Open Preliminary
2016
Cinch USTRC National Finals of Team Roping
Saturday
October 22 2016
Clay
Tryan and Jade Corkill
By
Melinda Clements
They
probably didn’t set out to be heroes of sorts. However, suddenly on a beautiful Saturday afternoon in
Oklahoma City a certain standard was set and it would set the bar to define the
upcoming week at the 2016 Cinch USTRC National Finals of Team Roping.
When
the Open Preliminary kicked off everyone was excited and ready to get things
underway. There was no better way
to kick start the week than an action packed, fast paced short go round for the
Open Preliminary.
Twenty
teams made it back for the short go round. It was twenty of the best teams in the business and in some
ways the roping might even rival the upcoming US Open Championships. It certainly laid out some goals for
success.
What a way to kick start the NFTR! The
electricity ran through everyone there and the anticipation of the week to come
was phenomenal.
Clay
Tryan and Jade Corkill were the second high team coming back in the short go
round with a time of 24.72 on four steers. They had roped well all day and both
hoped the short go round to be a culmination of well-planned actions.
As
the short go round unfolded it proved to very fast paced and competitive. The lead in the average changed one run
after another. Thomas
Richards ad Will Woodfin were the seventh high team back and the pair roped
their last steer with a time of 5.60 to take the lead in the average. The bar had been raised and the
challenge issued. Pressure arose
like a melting pot of hot lava and immediately three teams failed to qualify.
Something
had to give. Kaleb Driggers and
Kollin VonAhn came loaded for bear and would not back down. 5.97 shifted the bar again and a new
challenge was issued with two teams left to rope. It was anyone’s ball game and the energy became a red-hot
flame.
Tryan
and Corkill rode in the box.
According to Tryan, he just kind of blacked out and went to rope. The pair posted a 5.73 on their short
round steer and the lead shifted again with one team to go. The iron sizzled and the final team was
on a mission. Unfortunately, it
didn’t work for them and Tryan and Corkill embraced the win of the Open
Preliminary with a time in the average of 30.45 seconds on five steers.
$17,900
and Martin Championship Trophy Saddles were theirs for the taking. It was a sweet victory sprinkled with
success and savored beyond belief.
“I
roped like a kid today instead of like I was thirty seven years old,” Tryan
voiced. “That’s how you win. All
the credit goes to Jade. He cleaned it up.”
“I
just wanted to win,” Corkill commented. “I don’t think we are heroes.”
“We
just rope like everyone else does,” Tryan added.
Despite
their thoughts they had set a standard for the rest of the week at the 2016
Cinch USTRC National Finals of Team Roping. If this roping is any indication it is going to be a hot
spot of team roping as the NFTR unfolds this week.
The
standard is high. The bar is in
the air. The best in the business
rise to the occasion and team roping is alive and well as the NFTR unfolds and
kicks into gear the best of the best.
