#10 Preliminary
2015 Cinch USTRC National Finals of Team Roping
Friday October 30 2015
Sam Stamper and Ryan Tittle
It was the
last roping of the day. The day had been
cool with drizzle. However, inside the
Oklahoma State Fairgrounds Coliseum the action was hot and fast paced.
The #10
Preliminary had been competitive and ropers were looking at $21,000 to win the
average. They would also take home
beautiful Martin Championship Trophy Saddles.
There would be fifteen money’s paid in the average. Perhaps it was nerves or maybe the weather or
just the competitive love of team roping but the short go round was shaping up
to be on fire.
As the short
go round unfolded pressure reared its head and make its presence known. Immediately, four teams went out of the
average when they failed to make qualified runs. Twenty teams were vying for a
paycheck and it was aggressive. Every
team wanted to fill the top fifteen positions.
Wyatt and
Sawyer Eirikson, two Canadian cowboys, was the twelfth high team coming into
the short go. The pair posted a time of
8.27 to take the lead in the average with a time of 34.69. Suddenly, the pair had raised the bar in the
roping.
Sam Stamper
and Ryan Tittle was the eighth high call team.
The pair needed a time of 9.35 to take the lead in the average.
When Stamper
rode into the box his horse suddenly became an issue. The horse was restless and unsettled. He may have been taking his cues from
Stamper. Nerves and pressure certainly
played into the scenario.
Finally, the
horse settled a little and Stamper nodded.
The horse and roper connected and Stamper made the head catch and turned
off. Tittle tapped in on the corner and
roped both heels. The pair took the lead
in the average with a time of 6.71 on their short round steer.
Suddenly, it
all became a waiting game. Seven teams
were left to rope.
“Because of
the rain I was kind of boxed in at the back of the arena,” Tittle said. “I
didn’t really know how it was going to come down and I couldn’t watch.”
Third high
team back, Ryan and Ty Springer, posted a time of 7.91 but it didn’t move
Stamper and Tittle. It did, however,
move the Springer boys into second place in the average. A couple of bobbles with the last two teams
helped Stamper and Tittle and they maintained their lead. They would win the
average of the #10 Preliminary with a time of 32.04 on four head of steers.
“I try to
just read and react,” Tittle said about his job as heeler. “I try to focus on one thing at a time.”
“I had some
trouble with my horse in the box,” Stamper explained. “He recovered well and
worked well. He’s a five year old and
I’m sure he was nervous because I was nervous.
We were able to set it up on the corner so my heeler could come in and
do his job.”
The pair
pocketed $21,000 and the Martin Championship Trophy Saddles. It was the pair’s first USTRC National Finals
saddles.
“I’ll
probably put this saddle up for a while,” Tittle said. “I’ll probably pay off
some college with the money.”
“I’m probably
going to buy a horse,” Stamper grinned. The pair live about a mile apart so
they get to the practice pen on a regular basis. Obviously, it is time well spent.
