Roping in November. The 2011 All Around World Champion cowboy, Trevor Brazile, and his partner, Patrick Smith competed against the 2011 World Champion Team Ropers, Turtle Powell and Jhett Johnson in the Open Team Roping. The cowboy currently sitting at the top of the Calf Roping standings, Justin Maas, wasn’t intimidated by the 2011 World Champion calf roper, Tuf Cooper, and Open Steer Roper, Cody Lee, is currently sitting at the top of the World Standings in that event.
The Ladies Open Team Roping roster was another who’s who of the WPRA standings. Those names alone are worth the price of admission, but fans also had the chance to watch over three dozen more cowboys currently fighting for a place at the big show in Vegas. The Spicer Gripp Memorial has been described as a mini NFR. That’s about right, only it is held in the very great state of Texas. The other difference, all the proceeds go to fund scholarships for kids – not in someone’s personal or corporate pocket. The Spicer Gripp Memorial is dedicated to investing in our future.
The Open Steer Roping kicked off the Spicer Gripp Memorial this year. Sixty cowboys entered the event and 15 took home checks. Some of the 15 even pocketed two or three checks. The total payout including the $15,000 added money for the Open Steer Roping was $58,500. Each cowboy had the chance to rope three steers and the top 12 were invited back to the short go on Sunday. Each round paid four places. $4,254 went to first, $3,191 to second, $2,127 to third, and $1,064 to fourth in the round. Guys played it a bit safe in the first round. Marty Jones collected the monies for first in the round by tying his steer in 12.92 seconds – less than a blink of an eye faster than Shorty Garten who tied his steer in 12.93 seconds for second in the first round. Third went to Cody Lee for a time of 13.26 seconds and fourth to Rick Kieckhefer for his time of 14 seconds flat. In the second round of the Open Steer Roping four different ropers won the money. The pace was quicker as some of the guys going out of the average in the first round made a run for the day money. Randy Wells, Scot Snedecor, Brent Lewis, and Leo Campbell won first, second, third and fourth respectively. The times in the second round tightened up. Randy Wells won first by tying his steer in 11.30 seconds while Leo Campbell was fourth with his time of 11.88 seconds – a difference of little over half of second. If that wasn’t impressive enough for the fans in the stands, the third round was even quicker. Chad Herron made the fastest run in the Open Steer Roping in the third round. His time of 10.92 earned him first in the round, but Walter Priestley’s second place time of 10.99 seconds was notable as well. Scot Snedecor collected his second check of the day for placing third in the round. Scot’s time was 11.31 seconds. Rob Denny rounded out the winners in the third round. Rob tied his steer in 11.77 seconds. Checks were also presented to the four fastest cowboys in the Short Go. Guys played it safe once again, their minds on the average money. In the end the fast time in the short go and the average winner were one in the same. Although Brady Garten did not place in any of the first three rounds and came into the short go fifth in the average, he tied his final steer in 12.49 seconds making his total time 61.65 seconds. Brady collected $2,127 for the fastest time in the short go and an additional $8,510 for first in the average. The other three checks for fast time in the short go went to Scot Snedecor, Will Gasperson, and Cody Garnett. Although Scot did not place in the average his third check of the event was in the amount of $1,595 for a time of 13.22 seconds making his total money won, $6,913. Not bad for a couple days work. Will Gasperson was the only other cowboy to collect more than one check in the Open Steer Roping. Will’s time on his final steer was 13.39 seconds and his total time on four steers was 90.61 seconds. Will earned $1,064 for the third fastest time in the short go and $2,127 for fourth in the average. Cody Garnett came in to the short go just ahead of Will Gasperson and tied his fourth steer in 14.75 seconds which allowed him to pick up $532 in round money, but it was not enough to put him in the average. Similar to Brady Garten, neither JB Whatley nor Mike Outhier placed in any of the first three rounds. They did not even place in the short go, but they had some kind of strategy going on – or maybe just a little luck. JB’s total time on four steers was 64.26 seconds putting him second in the average and earning him $6,382. Mike Outhier’s total time on four steers was 84.84 seconds. He took home the average check marked third which was made out for $4,255.
