Priefert US Open Championships
Cinch USTRC National Finals of Team Roping
Sunday October 21, 2012
Oklahoma State Fairgrounds Coliseum
By Melinda Clements
The
coliseum filled quickly. Everyone moved with purpose and an intensity of
direction. They were motivated,
excited and focused on one thing.
Shortly the Priefert Open Championships would get underway and everyone
wanted the perfect seat.
There
was no doubt it was a drawing card.
As the coliseum filled you could feel the tension, the excitement and the
fire. The best Open ropers in the
business had come. They had come to rope but most of all they had come for the
money. It was not just a little
bit of money it was a lot of money.
First place in the Priefert US Open Championships would pay over one
hundred and two thousand dollars. No wonder things were buzzing.
There
is just a certain attraction the pros have. Be it football, basketball, golf or team roping the best in
the game are always a draw, a curiosity and an admiration to their followers. They hold a certain sensation of appeal
and wonder. There is just a little thread of notoriety that we all envy. They hold an unending perpetual appeal
that we all wish we could possess.
As
the lights dimmed in the coliseum for the opening ceremony people hustled to
their seats with an anticipation that could be felt throughout the
facility. The best in the team
roping business was about to debut and no one wanted to miss any part of what
was about to transpire.
Eighty-five
teams were entered in the Priefert US Open Championships. Each team had one
shot at five head of steers to make it to the short go round. They were roping at more money in the
history of the event with a one hundred percent payback. To say it was going to be competitive
would be an understatement. It
would prove to be team roping at its very best.
As
the event got underway spectators settled in and ropers prepared to rope their
best roping. Caution aside it was
going to be an interesting roping.
The
top twenty teams would come back for a short go round steer. As the afternoon progressed it became
quickly evident pressure would be involved. You may call it greed, you may call it competition, you may
call it motive but whatever you call it money does strange things to people for
all sorts of reason. It became
quickly evident that money was in the back of every roper’s mind.
Some
roper’s roped their best roping. Some roper’s struggled and some ropers were
having a good day and some ropers were scrambling. When the top twenty teams emerged it was a mixture of
diverse talent with an impeccable capacity to win. It was shaping up to be an unbelievable short go round for
the Priefert US Open Championships.
Somewhere
along the way a new game kicked into gear. Something triggered a new avenue of competition. Forty plus teams had four steers down
but suddenly everyone had to be faster and quicker and the competition became a
cutting blade that began the process of elimination. The roping became a
process of scrambling and careless mistakes. Something was going on and it was totally out of character
especially for this caliber of ropers.
The ropers felt it and the spectators felt it but no one really
understood it. When
the short go round finally rolled around it was a diverse and unique
group. A lot of the ropers had
buckled under the pressure and it frustrated them. Those that had made the journey savored it and knew in team
roping it was anyone’s ball game.
The short go round in the Priefert US Open Championships would separate
the men from the boy’s.
A
little over three seconds separated the tenth team from the first call back
team coming back into the short go round.
It wasn’t phenomenal but it was a bit unique. We were, after all, looking at the pro ropers. It had been five steers and the short
go round would determine the winner’s.
Everyone settled in to watch the outcome.
When
the eighteenth callback team of Justin Davis and Walt Woodard posted a 5.39 on
their short round steer they immediately took the lead in the average. Little did they realize they would hold
the lead until the eighth call back team of Tanner Baldwin and Will Woodfin
posted a 6.65 to move them out of first place. Things would change rapidly from there on out. Some teams went out and the climb to
the top was a tedious one.
Chris
Francis and John Paul Lucero was the second high call back team. They had roped well all afternoon. They were not really concerned on how
the short go round was unfolding.
They just wanted to finish up how they started and that was focused and
on track. When the pair rode into
the box they maintained their original plan to put six runs together. They did exactly that when they posted
a 5.84 on their short go round steer to take the lead in the average. One team remained.
Francis
and Lucero watched as Colby Siddoway and Shay Carroll posted a 6.66. It was not, however, good enough to
move Francis and Lucero. Suddenly,
Chris Francis’s hands wouldn’t stop shaking. It actually dawned on him and his partner they had just won
the average for a little over $102,000.
Who would have thought!
“I’m
very excited and totally blessed,” Lucero said very humbly with a slight quiver
in his voice. “We just decided to get together and come rope here. We had good steers and roped well. I am just so blessed to be able to rope
here for this kind of pay out.”
“It
is just such an awesome feeling,” Francis said as his hands continued to shake
a little. “This is the biggest thing I’ve ever won before. We came to rope because of the money
and I just wanted to come do my job, to do what I think I know how to do.”
In
a matter of seconds the results of the Priefert US Open Championships was being
Twittered and Face Booked all over the media and technology networks to a vast
array of fans and team roping enthusiasts. The US Open was in the history books setting the bar and a
new standard of excellence in this sport called team roping. Chris Francis and John Paul Lucero had
just pocketed an unbelievable amount of money plus beautiful Martin
Championship Trophy Saddles. It
was suddenly a new standard for Open Ropers. It was new standard for USTRC. Once again they had set the bar for the best team roping in
the business. Chris Francis and John Paul Lucero were proud and excited to be
part of the picture.
