What a difference a day makes. Just ask Clay Smith, who’d been dominant through two rounds and held the overall Cinch Timed Event Championship lead after four of five events in Round 3. Then Smith missed his trip twice in the steer roping event at evening’s end to take a dreaded 60. The result was game changing, as New Mexico native Seth Hall took the Round 3 victory lap, and Mississippi’s Marcus Theriot took the overall Timed Event lead.

“My favorite run of the first 15 was that steer roping run tonight, because that’s the fastest I’ve ever been,” said Theriot, who was 14.5 in the steer roping, and is now 197.7 in three rounds of five events. “My heeling run tonight was a little sketchy. That steer stepped on my rope and tried to take it away from me. I didn’t think I was going to get a dally.

“It feels good to be closer to the finish line than where I started today, but we’re just barely over halfway done. I’ve been here enough times to know that anything can happen here at the Timed Event.”

Hall won Round 3 after wrapping up five runs in 56.9 seconds.

“I’m excited that I finished my course tonight to the best of my ability,” Hall said. “I left some stuff on the table the last couple rounds. Getting that last steer tied down tonight for the round win felt good. That run was hard.”

Hall borrowed Chance Kelton’s renowned palomino steer horse Bullseye for the Timed Event, and Hall heeded Kelton’s advice when he picked the horse up.

“Chance told me, ‘Take your time over there,’” Hall smiled. “My good friend Robert Ansley’s been telling me, ‘Slow down to be fast’ all my life. I guess I kind of listened. The game plan for tomorrow is to just catch my cattle and not get in a hurry.”

Haven Meged and Lane Karney picked up the other two Round-3 paychecks. Rounding out the top five in the overall average behind Theriot heading into Round 4 tomorrow are Roger Nonella, Hall, Paul David Tierney and Smith.

For complete Timed Event Championship results, visit LazyE.com.

BY KENDRA SANTOS

Kendra Santos has written about cowboys all her life, including longtime stints with the PRCA, PBR, BFI and The Team Roping Journal. She’s also mom to two 2021 Timed Event Championship cowboys, Lane Karney and Taylor Santos.

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When Ohio native Tyler Waters got the call to compete at his first Cinch Timed Event Championship, he had a whole lot of hustling to do. The horseshoer, who currently hangs his hat in the Cowboy Capital of Stephenville, Texas, had never jumped a bulldogging steer, and had to find helpers and horses for all five events. He’s since borrowed every horse he’s riding here, and this afternoon won Round 2 in 53.9 seconds.

“I’m riding Brother Loud’s bulldogging horse (Tyler Pearson is hazing), Tanner Green’s calf horse, Willy Gasperson’s steer roping horse, and Travis Kiehne’s head and heel horses,” said Waters, 33, who has Jade Corkill helping him at both ends in the team roping. “The heel horse (Pepto Blue Lena) is the dad to the head horse (Preto).”

The fact that anything can happen at the Timed Event was on full display here at the Lazy E today. Justin Thigpen was winning the round after the heading, tie-down and heeling, then his bulldogging steer got away. That gave Erich Rogers the lead in the round after the steer wrestling, but then he burned two loops in the steer roping.

“Every event here is a tide turner,” Waters said. “I went 110 (seconds) yesterday, then cut that in half today just by relaxing. All I did today was just try to not overrun myself.”

Russell Cardoza, who’s competing here this week with two new hips, finished second in Round 2 with 58.0 on five. Clay Smith continues to lead the pack in the overall 2021 Cinch Timed Event race with 120.3 seconds on 10 head. Roger Nonella, Marcus Theriot, Seth Hall and Paul David Tierney are now second through fifth after two rounds.

See complete Cinch Timed Event Championship and Jr Ironman results at LazyE.com.

BY KENDRA SANTOS

Kendra Santos has written about cowboys all her life, including longtime stints with the PRCA, PBR, BFI and The Team Roping Journal. She’s also mom to two 2021 Timed Event Championship cowboys, Lane Karney and Taylor Santos.

