#11 Preliminary
2015 Cinch USTRC National Finals of Team Roping
Thursday October 29 2015
Jace Baker and Jeff Brown
“I was so
nervous,” Mt. Pleasant Texas heeler, Jeff Brown said. “I was just really
nervous and to say I might have been a little nervous would be a gross
understatement. I was NERVOUS!”
“I didn’t
even watch the short go round,” Header, Jace Baker said. “Why put that kind of
pressure on myself?”
Baker and
Brown just happened to be the high call back team going into the short go round
of the #11 Preliminary. The pair have
been partners for about five years and this roping was a big one for them.
“Absolutely,
I was nervous,” Baker fidgeted. “If you aren’t nervous in a roping like this
you are crazy!”
The pair
would be the final team to rope in the short go round of the #11 Preliminary.
JaLynn Harmon and Dillion D. Ogorman held the lead in the average with a time
of 33.27 on four steers. Bake and Brown
needed a time of 10.66 to make the change in the leader board.
The winning
team in the average would take home $17,900 and Martin Championship Trophy
Saddles. The roping was quick, fast
paced and extremely competitive. Every
team would get flex earnings and every team would get a shootout.
“We started
out real aggressive,” Baker said. “We backed off a little and kind of slowed
the pace toward the end.”
“This is my
first time to make the short round,” Brown said. “I wanted to kick over and
rope. We got a really good start so I
wanted to take my first good shot. I
kept thinking about position.”
When Baker
and Brown broke from the box they were aggressive and on a mission. It didn’t appear they had slowed any. Despite being nervous they were able to focus
and keep their priorities straight. A
time of 9.04 cinched the deal. The pair won
the average of the # 11 Preliminary with a time of 31.64 on four head of
steers. $17,900 would fit well into
their bank accounts.
“I’ve been
coming here about six years,” Brown said. “This is the first year to make the
short go round. I didn’t know for sure
that we were the high team back but I knew I would keep roping the same. I
would take my best shot.”
The pair was
elated with their win. Suddenly, a five
year partnership was paying off big time.
Both men believe in practice and perhaps “keep on keeping on” should be
their new motto. Despite nerves all the
pair had accomplished would be with them for a long time. They were proud and excited about their win. The win in the #11 Preliminary would set the
stage for more roping to come as the week at the 2015 Cinch USTRC National
Finals of Team Roping progressed.
