#9 Shoot Out
Cinch USTRC National Finals of Team Roping
Sunday October 28, 2012
Oklahoma State Fairgrounds Coliseum
By Melinda Clements
We
all set goals and have dreams. We
look over situations and scenarios and decide that we, too, can do that. We focus on making things work knowing
full well it will take every ounce of courage, discipline, focus and sacrifice
we have to make.
Every
dream is obtainable in some form or fashion. Every blessing is to be embraced and treasured. If you think about it long enough and
work at it with a commitment no one else understands at some point things turn
around and move in positive directions.
“We
came here last year and didn’t get entered,” Arkansas header, Todd Southerland
said, “I said we got to get entered and we have to rope. We went home and
practiced all year to come back to this team roping. I set out to win a USTRC
saddle. I placed in Tunica,
Mississippi and they gave spurs. I
still wanted a saddle. But now nothing else matters because I have a USTRC Saddle.”
Not
only does Todd Southerland have a USTRC National Finals saddle he also had a
chunk of change. Try to vision
splitting a little over $108,000.
It is hard to imagine.
Southerland
and his nephew, Skylar Reynolds was the high team coming back into the short go
round of the #9 Shoot Out at this years 2012 Cinch USTRC National Finals of
Team Roping. They had stayed true
to their goal, focused on roping a USTRC roping and getting four steers down. It is easier said than done.
“I
wanted to score good and give Skylar a chance because I knew he would catch,”
Southerland continued. “We were
ready for this roping. I had made
some mistakes earlier in the week and this was my last chance to win and I
wanted it bad.”
Reynolds
wanted it as bad also. He had
watched the short go round unfold and more than anything he wanted to rope two
feet.
“There
was lots of pressure and I was very nervous,” Reynolds said. “I just blocked it
all out and just went to rope. I
kept saying to myself to just go rope.”
This
duo did, indeed, rope. Needing a
long twelve to take the average the pair roped right and made a good solid run
of 10.05. It was all it took to
send Southerland and Reynolds over the top.
Southerland
took off in a victory lap that topped all victory laps. He rode around the arena waving his hat
and his screams and hollers echoed off the arena walls. It was a dream come true and had been a
long time coming. It was a goal that had been implemented many months
before. It was a lifetime changing
experience. Not only would the
pair split $108,700 but they would also walk away with Martin Championship
Trophy Saddles, Gist Championship Gold Buckles, Tony Lama Ostrich Boots and
Western Horseman Collector’s Prints.
It was enough to trigger a melt down.
“I
wanted to knock four steers down,” Southerland said hardly able to contain his
excitement or keep his voice from shaking. “I so wanted this saddle.”
Reynolds
looked at his paycheck and just grinned.
“That
is a lot of numbers,” Reynolds drawled with a grin. It was about all he could
say.” Both agreed their saddles would go in the middle of the living room floor
when they got home.
With
the mass confusion of pictures, interviews, awards and milling family and
supporters the duo was a bit overwhelmed. It was almost an unfathomable concept. Who would have thought it would turn
out like this?
“We
are going to pay some bills, play catch up and rope some more,” Southerland
said in an interview. “We will definitely keep roping.”
Reynolds
just seemed to be content staring at his first USTRC Finals saddle and his
first USTRC Buckle.
“It
was worth the nerves and the pressure,” he said. “We rope a lot in jackpots and
with work, school, and roping I keep pretty busy. I’m just so excited. My grandpa is always preaching
horsemanship and I’m glad. It is just fun to rope with family. It is just fun to rope and win.”
Goals
and dreams keep us all moving.
They give us hope and purpose. Things have a strange way of coming
together in spite of us.
Southerland and Reynolds had a goal in mind after being at the USTRC
National Finals last year. Today’s
# 9 Shoot Out was the last chance in a long week of roping for that dream to
come true. Southerland wasn’t
giving up. He was on a
mission. It was the mission of his
life and it is the sweetest dream come true he could ever imagined. It is
absolutely all he thought it would be.