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Oklahoma’s Briar Teague shows no signs of weakening here at the Jr Ironman at the Lazy E Arena. The 19-year-old first-timer struck for his second-straight round win today, with one heading, heeling, tie-down roping and steer wrestling run done in an impressive grand total of just 39.6 seconds. With 83.4 seconds on eight runs in the first two rounds, Teague now has a commanding lead over the pack, as Texan Colton Greene is next in line with 134.3 seconds. It’s no coincidence that Teague enlisted help from a couple of gold-buckle cowboys. World Champion Steer Wrestler Tyler Pearson is hazing for him, and World Champion Header Erich Rogers is heading for him in the heeling.

“When we back in there, I know they’re going to do their jobs,” Teague said. “All I have to do is my part, so that takes a lot of the pressure off of my shoulders.”

Why do the big dogs do it?

“Briar’s family welcomed us when we moved to Oklahoma a couple years ago,” said Mississippi native Pearson, who’s also hazing for Chisum Allen here in the Jr Ironman. “They’re good people, so it feels good to return the favor.”

“I’m happy to help, because I want to give the kids the confidence to compete to the best of their ability,” added Rogers, who actually met Teague at a recent practice session at Pearson’s steer wrestling playpen in Atoka, Oklahoma. “Briar’s planned partner’s horse got hurt, so I got the call. (https://iheartrving.com/) ”

Teague’s strategy will not change, as he plans to keep his foot on the gas.

“I’m not going to let up now,” Teague said. “I’m just going to keep doing what I’m doing, and try to finish strong tomorrow.”

Complete Jr Ironman results can be found at LazyE.com.

BY KENDRA SANTOS

Kendra Santos has written about cowboys all her life, including longtime stints with the PRCA, PBR, BFI and The Team Roping Journal. She’s also mom to two 2021 Timed Event Championship cowboys, Lane Karney and Taylor Santos.

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With 57.8 seconds on five runs—one each in heading, heeling, tie-down roping, steer wrestling and steer roping—two-time World Champion Team Roper Clay Smith took the Round 1 victory lap around the gargantuan Lazy E Arena on opening night at the 2021 Cinch Timed Event Championship. The guy who won back-to-back gold heading buckles in 2018 and ’19 got off to a great start, and grinned at evening’s end saying that competing in Rodeo’s Ironman is “almost a vacation” compared to getting ready for it.

“These last two weeks are the biggest of my year before the NFR (Wrangler National Finals Rodeo),” Smith said. “I had to practice going fast for The American, letting them out there for the BFI (which is here at the Lazy E on Sunday) and every event we do here. It’s grueling, but you get rewarded for practicing hard for this event, and having a good first night like this is a start.”

With five runs down and 20 to go, Smith leads the pack—Marcus Theriot is second so far—by 5.1 seconds. Smith felt like the event with the highest pucker factor for him on opening night was the heeling.

“That steer in the heeling tried to cut up underneath my brother’s (Jake Smith is also helping defending TEC Titlist Taylor Santos here this year) head horse,” Clay said. “I didn’t really want to take that shot, but I guess I was glad to get by that steer, even with a leg.”

That plus-five in the heeling was Smith’s only penalty of the night. Smith earned $3,000 for the round win. Rounding out the top five thus far behind Smith and Theriot are Daniel Green, Roger Nonella and Lane Karney.

BY KENDRA SANTOS

Kendra Santos has written about cowboys all her life, including longtime stints with the PRCA, PBR, BFI and The Team Roping Journal. She’s also mom to two 2021 Timed Event Championship cowboys, Lane Karney and Taylor Santos.

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Rattan, Oklahoma teen Briar Teague made consistency count to take the Round-1 victory lap at the Jr Ironman, which is held in conjunction with the Cinch Timed Event Championship here at the Lazy E Arena. With four runs—one each in heading, heeling, tie-down roping and steer wrestling—done in 43.8 seconds, Teague took command of the three-head contest, which will crown a champion on Saturday.

“Just to get picked to compete for this event is outstanding,” said Teague, who won a round of the team roping event heading for Rance Doyal at the 2020 National High School Finals Rodeo held here at the Lazy E last summer. “To be recognized and given the chance to show what we can do at this level is pretty cool.”

