#15
Preliminary
2016
Cinch USTRC National Finals of Team Roping
Saturday
October 22 2016
J
R Dees and Riley Williams
By
Melinda Clements
Twenty
teams, $50,000 and team roping at its absolute best! Who, in their right mind, scoffs at that? Where can you rope with the best,
embracing a class act and walk away a better roper with a dollar or two in your
pocket.
As
the 2016 Cinch USTRC National Finals of Team Roping kicked off in Oklahoma City
the last week of October the standard was high. The competition was fierce and the atmosphere hot with
anticipation and great expectation.
The
Open Preliminary had already proved to be exciting, competitive and
aggressive. There was absolutely
no telling what would unfold as the day progressed.
Twenty
teams were coming back in the short go round of the #15 Preliminary. They were focused on the money, Martin
Championship Saddles and Gist Champion Trophy Buckles. The short go was
actually a gathering of sorts.
Each team wanted it all.
They wanted more. They wanted
a win. ALL of them wanted a win and that, in and of itself, made the roping red
hot.
First
place would split $15,700 and as the call for the short round went out the
ropers geared up to rope and wind up with a first place
to begin the week. Emotions were on edge and one could
tell immediately that this week in OKC would be an eventful one.
Every
roping has a story, an underlying message, and inner heartbeat that quickly
revealed things are never as they seem.
Following the list of those coming back in the short go round one only
had to skim the surface to find another story or another message.
J
R Dees resides in Aurora, South Dakota.
Riley Williams lives in Springtown, Texas. What are the chances of those two guys coming together? However, we all know team roping brings
them all from far and near. The most unlikely unite and suddenly there is a
reckoning going on.
The
pair just happened to be doing something right. They were the high team back coming into the short go round
of the #15 Preliminary. They are a
good mix and compliment each other in a unique way.
“After
we were eight on our first one,” the pair agreed they should just go win the
roping. It’s funny how team roping pans out. Go rope like you know how to rope then reach out and grab
the golden ring.
The
#15 Preliminary was a conglomeration of ropers with varied scenarios that would
make the roping unique. Dees and
Williams lived far apart but were a good match. They have the ingredients champions are made from.
On
the other side of the coin, was Shay Carrol and Kolton Schmidt. Roping is what
they do for a living. Therefore, both sides of spectrum emerged to make the #15
the roping to study and watch.
Dees
and Williams didn’t have anything to prove. Team Roping was their living also. They had already
established themselves as a reckoning force.
“We
have been roping together since about March,” Dees said of the
partnership. “I wanted to stay
focused and do my job. I have a some good heelers.”
When
Brett McDowell and Dustin Searcy took the lead in the average with a time of
27.60 on four head there were two teams left to rope. Things were gritty and tough and it was team roping at its
best. Push had come to shove, so
to speak. Winning shouted to the rafters.
Dees
and Williams rode in the box with winning uppermost on their minds.
“I
wasn’t worried. I didn’t have a
case of nerves,” Williams said. “We were eight on our first one and we had been
roping really well. It was going
to come together and I wasn’t worried.”
The
pair needed a 7.90 to take the win. With determination and grit the pair nodded
and time stood still. When
Williams made the corner and cinched the heels the clock read 6.44 seconds. It was a done deal. The pair was
declared the winners of the # 15 Preliminary. What a rush?
The
Martin Championship Saddles were awesome and the stage was set for bigger
things to come. As Dees and
Williams left the prize area they were thinking about the upcoming #15 Shoot
Out. The groundwork had been laid
and the foundation was set. Who
knows what will happen or how things will unfold? One thing is for certain there is no better place to be than
the 2016 Cinch USTRC National Finals of Team Roping. The best is yet to come.
