US Open Championships 2016 NFTR October 23 2016 Hughes and Norman

US Open Championships

2016 Cinch USTRC National Finals of Team Roping

Sunday October 23 2016

Blake Hughes and Brady Norman

By Melinda Clements

         There are winners and there are champions. Something in the US Open Championships at the 2016 Cinch USTRC National Finals of Team Roping just reaffirmed my faith in young adults and reinforced and enhanced the definition of a true champion.

         As the US Open Championship kicked off on a beautiful October Sunday afternoon in Oklahoma City the coliseum filled quickly as everyone was excited about the upcoming roping.  The best in the business were about to gather and rope for a total payout of $276,500.  That kind of money always draws a crowd.  That kind of money enhances competition.  That kind of money was nothing to scoff at.

         With sixty four teams in contention the crowd could not wait to see what the pros had to offer.  The names were familiar.  The techniques and philosophies and teaching were interesting.  We all had studied them from afar.

         And yet, far from the maddening crowd, discreetly doing what he does the best a young roper had his priorities right.  He wasn’t caught up in the hoopla.  He wasn’t drawn by the limelight and maybe not even drawn in by the money.  He was drawn in by the quiet reserved intuition of what he conceives roping to be.  He didn’t wear the label.  He didn’t flaunt the status.  He quietly did what he did best and that just happens to be the fact he ropes and he ropes well. He praised God. He praised his family and he praised his partner all in that specific order.

         Twenty of the best ropers in the business were coming back for the short go round of the US Open Championships.  The roping was fast paced, action packed and surprising at various points throughout the event.  In fact, the fastest run ever at the Cinch NFTR was recorded by Kaleb Driggers and Junior Nogueira in Round Three. The team dazzled the crowd with a smoking run of 3.89 seconds. The crowd loved it and it came down in one consensus that, as ropers, we are all human, win, lose or draw.  We rope because it is a challenge.  We rope because it is fun and we rope because it is the one sport where we can work hard, discipline ourselves and hopefully walk away better people.  We must never lose that teaching tool. 

         Champions do not become champions when they win but in those hours, weeks, months and years spent preparing and learning and trying harder.  The victory, itself, is merely the culmination and demonstration of a championship character hidden deep inside. 

         One team would emerge the winner.  One team would take the money and one team would walk away setting an example for all of us to follow and admire.  One team would exemplify what really matters.

         The short go round was exciting.  Pressure reared its head and pressure dictated reactions and emotions.  The roping would pay six places in the average.  First place would split $72,600 and ropers would take home Martin Championship Trophy Saddles, Gist Championship Buckles, Tony Lama Boots and Western Horseman Collector Prints.  It was an awesome prize line.

         When Cale Markham and Nick Simmons, the tenth high call team, took the lead in the average with a time of 5.61 on their short go round steer they raised the bar.  They gave everyone else something to think about.  Three unqualified runs after that indicated some teams were scrambling.  When the sixth high call back team rode into the box it was obvious Derrick Begay and Clay Cooper were on a mission.  With a 6.46 on their short round steer there was a lead change.  The crowd was on the edge of their seats.         

         When Blake Hughes and Brady Norman, the third high call back team came to rope there had already been another lead change.  The pair had to be 6.17 or less to move Chris Francis and Cade Passig.  It was just that competitive and fierce.  It was, without a doubt, some good watching and the crowd was deliriously involved.

         Hughes nodded and roped the horns.  Years of growing up as a heeler moved Norman and he grabbed two feet to stop the clock with a time of 6.01.  The lead would change again with two teams to rope.  It was going to be tough.  When the dust cleared and the totals tallied Blake Hughes and Brady Norman, Oklahoma Ropers, would take the win in the Cinch USTRC US Open Roping.
         “This has been my dream forever,” Norman said. “It is very humbling to come here and win this roping.  Blake and I have been partners for about two years and he ropes really well.  I live the dream being able to compete and do what I love.”

         “I just wanted to make sure we were consistent and I turned everything,” Hughes said. “You work hard.  It is important to have a good horse and focus on the work involved.”

         Norman explained his philosophy and reiterated what Hughes had said about hard work.

         “I have a great support system with my family,” Norman said. “Sometimes we can lose what is truly important.  You can let your mind get consumed by all this and lose track of what is truly important such as God and family and good partners. It is easy to get burnt out roping like we do so we have to remember why we rope in the first place and that is because it is fun and something we love to do.”

         “We try to practice when we can,” Hughes elaborated.  “We live about thirty minutes apart so we practice when we can.”

         Hughes feels his horse is the key to his success.

         “I have a ten year old horse I got off of Fulton’s,” Hughes said.  “He’s not for sale. He is a good horse and tries to win every time.”

         At nineteen years of age Norman had a premonition to change horses. He’s learned to follow his gut feeling. “I just felt I needed to change horses so I did and it worked right.”  Perhaps it was a God-thing but regardless I got the impression Norman feels there are bigger things working in his life to steer him in the right direction.  Obviously, his premonition was something to heed because it certainly came together for the US Open Championships.

         “I’m so very blessed and so humble.  There are so many people over a lot of years that get credit for this win.  I have a great family and my sponsors like Ariat Boots, Rattler Ropes, Classic Equine, Smarty, Superior JMT Trailers out of Sayre, Ok and Martin Championship Trophy Saddles are all instrumental in making me who I am.  It’s my dream and is so special and overwhelming.”

         I found Norman modest and unassuming. He had nothing to prove.  He only wanted to rope, to win and he was thankful no matter how it turned out.  That is totally awesome coming from a nineteen year old.  All of us could take a lesson.  All of us should set aside the ego, the “me” attitude and look around.  There are winners and then there are champions.  If Brady Norman never wins another roping the rest of his life he came across to me as a true champion. He is going to set some examples and his family should be very proud.  Hughes and Norman won the US Open Championships at the 2016 Cinch USTRC National Finals of Team Roping.  They didn’t flaunt it, they didn’t advertise it and they didn’t parade around.  They set an example and that is what champions do.  Champions are made from something they have deep inside, a desire, a dream, a vision!