Teague sometimes practices his bulldogging with World Champion Steer Wrestler Tyler Pearson, and had Pearson’s hazing help here today. While over at Pearson’s the other day, Teague also picked up heading help for the Jr Ironman from World Champion Header Erich Rogers. Teague’s best friend, Jessen James, heeled for Briar in the heading event.

Teague’s a two-time Oklahoma High School Finals Rodeo all-around champ, and considers heading his main event.

“My career goal would be to win a gold buckle heading,” Teague said. “And I’d really love to come back and compete at the Timed Event Championship.”

The 20 Titans of the Timed Event Championship take center stage at 7:30 p.m. tonight. And yes, Pearson will be hazing for Rogers in that, too.

BY KENDRA SANTOS

Kendra Santos has written about cowboys all her life, including longtime stints with the PRCA, PBR, BFI and The Team Roping Journal. She’s also mom to two 2021 Timed Event Championship cowboys, Lane Karney and Taylor Santos.

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Every once in a while, someone stands out so much at something that he’s noticeably absent when we don’t see him somewhere. Such is the case with eight-time Wrangler National Finals Rodeo heeler Cody Cowden, who for the first time since the turn of the century won’t be here at the Lazy E Arena as a Cinch Timed Event Championship team roping helper. The winningest TEC helper of all time—Cowden’s headed and heeled for Trevor Brazile, Kyle Lockett, Daniel Green and Jordan Ketscher for a record six Timed Event wins—has put together an unparalleled run as king of the TEC wingmen spanning 2000-2020.

“I’m finally retired from the Timed Event, and it’s honestly kind of a relief, because helping at such a prestigious event is a huge responsibility,” said Cowden, who will be here in time to watch the last perf of the Timed Event Saturday night and rope in Sunday’s BFI.

Any sage advice from the helper who’s spent the most time in the Timed Event winner’s circle to the guys helping here this year?

“To be a good helper, you need to show up prepared and with the best head and heel horse you can ride,” Cowden said. “That was part of my decision to bow out this year. I didn’t have the head- or heel-horse power. It also doesn’t hurt to help winners.”

Lockett has Aaron Tsinigine—who’s also his 2021 BFI partner—heading for him at the Timed Event, and Douglas Rich heeling. Lockett won the Timed Event in both 2005 and 2011. Why did Kyle enlist Cowden’s help when he had the chance?

“Cody’s smart, and he’s a good catcher,” Lockett said. “Being a good helper is about as simple as that—knowing what it takes to win.”

The late Leo “The Lion” Camarillo, Green, Lockett, Ketscher and defending Timed Event champ Taylor Santos own nine Timed Event titles between them, which puts them one ahead of Texas’s eight. Why does Golden State cowboy Cowden think the prunies have had so much success here at the Lazy E?

“People underestimate California cowboys,” Cowden said. “That’s a mistake. We ranch and cowboy out here. All the best cowboys lived in California back in the day, and there’s still a lot of cowboy country in Cali.”

The 2021 Timed Event Championship of the World kicks off tomorrow night here at the Lazy E, and runs March 11-13 through Saturday night. Championship Weekend at the Lazy E then rolls right into Sunday’s BFI. And guess who will be out with the first crack of the gate? Yep, Team 1-A is none other than a pair of past BFI champs, J.D. Yates and Cody Cowden.

Yates—who’s one of the rare ropers who’ve roped both ends at the NFR—won the 2010 BFI with cousin Jay Wadhams, and Cowden won the 1997 BFI with Bobby Hurley. Buckle up, boys, it’s showtime at the Timed Event and BFI!

BY KENDRA SANTOS

Kendra Santos has written about cowboys all her life, including longtime stints with the PRCA, PBR, BFI and The Team Roping Journal. She’s also mom to two 2021 Timed Event Championship cowboys, Lane Karney and Taylor Santos. (atticsandmore.com)

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On March 9, Chisum Allen had his rig packed by 2:00 p.m. and was collecting horses on his way to The Lazy E, just a short three hours after getting the call that he’d be taking Sam Morgan’s place in the JR Ironman. He’ll be there in time to break in the cattle, having lined up his horsepower and partners in record time.

