GUTHRIE, Okla. – The most unique championship in Western sports history is coming to a head.
The CINCH Timed Event Championship will highlight the 20 best all-around timed-event cowboys in the game in a rugged exhibition of talent, horsemanship and stamina. Each will compete in the five disciplines for five rounds spread out over just three days.
The preparatory work has been ongoing for weeks as each man has put his physical and mental capabilities to the test. Now is when they want to shine, with performances beginning at noon and 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday.
“By now, I just want to know I’ve got the best horses available that I can,” said Jess Tierney, the reigning champ and the third member of his family to have earned this prestigious title. “I know that for the last 60 days, I’ve sacrificed something in my life to be in good shape and mentally prepared for it – I’ve been spending more time preparing and less with my family, but this is an important event to me.
“I’m just going to try to be a cowboy.”
That’s a key ingredient in the “Ironman of ProRodeo.” This is the one time a year that Trevor Brazile and JoJo LeMond wrestle steers. This weekend will be the last time in 2018 that Clayton Hass and reigning heading world champion will compete in single steer roping.
Each man will be placed in uncomfortable situations through each round. The true test till come in how they handle the adversity. It’s one of the things that makes the Timed Event so unique and so cherished by its champions.
“There’s not another event like it,” said Brazile, a seven-time Timed Event champion from Decatur, Texas. “It is the purest of timed-event contests, then you put it in a venue like the Lazy E, and it adds that much more of a cowboy contest.”
He knows a little bit about it. In addition to his seven CTEC crowns, he is also the greatest cowboy in the history of the game, with 23 PRCA world champions – 13 all-around, six steer roping, three tie-down roping and one in heading.
But he’s just one of 20 who has a chance to win this coveted title. The talent that will make up the combatants in this year’s Timed Event is as loaded as has ever been seen in this championship’s 34-year history. But there’s so much more that goes into the weekend, including the second straight year of the Jr. Ironman, showcasing 10 talented cowboys between the ages of 15-20.
As has happened in years past, the annual chuckwagon cooking contest will take place in conjunction with the festivities. It was named the 2017 American Chuck Wagon Association’s event of the year. Breakfast will begin at 8:30 a.m. Saturday, and the dinner will begin at 3 p.m. Tickets may be purchased through www.Ticketmaster.com.
Added to the event will be the marketplace and the CINCH Fan Zone. The marketplace will have fashion, tack, leather goods, farm and ranch equipment and more.
The CINCH Fan Zone will have autograph sessions daily beginning at 10 a.m. and after the evening performances on Friday, March 2, and Saturday, March 3. It will also feature a bar, games, giveaways, a lounge area to watch each performance live, a photo booth and the CINCH Kids Dummy Roping presented by Heel-O-Matic – kids can rope with the Jr. Ironman contestants before the Friday and Saturday evening performances.