Thirty-five senior steer trippers showed up early Friday morning for their chance to win some good ol’ American dollars. The total payout for the Senior Steer Roping was $10,275. Four places were paid in each round, the short go and in the average. The first three rounds paid $747, $560, $374, and $187 for first through fourth respectively. Tommy Johnson set the pace in the first round, tying his steer in 16.65 seconds and Ralph Williams was second with his time of 17.62 seconds. Robin Bland was a close third in the first round. Robin tied his steer in 17.66 seconds. Dan Reinhardt rounded out the first round in fourth with his time of 18.56 seconds. In the second round it was Bryan Reiter’s time of 13.60 seconds that was fast enough to earn the top check. Second went to Dane Noyce who tied his steer in 13.85 seconds. Cecil Wilson collected the money for third in the round by tying his steer in 14.10 seconds, and Ralph Williams’ time of 14.97 seconds was enough for fourth in the round. Randy Wells made the best Senior Steer Roping run of the weekend in the third round. His impressive time of 11.35 seconds was of course first in the round. Scott Welch’s time of 13.16 seconds in the third round was sufficient for second. Mike Thompson picked up the first of three checks in the third round of the Senior Steer Roping by tying his steer in 13.58 seconds. Dane Noyce was fourth in the round with his very respectable time of 14.36 seconds. Twelve cowboys came back to the short go on Sunday. Ralph Williams rode into the box on Sunday in the lead. Ralph made a good run and stopped the clock in 18.28 seconds giving him a total time of 69.48 seconds on four steers. This earned him $95 for the fourth fastest time in the short go and $1,494 for first in the average. Not only did Shorty Garten make the short go in both the Open and the Senior Steer Roping, Shorty was also second high back in both events. He had a little bad luck in the Open, but things worked out for him in the Senior Steer Roping. Shorty tied his final steer in 14.24 seconds which was the third fastest time of the short go and gave him a total time of 75.41 on four head. Ralph and Shorty were the only two Seniors who tied all four steers. Mike Thompson tied his final steer in 13.24 seconds which was faster than anyone else in the short go. Mike took home $324 for first in the round and another $747 for third in the average. Tommy Johnson’s short go time of 14.02 seconds earned him $280 for second in the round and $375 for fourth in the average.
Then there were the Ladies. Ninety-three teams competed in the Ladies Team Roping this year. Factoring in the $2,000 of added money, the total payout of $25,250 once again topped that of the previous years. The ladies worked hard for their money this year, roping on the hottest day of the entire event. Four places were paid in the first round, two in the short go, and five in the average. Beverly Robbins of Muscle Shoals, Alabama teamed up with Jackie Hobbs to win the first go. They split $2,020 by stopping the clock in 8.55 seconds. Rebecca Neuhaus and Martha Walters were second in the first round with a time of 8.77 seconds. Rebecca and Martha split $1,514 for their joint effort. Lydia Marten and Lindsey Sumpter each earned $505 for their third place time of 9.24 seconds, and Kortni McConnell and Julie Dawson took home the check for fourth in the first round. Their time was 9.32 seconds and they each earned $252. The girls had a good time dancing to Jake Hooker and the Outsiders on Friday night, but it was – well, earlier to bed on Saturday night. They may have still made a few rounds on the dance floor Saturday night, but they were up and at ‘em Sunday to rope for the big money in the short go and average. In the end it was Jackie Hobbs and Annette Hinkle who dominated in this year’s Ladies Team Roping. Jackie and Annette’s time of 8.93 seconds in the short go allowed them to not only split the fast time check of $1,516, but also the average check of $5,306. Their total time was 44.34 seconds. This was the second year in a row that Annette won the Spicer Gripp Ladies Team Roping. I think you will probably see her in Hereford, Texas again this time next year. Rylea Fabrizio of Colorado turned one quick for Kelly Jones Hicks of Stephenville, Texas who cleaned it up nicely. Their time of 10.79 seconds was fast enough to earn second in the round and fifth in the average. Rylea and Kelly split $1,010 for the round and their total time of 51.49 earned them each $884 for fifth in the average. Annette collected a third check on Sunday. This time she caught two feet for Tibba Smith. Annette and Tibba had a total time of 47.18 seconds and earned $2,209 a piece for second in the average. Beverly Robbins and Ashley Mills were third in the average with a total time of 47.27 seconds. They split $3,534. Rylea Fabrizio not only earned fifth in the average, but fourth as well. Rylea and her mom, Debbie, had a total time of 50.31 and split $2,650.