“I have a calf horse and a heel horse, and then, Korbin [Rice], the kid that’s going to head for me, I’m going to ride his head horse.”

Handily, the Cisco College freshman will also be borrowing a bulldogging horse from his rodeo coach, Don Eddleman, and has a bit of a crew to lean on at the event, in addition to his parents, Rusty and Carmen, who will be in the stands cheering, despite the short notice.

“Colton Greene, he’s actually my team roping partner now, in college, and we Region Rodeoed together in Texas. And then, Hayden Powell, he’s going to college in Cisco with me. I’ve been [to the event] and I’ve helped Lane Karney, and Taylor, a lot of my roping success has to do with Taylor [Santos.] We’ve been close and, when I was living in Cisco, I always caught myself in Stephenville with him. It’s kind of nice to have guys that know what they’re doing over there [and] they’ll be right there with me.”

Allen is a competitive and accomplished in calf roper, steer wrestler and team roper, and a 2021 Jr. NFR qualifier, a three-time Jr. American qualifier, a three-time Texas state High School Rodeo Finals qualifier, and an AQHA Reserve Champion tie-down roper, to name just a few of his accolades. He’s hot off a weekend competing in Fort Worth at the Jr. American, which didn’t go the way he hoped, but he knows now it was part of the plan. (Valium)

“My sister texted me and was like, ‘Hey, keep your head up. The Lord is going to reward your hard work.’ That was actually yesterday evening. Then, I got the phone call this morning that they want me up there.”

There’s a reason only 16 cowboy ironmen in history have earned the title Timed Event Champion of the World. With five rounds in five events, the Cinch Timed Event Championship is the toughest, truest possible test of timed-event versatility, horsemanship and all-around cowboy handiness. Physical and mental strength and stamina are musts for mere survival, but these guys are the best in the business. In today’s ultra-competitive world of cowboy specialists, most have a favorite event—and also one they recognize as not their strongest suit, if they’re being brutally honest. Getting to see these gladiators go at it in so many events is part of what makes tickets to the Timed Event worth way more than the price of admission. Here’s what five members of this year’s TEC cowboy class have to say about which event they crave the most—and another maybe not so much.

Paul David Tierney

Paul David Tierney is one of eight Timed Event cowboys who’ll stick around for the March 14 BFI after three days at the March 11-13 Cinch Timed Event Championship. He’ll head for Gage Williams at the BFI, and will again enlist Jace Crabb for heading and heeling help at the Timed Event.

“I would say the heading is my strongest suit, just because it’s the event I do the most and I have a horse that fits that set-up at the Lazy E,” Tierney said. “It’s the one event where I might be able to make up a second or two, if I need to.

“The bulldogging is probably my weakest link, but as long as I have a horse that fits me it doesn’t bother me. I’d probably usually say it’s a tossup between the bulldogging and the steer roping when it comes to my least-favorite events. I’m not always super smooth in the steer roping. But probably the bulldogging this year, just because I’m still trying horses. That two weeks of cold set things back a little bit on the preparation schedule.”

Like Daddy Paul and Big Brother Jess, Paul David knows what it takes to get the Timed Event W. He won it all in 2014 and ’16.

“I look forward to the Timed Event every year, because I like getting to go there and do all the events, and also not trying to be as fast as you can possibly be every time you nod your head. I like that you can step back, relax and make a practice run at such a prestigious event, because that’s the smart play in a 25-header. You have to go really fast at the rodeos and jackpots to stand a chance anymore, especially at the one-headers. The Timed Event is a whole different ballgame, and that’s part of what makes it such a great cowboy contest.”

Jace Melvin

Jace Melvin just made his first National Finals Rodeo in 2020.

“My best event is the steer wrestling, but I like them all,” Melvin said. “Steer wrestling is just something I’ve spent my whole life working at. I’ve specialized at it trying to make the NFR, so I have a lot invested in it and take it really seriously.

