#12
Shoot Out
2014
Cinch USTRC National Finals of Team Roping
Tuesday
October 28, 2014
By
Melinda Clements
“It’s all about the money,” said the
announcers as the #12 Shoot Out kicked off during the 2014 Cinch USTRC National
Finals of Rodeo. Mmmm, maybe and maybe
not. Perhaps it isn’t about the money at all.
$105,000 is a lot of money. Couple that with a prize line consisting of
Martin Championship Trophy Saddles, Gist Gold Championship Buckles, Tony Lama
Full Ostrich Boots, and Western Horseman Collector’s Prints and you have a
prize line that is unfathomable.
Imagine if you will a humble man who
loves to rope. He takes a chance and
asks his boss’s son to rope. He loves to
rope and the pair rope a lot at home.
What can it hurt? It will be fun
and a very new experience.
Travis Hogner probably considers
himself a humble man. In his words, “I
guess I’m a little bit redneck but I’ve never done this before. I don’t know what to say or what to do.” It
was his first trip ever to the USTRC National Finals of Team Roping.
Travis Hogner and Blair Small were the
high call team going into the short go round of the #12 Shoot Out.
“High call team is a nervous place to
be,” Hogner commented with a tinge of emotion. “I was nervous and a little
pumped up.”
Watching the short go round of the #12
Shoot Out was tedious. Thirty teams were
very serious about taking home $105,000.
That kind of money at a team roping was almost beyond comprehension.
Hogner and Small had watched the short
go round unfold and when they finally rode into the box to rope they knew
exactly what they needed to do.
Ryan Pollard and Derrick Elliot, as
the second high call back, had applied the pressure. They had posted a 7.57 on their short go
steer to take the lead of the average with a time of 30.45 on four head. Hogner and Small needed to be a 7.66 to move
them.
“When I rode into the box I just
wanted to catch,” Small said. “I figured Travis would catch. I just wanted to be sure I caught.”
“We just needed a good solid practice
run,” Hogner said. “I knew we could do that.”
When Hogner nodded he was a man on a
mission and nothing else mattered except one good solid practice run. Small did his part and as they each held
their breath the announcer called out a time of 6.99 and both men gasped for
air. They had just won the #12 Shoot Out
and what was it they said about money? It was all about the money or so they
said.
As the pair gathered in the prize area
it was like fighting paparazzi. It was
hectic and everyone wanted to talk to them.
Camera’s clicked and questions came from every direction.
What is it like to win this roping
seemed to be the most prevalent question?
What are you going to do with all that money was another question?
From the lips of a very humble and
appreciative man came these words, “Seek the Lord first, above all else.” So it wasn’t all about the money after all.
“I’m giving some of my money to a
ministry,” Hogner said with deep committed emotion. “It’s a big deal being here
in the first place. It has not sunk in
what all this means. I guess I’m still
in shock. I didn’t know what to expect,
I still don’t know what I’m supposed to do but if I seek the Lord first, above
all else that is all that matters.”
As Hogner held his check, his buckle
and waited for pictures he was obviously overwhelmed. He couldn’t put a finger on a game plan, he
couldn’t define how it all came together and he couldn’t even describe how the
pair came to the decision to come to Oklahoma City at all. He had called Small and Small had agreed to
rope. He knew that much.
He was focused on “Seek the Lord,
first.” He knew without a doubt from
whom all blessings flow.
Hogner and Small will leave the
Oklahoma State Fairgrounds arena changed men for what they have experienced as
winners of the #12 Shoot Out. They will
continue to rope and have a good time.
They will forever remember one Tuesday afternoon in October when their
lives got turned upside down.
No matter what happens in the coming
days Travis Hogner knows it has absolutely nothing to do with money but
everything to do with how you set your priorities and for Hogner he will always
“Seek the Lord, first!”
