The 2025 Cinch Timed Event Championship, presented by Smarty Rodeo, has finalized the 25 athletes – including eight past champions – who’ll gun for the $100,000 first-place paycheck in Guthrie, Oklahoma, Feb. 27 through March 1.
Defending and three-time champ Paul David Tierney headlines the ’25 roster, which also includes veterans K.C. Jones and Kyle Lockett, plus first-timers Ketch Kelton and John Douch.
“This is my 11th year at the Lazy E, and I fully expect this to be the deepest lineup of really good, capable cowboys we’ve ever had,” said Lazy E General Manager Dan Wall. “We’ve got some new blood in the mix, and we have world champs on the wait-list who will be ready. A couple guys usually have to pull out due to injury just getting ready for this thing.”
The invitation-only event, now in its 41st year, is dubbed “The Ironman” for its requirement that cowboys compete in five grueling rounds of five different rodeo events: heading, tie-down roping, heeling, steer wrestling and steer roping. Tierney, 35 and a South Dakota native, has banked $388,500 over his 14 years competing in The Ironman. His brother Jess won the title back in 2017, and their dad, ProRodeo Hall-of-Famer Paul Tierney, won four CTEC titles over three different decades. The Tierneys are to timed events what the Mannings are to football.
“It not only takes a huge physical toll on the body, but these guys have to line up the right horsepower – excellent calf and bulldogging horses,” Wall said. “It doesn’t matter how good a hand you are if your horse takes you out, or if you don’t find good partners to haze and help you team-rope.”
Another family well-versed in good horses and good help are the Keltons of Arizona. Former National Finals Rodeo header and National Finals of Steer Roping qualifier Chance Kelton competed in Guthrie 14 years and finished as runner-up a few times. Meanwhile, his son Ketch, 19, enters the 2025 Ironman as a favorite. He’ll try to become only the fourth rookie to ever win the title, after Mike Beers in 1986, Justin Thigpen in 2019, and Taylor Santos in 2020.
“There’s been a lot of preparation and coaching behind this,” Chance said after Ketch won his first of back-to-back Jr Ironman titles. “He’s prepared his whole life. We’re Timed Event Championship guys; this is what we do.”
Young Kelton, who also broke the Jr. Ironman’s aggregate record over four events, is accustomed to the adrenaline rush of competing in multiple events. The defending national high-school all-around champ made that particular short round in four different events. He’ll have stiff competition in Guthrie, though, from defending Ironman reserve champ Nelson Wyatt of Alabama and 2023 champ Cody Doescher of Texas, among others.
Meanwhile, 48-year-old Lockett of California is a crowd favorite. The seven-time NFR heeler has competed here 23 times previously and won twice, in 2005 and 2011. And Jones makes his 32nd appearance with five previous Ironman titles under his belt, having raked in $493,500 over the years in Guthrie. At 56, he’s the eldest cowboy gladiator with Ironman wins in three different decades.
“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 entry fee and drive to Oklahoma,” the Wyoming native said. “But it’s worth the money and effort to get ready, if you’re a true all-around cowboy.”
To that end, a new presenting sponsor stepped in this year.
“Now that we’ve expanded outside roping for our training machines, we can help contestants prepare on all sides of this event,” said Amanda Shaffer, vice president of business development at Smarty Rodeo. “Our Smarty Bulldogger simulates both the horse and steer, side by side. And of course, Smarty and Heel-O-Matic have steer and calf trainers. The Timed Event Championships is one of my favorite events of the year to watch.”
Former CTEC champs Thigpen and Erich Rogers will return, as well as Marcus Theriot, whose father Herbert Theriot, a world all-around champion, also competed for years to become the Ironman.
“It takes a lot of patience, concentration and focus,” Marcus said. “I definitely feel like you have to be made for this event to win it.”
Tickets are on sale now, and for discounts at the host hotel, Hilton Garden Inn, reserve by Feb. 5.
2025 Cinch Timed Event Championship of the World Roster:
Paul David Tierney, Nelson Wyatt, Cody Doescher, Jess Tierney, Erich Rogers, Dylan Hancock, Thomas Smith, Marcus Theriot, Blane Cox, Russell Cardoza. Seth Hall, Tyler Pearson, Clayton Hass, Brushton Minton, Billy Good, Kolton Schmidt, K.C. Jones, Cade Rice, Colby Lovell, Justin Thigpen, Clay Smith. Kyle Lockett, Jojo Lemond, John Douch, and Ketch Kelton