“But in the last two months, I’ve gotten to do every event. I feel pretty prepared, so I can’t say that I have an event I dread now. I also don’t really want to say I have a weakest event, because I don’t feel like I have a bad event and I’m a positive thinker. You’ve got to speak things into existence.

“The event I’ve focused on the most lately is the steer roping. I’ve really put a lot of time into it this year to get comfortable with it. I don’t believe in focusing on what we can’t do. You have to trust in yourself. I know I’m not as good at some stuff, and that I need to work on those things. But when I go to the Timed Event, my mindset is to do what I’ve prepared to do, do it to the best of my ability and have fun. It’s fine to acknowledge the things that go wrong and work to fix them, but to dwell on negative things and things you can’t control is just not helpful to anyone.”

Seth Hall

Seth Hall made an impressive showing at his first Timed Event in 2020.

“The calf roping is my bread-and-butter event and my main forte,” Seth said. “I’ve roped calves since I was a little kid, so that’s the one I’m most confident in, for sure.

“My least favorite event would be the tripping. I enjoy doing it, but it’s what I’ve done the least in competition. I haven’t done it for money as much as the others, so you could say it’s my ‘least used’ event.”

But ultimately, the Timed Event tests a cowboy’s all-around mettle.

“The stage they put us on at the Timed Event is really exciting,” Hall said. “Getting to go back to the historic Lazy E Arena and compete in this great event we all grew up watching is pretty amazing.”

Marcus Theriot

Marcus Theriot has Shay Carroll helping him at both ends in the team roping at Thursday through Saturday’s Timed Event, and will head for cousin Cole Curry at Sunday’s BFI.

“I feel like the steer wrestling is probably my strongest event at the Timed Event,” said the Mississippi son of World Champion Tie-Down Roper Herbert Theriot. “The bulldogging eliminates a lot of people at this event. I probably head better than I do anything else, but a lot of people get through that there.

“As for my least favorite event, I would rather barrel race than steer rope. I dread the tripping. I’ve worked at it more this year than the last four years put together, because it’s killed me every year. I decided I have to get better at it to have a chance. But I love the bulldogging at the Timed Event. It’s a bigger arena and the steers are always good.”

What stands out to Theriot after competing at the Timed Event a few times?

“You have to be a pretty handy person in everything you do up there,” he said. “And it’s never over ’til it’s over. It’s a lot like a match roping in that way—anything can change at any time. That’s one of the things I love about the Timed Event. If I was going to buy a ticket and go watch one event a year, it would 100 percent be the Timed Event. I love that thing, and look forward to it every year.”

Clayton Hass

Clayton Hass is a four-time NFR steer wrestler.

“My strongest event is the steer wrestling,” Hass said. “It’s what I do day in and day out. It’s the event I’ve had a passion for and have worked the hardest at.

“I honestly don’t feel like I have a weak event, but I work at the calf roping the least. I still compete a little in the team roping and steer roping, but not the calf roping.”

Hass is well aware of the mental marathon that’s part of Timed Event participation.

“I think it’s important not to get caught up in the drama there,” he said. “You’ve just got to do you at the Timed Event. To me, it’s about taking your first good shot and doing what you can do. The money at the Timed Event is a big deal, but the Timed Event is a cowboy’s game. I worked my butt off growing up to become a cowboy, and this event shows how talented guys are.

“You may only get to see me bulldog or Taylor Santos rope calves at the rodeos, but you get to see every guy do it all at the Timed Event. To get an invite to compete at The Ironman is pretty awesome. It’s a pretty cool feeling just knowing you’re a special enough cowboy to be there.”

BY KENDRA SANTOS

Kendra Santos has written about cowboys all her life, including longtime stints with the PRCA, PBR, BFI and The Team Roping Journal. She’s also mom to two 2021 Timed Event Championship cowboys, Lane Karney and Taylor Santos.

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At 53, K.C. Jones is the most esteemed elder—and eldest cowboy gladiator—in this year’s Cinch Timed Event Championship field. But don’t let his senior-citizen status fool you. Jones may be a little longer in the tooth than the TEC titans half his age in next month’s March Madness at the Lazy E lineup. But his five Timed Event titles are second only to Cowboy King Trevor Brazile’s seven. He’s also been the reserve TEC champ six times, including just two years ago in 2019. So though Jones is on the other side of the halfway-to-100 hump, he’s clearly not yet over the Timed Event hill.

