#10 Preliminary
Cinch USTRC National Finals of Team Roping
Friday October 26, 2012
Oklahoma State Fairgrounds Coliseum
By Melinda Clements
“Guess
I may keep team roping so I can afford to rope calves,” Ty Harris commented
with a huge grin. Undoubtedly, the
kid was on a roll. With a win in
the #11 Preliminary the day before Harris didn’t want to over think
things. His focus all week had
been to catch. Harris, by choice,
is a calf roper. He has actually
been team roping for about six months and the more he does it the more he likes
it. He wanted catching and roping right to continue to be his priority.
Harris
and partner, Cody Burnside, was the high team coming back for the short go
round of the # 10 Preliminary at the 2012 Cinch USTRC National Finals of Team
Roping. The pair was shooting at $25,400 for first place in the average. The duo were actually draw partners and
had roped together in Guthrie earlier in the week. They didn’t even know each other until then.
The
short go round of the #10 Preliminary was a tough competitive round. The top ten teams were focused and the
round was action packed and exciting.
Harris
and Burnside didn’t pay much attention as the short go round unfolded. Neither of the young men wanted to
change anything. They both wanted
to be consistent and catch their steer.
They had a good steer and didn’t want to waste him. They just wanted to
do their job.
“I
wanted to score good and catch,” Harris said. The pair needed a 9.76 to take
the win in the average. When Harris
nodded the steer broke hard but Harris was good for it. The arena wall came up quickly as
Harris turned off. Burnside was
focused and read the situation well.
“We
came up against the wall,” Burnside said. “I focused on the steer and not the
wall and roped two feet. I try to react to how things shape up around me and
adjust. Each run is a little
different and you have to adjust to what is happening.” He spoke with the maturity of a very
experienced roper.
Burnside
seems to adjust well to diversity so he was ready for the wall and roped
accordingly. It did not make him
nervous and he completed the run like he had finished them up all day. He was
on track and nerves or pressure was not really an issue for him.
Burnside
and Harris had never met until earlier in the week. They both needed a run so it worked well. Both of them knew immediately what they
wanted after pairing up.
When
the pair caught their steer in the short go round they were not exactly sure
what they had accomplished. They needed a time of 9.76. Harris knew they were close but began
to fret a little as they waited for the announcer to give their time. When the announcer paused and slowly
drawled, “A time of nine point-----seven----three.” It brought the crowd to
their feet in exhilaration.
“It
made me so nervous when the announcer said our time really slow,” Harris said.
“I wasn’t sure if we had won or not.
That was the most nervous part of all.”
Both
young men agreed they would probably put their winnings in the bank for a
while. Their strategy makes sense.
They both seemed more focused on roping and improving than on the money.
Invariably
things come about in strange ways.
For Harris and Burnside to even rope together was a little twist of
fate. They plan to continue to
rope together and their experience has probably created a life long
friendship. Regardless, they have
made an impression and they will be a team to watch in the coming days.
