#11
Preliminary
2014
Cinch USTRC National Finals of Team Roping
Thursday
October 30, 2014
By
Melinda Clements
For a college kid splitting a little
over $22,000 is a big deal. It doesn’t
happen on a day to day basis. Perhaps
Pake Cox didn’t really know what to expect but it seemed partner, James
Tettenhorst has a good eye for champions so he chose Cox. Regardless, it was a match that would change
everyone involved. Little did the pair
know what a difference a day would make.
Cox and Tettenhorst were the high team
back going into the short go round of the #11 Preliminary at the Cinch USTRC
National Finals of Team Roping. The pair
had never roped together. Most of the
time when Cox goes to Tettenhorsts’ roping Tettenhorst is flagging so they
don’t get to rope together. However, Cox
had caught Tettenhorst attention and he was pretty sure he wanted the kid to
head for him at the NFTR in Oklahoma City. It was, indeed, a good call.
Twenty-five teams were coming back in
the #11 Preliminary. Cox and Tettenhorst
had roped well all day. They had been
disciplined, focus and on track the entire roping. Their success was evident as the high call
back team going into the short go round.
“I wasn’t really thinking about the
money or the prizes,” Cox said. “I just wanted each steer to be a good solid
run. We had never roped together before
but that wasn’t an issue. I just wanted
to rope strong and make every catch count.”
“Pake comes to a lot our ropings,”
Tettenhorst explained. “I knew the kid could rope and I knew we could do well
together.”
The pair needed a time of 8.42 to take
lead and move Robbie Walker and Thomas Sinclair out of the number one
hole. Walker and Sinclair had posted a
time of 7.73 on their last steer and they had held the average lead with three
teams to go. Cox and Tettenhorst wanted
to take that lead.
When the pair rode into the box
tension was tight. There was no room for
error. Cox was on track, focused and
beaded in on the task at hand. When he
nodded fate was tossed to the wind and it was anybody’s ball game.
When the flag dropped and the clock
stopped the digital read 8.30 and Cox and Tettenhorst took a deep breath. Only .13 seconds separated the first and
second place position and Cox and Tettenhorst had nailed down the win.
“It was a good call asking Pake to
come rope,” Tettenhorst said. “Horses, ropes and partners are the number one
keys in this sport and I’ve got all three covered.”
Cox smiled. “We rope in the #11 Shoot
Out tomorrow and we are not changing horses or ropes.” You couldn’t help but
smile. The pair so complimented each
other.
It may be a good idea for Tettenhorst
to give up flagging and start roping more often with Cox. It is obvious the pair have some
chemistry. Martin Championship Trophy
Saddles and a little over $22,000 isn’t bad for an afternoon of team roping at
the Cinch USTRC NFTR.
