Pro View Open
Preliminary
2015
Cinch USTRC National Finals of Team Roping
Saturday
October 24 2015
Chad
Master and Travis Graves
The air was filled with tension. You could feel it. It was contagious and
seemed to be spreading. There was no quiet before the storm. It was the storm.
“I’ve really had a rough week,” Chad
Masters said quietly with some reserve. “You have to get in the game. You have
to catch.”
As the short go round unfolded at the
2015 Cinch USTRC National Finals of Team Roping Masters and his partner, Travis
Graves, were the second high call back team going into the short go round. It
was a five steer average. Perhaps
Masters was looking for some rectification after a long hard rough week.
Twenty teams were coming back in the
short go round of the Pro View Open Preliminary.
It was a touch competitive bunch of Open Ropers. Every team was shooting at $20,000, first
place for the average win. It was a fast paced, quick and aggressive roping.
The competition was fierce and everyone needed a win if for no other reason
than some sort of confirmation.
“There are lots of good ropers here,”
Travis Graves said. “We needed to go rope our roping.”
When Logan Olson and Walt Woodard, the
eighth high team back going into the short round reached out and took the lead
in the average there were seven teams left to rope. Each heart rate quickened a bit because the
Open Preliminary would pay through sixth place and every team craved a piece of
the action.
Perhaps nerves were an issue. Perhaps money was on their minds or maybe,
just maybe, it was the atmosphere or the tension. Regardless, when Masters and Graves rode into
the box for their short go round steer they had one philosophy “make it simple,
get in the game and rope their roping.”
The pair needed a 7.26 to take the
lead in the average from Olson and Woodard.
It was doable, it was necessary and a rough week or previous struggles
were irrelevant. When Masters nodded the
pair was on track and things unfolded quickly.
When the flag dropped a time of 7.59
illuminated the digital clock. The pair
was leading the average with one team to rope in the short go round.
Erich Rogers and Paul Evans needed a
time of 7.28 to move Masters and Graves.
That, too, was doable. However,
time is a finicky item and when the clock stopped the pair posted a time of
7.59. Without a doubt a good run but not
enough to move Masters and Graves. They
would hold on to the lead and take the win in the average.
“I wanted to make it simple,” Masters
said. “It has been a really rough week and I didn’t want to go too fast or make
any mistakes. You have to catch and I just wanted to get in there and catch.”
“It’s always good to win,” Graves
commented. “I don’t think the money was an issue. We just needed to go rope. It
sets the stage for the rest of the week.”
Perhaps it is just about breaking the
ice, getting your feet wet or just taking that first step on a new
beginning. Roping at the 2015 Cinch
USTRC National Finals of Team Roping is always a good way to start your
Saturday morning especially if you start with $20,000 in your pocket.