There was $15,000 added to this year’s Spicer Gripp Calf Roping making the total payout $54,000. Fifty- two calf ropers competed for this year’s prize money. Each of the first three rounds paid $3,927 for first, $2,945 for second, $1,964 for third, and $982 for fourth. Cody Ohl tied his first calf in 10.05 seconds for first in the round. Joseph Gernantez time of 10.62 was good enough for second, and Shank Edwards and Jim Locke rounded out the first round with their respective times of 10.76 seconds and 10.82 seconds. Spur Valdez is a local roper and was not only entered in the Open Calf Roping, but also featured in the Youth Match Roping. Spur tied his second calf in a quite quick 9.74 seconds for first in the second round. Matt Shiozawa was nipping at his heels, tying his calf in 9.86 seconds. Justin Maas collected his first of several checks for tying his calf in 9.98 seconds, placing him third in the round. Scott Kormos was fourth in the second round. Scott stopped the clock in 10.48 seconds. The third round was even tougher. Jerome Schneeberger made the fastest run in the calf roping tying his third calf in 9.44 seconds. Houston Hutto’s time of 9.89 seconds put him in second. Trevor Thiel placed third, tying his calf in 10.21 seconds, and Shank Edwards was fourth with his time of 10.31 seconds. Quay Howard is quite the young man. Before he tied his short go steer in 9.75 seconds he was already a winner. Recently Spicer Gripp board member, Johnny Trotter, stated, “Quay is the kind of young person that accomplishes the mission statement of the Spicer Gripp Memorial Youth Foundation.” Don R. Topliff, Ph.D., Dean and Professor, College of Agriculture, Science and Engineering, West Texas A&M University spoke of him stating, “We are obviously proud of Quay and will continue to look for young men and women like him to be part of our programs and to bring honor to Spicer’s name.” Quay not only won $1,964 for the fast time in the short go, but $5,891 for second in the average. The second fastest time in the short go went to Justin Maas for his time of 11.67 seconds. Justin earned $1,472 in round money. He also took home the great big average check. Justin’s total time of 43.38 seconds sent him to the winner’s circle and made him an additional $7,855. Jake Booze earned his first check in the calf roping in the short go. Jake tied his last calf in 12.43 seconds, the third fastest time in the short go. He took home a check in the amount of $982. Trevor Thiel was the fourth fastest roper in the short go. Trevor tied his calf in 12.9 seconds winning him $491 for the round. Trevor’s total time on four calves was 49.41 seconds. That put him third in the average and added another $3,927 to his bank account. Fourth in the average went to Shank Edwards. Shank’s total time on four head was 51.57 and his check for fourth in the average was for $1,964.
Dummy Roping is a big deal at the Spicer Gripp and this year, thanks to Digger Howard, in was an even bigger deal. After the Open Calf Roping the kids who made it to the Dummy Roping Finals came into the big arena. They competed in three age groups for roping dummies, buckles, a saddle and a variety of other really cool trinkets. Digger graciously donated scholarship money to be awarded to the winners of the dummy roping. It was Nickey Northcott who won the top honor in the 5 & under division. Nicolas Lovins was first in the 6-8 year old age group. The winner of the 9-11 year-olds was Chad Weitz. Chad was presented with a beautiful new saddle for his efforts.