“I have wisdom from some of the mistakes I’ve made along the way,” grinned Wyoming native Jones, who took the Timed Event title in 1993, ’96, ’99, 2001 and ’12. “I’ve bought a few lessons over the years. They’re kind of expensive sometimes, but you don’t forget ’em.”

Don’t mistake this K.C. Jones with Colorado-native National Finals Rodeo bulldogger K.C. Jones, who now lives in Texas. This is the K.C. Jones who roped calves and heeled for Mark Simon at the 1991 NFR. He’s also the K.C. Jones who won the 1994 Bob Feist Invitational heeling for Kevin Stewart. Wyoming K.C. now winters in Swainsboro, Georgia, with his wife, Stacie. They return to his original home in Ralston, Wyoming—“population 99 when I’m gone and 100 when I’m back home”—in the summertime.

In the ever-important matter of TEC horsepower, perennial Timed Event contender Jones has at times begged and borrowed to complete the remuda it takes to tackle five rounds in five events. But he’s often shown up with home-grown horses he’s raised and trained himself.

“I have had to show up at the Timed Event on a shoestring,” said Jones, who won the World’s Greatest Roper (heading, heeling and tie-down roping) in 2008, which was one of the five years it was held. As a side note, Daniel Green won it twice, Russell Cardoza once and Preston Williams once; Green and Cardoza will compete at this year’s Timed Event. “Any way you slice it, it costs you about $10,000 to show up at the Timed Event, by the time you come up with practice cattle and horses, pay the $3,000 entry fee and drive to Oklahoma from a distance, and that’s sometimes hard for a working person to come up with. The expenses and effort that go into a good showing at the Timed Event are huge. But it’s worth the self-satisfaction if you’re a true all-around cowboy. (www.lasvegasoms.com)

“I’m bringing all my own horses this year. When I’m going after something in an arena that big, I want to know my horse in every event.”

For nearly three decades now, Jones has covered a lot of country—“from Canada to Florida”—floating horses’ teeth as a horse dentist as his day job.

“I whittle teeth for a living,” Jones said. “People don’t even say ‘Hi’ or ‘How are you’ to me at ropings anymore. My name is now, ‘You Got Your Tools With You’?”

Jones is not surprised that the Lazy E has stepped up for so many events during this pandemic that’s cancelled so many cowboy contests.

“Hats off to the Lazy E for making everything from the (National) High School Finals (Rodeo) to the Timed Event and BFI possible,” he said. “I don’t know how many people have told me they’re coming to watch the Timed Event this year, then staying for the BFI. When things went haywire with this world, the Lazy E came through for cowboys. The Lazy E hasn’t let up, and deserves all the credit in the world for producing events that allow us cowboys to make a living.”

Texan Zane Bruce will handle Jones’s heading and heeling help in the team roping at the Timed Event. He plans to have Montana’s John Gee haze for him.

So if you’re taking it from a five-time champ, what’s it take to win the TEC?

“You’re not going to luck into winning the Timed Event Championship of the World,” said Jones, who’s been jumping rope and jogging to strengthen his pre-TEC stamina. “If you’re wearing a Timed Event buckle, you have some serious skills. I won’t give all my hard-earned trade secrets away, but you have to show up prepared mentally and physically to stand a chance at Rodeo’s Ironman marathon. The Timed Event is a pretty big mental game. There’s a lot of pressure on everybody, so you better be able to take the heat.

“Winning the Timed Event is a big deal, and my five titles there mean a lot. But Roy Cooper told me a long time ago to look forward to what you’re going to win in the future instead of looking back on what you’ve won in the past. And I took that to heart. Timed Event 2021, here I come!”

BY KENDRA SANTOS

Kendra Santos has written about cowboys all her life, including longtime stints with the PRCA, PBR, BFI and The Team Roping Journal. She’s also mom to two 2021 Timed Event Championship cowboys, Lane Karney and Taylor Santos.

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Everybody knows the Cinch Timed Event Championship is the truest test of all-around timed-event talent. It’s also the toughest, and that goes for every aspect of cowboying and competition—physical and mental—and for all of the humans and horses, it takes to tackle five rounds in five events. The 2021 Timed Event is coming in hot and will light up the Lazy E March 11-13 and lead straight into the BFI on March 14 as part of this year’s ground-breaking Championship Weekend at the Lazy E Arena. Four Timed Event titans—Erich Rogers, Jordan Ketscher, Justin Thigpen and Jess Tierney—just stepped up to talk about trying TEC trials, past and present.

Erich Rogers

Erich Rogers was on top of the team roping world when the newly crowned 2017 World Champion Header blew out his right knee steer wrestling at the 2018 Cinch Timed Event Championship. It was run #14 of 25 at that year’s Rodeo Ironman contest, and Rogers was in the lead when it happened.

“I was running my third bulldogging steer back up the left wall, and I was wanting to be really aggressive once I got my hands on him,” Arizona native son Rogers remembers. “But as I started to slide him, my right foot stuck in some deep dirt, and I hyperextended my knee and buckled it to the inside. That’s when the pop came, and it dropped me. I let go of the steer. I knew I was done.”

But the warrior in Rogers refused to say die. He taped up, braced up and ran his steer roping steer to finish out Round 3. Rogers even returned after a trip to town between performances confirmed the extent of his injuries to include a torn MCL, ACL and meniscus. He tried team roping—2015 World Champion Header Aaron Tsinigine helped Erich in the heading and heeling that year—but after realizing he couldn’t stand up in his stirrups to head and “about fell off in the heeling” had to call it quits for 2018. Rogers returned to the Timed Event in both 2019 and ’20, and can hardly wait to commence TEC battle in 2021.

“I love competing at the Timed Event,” said Rogers, who’ll also rope at this year’s BFI with Paden Bray. “The cowboy camaraderie behind those Timed Event chutes at the Lazy E is unreal. We cheer each other on, and respect what it takes just to be there so much. The bond between Timed Event contestants is like a brotherhood. We’re pretty tight. I tell people that if they go watch it in person one time, they’ll really get that. You’ll be on the edge of your seat, just like we are.”

But is the risk worth the possible reward and riches?

“Absolutely,” Rogers said. “This is what we do for a living, and the Timed Event is who we are as cowboys. You can get hurt ranching, too. We just grit our teeth and take it one run at a time. This event started in 1985, and only 16 guys have been handy enough to win it. If you win the Timed Event, your name is in the rodeo history books of all-around cowboy greats forever. The best cowboys in the world step up and shine at the Timed Event. Look what happened last year. Rookie Taylor Santos showed up and stuck it on everybody. The Timed Event is a big deal. It’s a great event, and it’s as cool for the cowboys as it is for the fans in the stands.”

Jordan Ketscher

Jordan Ketscher won the 2018 Timed Event, then turned around and left the Lazy E on crutches in 2019.

“It’s not like anything bad happened or there was a wreck or anything,” Californian Ketscher says in hindsight of the injury, which initially happened during his Round 3 steer wrestling run, and was finished off one run later in the steer roping. “I caught that steer, my foot hit sideways and the momentum got me. I hate that it happened, and that I had to have knee surgery. But that’s just part of it sometimes. If you’re a cowboy, you’ve got to saddle back up and go on.”

That’s exactly what the cool cowboy cat they call Maverick is getting ready to do again next month.

“There aren’t many opportunities for rodeo cowboys to win $100,000 in one place,” Jordan said. “You can acquire some assets with $100 grand. Every chance you get at money like that has to be taken. I love the Timed Event. That first bulldogging steer last year after blowing my knee out on the last one I’d ran was a little nerve-racking. But once you get that groove back, you just go on and it’s fun again. I can’t wait to get back to the Lazy E. I’m ready to get there and get after it. We all are.”

Justin Thigpen

Georgia’s Justin Thigpen hit the ground running when he won his first Timed Event in 2019. After having to take a year off to heal up from an injury unrelated to the TEC, he’s anxious to get back to Lazy E action next month.