The final event on the agenda for Saturday was the ever popular Pro Am Team Roping. Over 70 amatuer ropers were matched up with some of the top headers and heelers in the sport. In the end Tommy Crowsen won the saddle with heeler Travis Graves and Milton Purcella won the other saddle heeling for Speed Williams.
Cooler temperatures ushered in the Open Team Ropers on Sunday morning. With $30,000 in added money and a total payout of $133,500 there was a lot on the line. The Open Team Roping was a six head event, progressive on two. Two places in the first two rounds were paid. Clay Tryan & Travis Graves won the first round with their time of 5.94 seconds. They split $3,000 for the effort. Second in the first round paid $1,500; it was split between Caleb Schmidt and Joel Bach for their 6.59 second run. Drew Horner & Justin Copp were only interested in the day money when they backed into the box for their second steer and they got it. The 4.7 second run they made earned them $1,500 each for the round and another $750 each for fast time over all. Chace Thompson and Chad Williams were second in the round splitting $1,500 for their 5.26 seconds work. The big money was in the average though. David Key and Cody Hintz were high team back, but just could not stop the clock in time to take the win. They settled for second in the average, splitting $30,376. Jim Ross Cooper and Charley Crawford were the champions of the 2012 Spicer Gripp Memorial Open Team Roping. The two made a 5.48 second run in the short go which earned them $1,500 in fast time money, but the $36,450 they split for winning first in the average was what really put the smiles on their faces. Their total time on 6 steers was 42.6 seconds, just .16 seconds faster than David and Cody’s total time of 42.76 seconds. Third in the average went to Trevor Brazile and Patrick Smith. Their total time was 43.44 seconds and they each received $12,150. Arky Rogers and Cory Petska finished fourth in the average. They were each paid $9,112 for roping six steers in 44.15 seconds. The final check in the Open Team Roping went to Jake and Clay Smith. The brothers split $12,150 by working together and wrapping up their six steers in 44.33 seconds.
Four horses were selected by the American Quarter Horse Association for their outstanding performances and tremendous abilities – Trevor Thiel’s calf horse, Trevor Brazile’s head horse, Martin Lucero’s heel horse, and Cody Lee’s steer roping horse. These noble creatures give their hearts to those who are privileged enough to ride them. Their recognition was well deserved.
In 1995 Tom Timberlake wrote a poem honoring Spicer Gripp. The last verse reads, “Rest in peace dear friend for your work down here is done, but the lessons you taught and the legend you left will see no setting sun.” I was not fortunate enough to know Spicer personally, but over the past ten years I feel like I am benefiting from those lessons he taught just by my limited involvement in the annual memorial roping held in his memory. Times have changed since Spicer passed away. The agricultural industry is facing the most challenging environment ever, yet Spicer’s manner and advice continues to ring true. I have been told Spicer was a simple man. He wasn’t into the flashy expensive rigs and horses; “’cause it’s not what you show up in, it’s what you do in the arena and what you go home with.” If a roper had a problem with a horse he would ask, “been riding him much?” – seemed like Spicer knew that good horses took a lot of time and patience to create. Spicer Gripp passed away about two decades ago, but his spirit lives on. The people involved in the Spicer Gripp Memorial Roping each year remember the “Spicerisms” well. They can tell you more, but prefer to lead by example – Spicer taught them that. If you haven’t taken the time to become involved with the Spicer Gripp Memorial roping then remember that “Tomorrow’s another day.” The Spicer Gripp Memorial Roping will be held the first weekend in August again next year. Come watch, come rope, come volunteer to help. It is always a good time and the next generation always benefits as the proceeds go to a scholarship fund for those interested in agriculture at West Texas A&M.
Jackie Hobbs and Annette Hinkle, winners of the Ladies’ Team Roping. (Lone Wolf Photo)
Tommy Crowsen won the Pro-Am header’s saddle with heeler Travis Graves. (Lone Wolf Photo)
Milton Purcella won the Pro-Am heeler’s saddle with header Speed Williams. (Lone Wolf Photo)