“I tore a muscle in my stomach right before last year’s Timed Event catching a colt,” said Thigpen, who’s healed up and healthy in 2021. “It was a silly little deal. He kind of shied away from the mud, jumped back and snatched away from me. I felt the pop in my stomach when it happened. They said I either needed to give it four months off or have surgery, so I had to take last year off from the Timed Event. I hated to miss it. Only 20 guys get the chance to go at it every year, and it’s such a unique and challenging event. I’m really looking forward to going back this year.

“I work three events (Thigpen heads, ropes calves and bulldogs) at every rodeo I go to. What the Timed Event is about is what we do as a group of guys every day. It’s what we’ve worked all our lives for, so being on this stage is such an honor for us all. As for the money, well, we were getting ready to build a house when I won that $100,000 in 2019, so in my mind it was spent before I got home. What a blessing that was. But the best part of winning the Timed Event for me was the feeling of accomplishment, because I’ve dedicated my life to being a cowboy.”

Jess Tierney

Jess Tierney comes from a family of Timed Event blue bloods. There’s been at least one Tierney at the TEC since it started in 1985, and papa Paul, brother Paul David and Jess own seven Timed Event titles between them. Jess won it all in 2017, but faces a tough and painful decision about whether or not to do TEC battle in 2021 due to a nagging back injury. After a series of back injections he’s hopeful about, Jess expects to render his verdict by March 1.

“I have two bulging disks down by my sciatic (nerve), between the L4, L5 and S1 (vertebrae),” said South Dakota native Jess, who currently serves as rodeo coach at Western Oklahoma College in Altus. “I’ve been dealing with this since 2009, and right after the tripping finals (National Finals Steer Roping last November) it started getting worse. I used to be able to plank and exercise on the elliptical and get some relief. Lately, I get a few minutes of relief, then my back tightens up again. I can’t flank a calf right now, so if these injections don’t do the trick, I’d have to go nose ’em down at the Timed Event. I also don’t have the strength to hold onto a bulldogging steer if I get a strong one that wants to pull away from me. The Timed Event cattle are big and strong, as they should be at such a true cowboy contest. If you don’t have all your strength, you’re at a pretty serious disadvantage.”

Jess will see how the injections help, then do his own risk-reward analysis factoring in pain management, the probability of peak performance and the likelihood of doing himself more long-term harm if he decides to gut it out and push forward.

“I’m obviously hoping to get by without surgery, and this didn’t happen overnight,” Jess said. “I started shoeing horses when I was 18, and after about 10 years of that my back got to hurting. Then I got bucked off, and hit right on my butt. That’s when I really jammed my back. I carry an inversion table everywhere I go. And if I don’t have that handy, I hook my feet over the top of a fence, hang upside down and stretch for about 30 seconds. When it pops and gets loose, it gives me a little relief.

“The Timed Event decision is a big one for me. I’m supposed to take it easy this week, then I’ll get back in the gym. If I’m feeling pretty good, I’ll tie some calves to the post with these college kids and maybe run a bulldogging steer at Stockton’s (Graves, rodeo coach at Northwestern Oklahoma State University in Alva) before heading to Guthrie. The deal with the Timed Event is that a guy leaves there sore when he goes in healthy. It’s just the nature of the beast. The Timed Event is hard on you. That’s why it pays $100 grand. The Timed Event Championship of the World lives up to its name, and they’ve never had one without a Tierney in it. I hope it won’t, but if it comes to me having to sit this one out, Paul David will represent our family. I don’t want to disappoint (three-time Timed Event Champ) Jimmie Cooper by griping about pain. They call it Rodeo’s Ironman for a reason, and guys who aren’t tough need not apply. God gave us good doctors, and cowboys don’t sit around in rocking chairs.”

BY KENDRA SANTOS

Kendra Santos has written about cowboys all her life, including longtime stints with the PRCA, PBR, BFI and The Team Roping Journal. She’s also mom to two 2021 Timed Event Championship cowboys, Lane Karney and Taylor Santos.

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