LOVINGTON, N.M. – Over the course of his 13-year career, Marty Yates has seen a lot of success.

He’s made nine straight trips to the National Finals Rodeo with multiple top-five finishes in the world standings. His best finish came in 2020, when he finished in the tie-down roping money list. He’s won some of the biggest rodeos in the game, but there are a couple of titles that have eluded him: the world championship and the championship at the Lea County Fair and Rodeo.

Yates won’t win this year either, but he put on a show during Friday’s third performance at storied Jake McClure Arena in Lovington, stopping the clock in 8.2 seconds to take the second-round lead. Combined with his 11.8-second run during the opening round Friday morning, he is in position to place in the two-run aggregate. That opens the door at the right time.

“This rodeo sure has gotten good,” said Yates, 30, of Stephenville, Texas, who missed out on the NFR last year but is well on his way to qualification No. 10. “It’s become a great stop for us. I had a little tough luck (Friday) morning; I had a calf that kicked a little bit, and then came back on a really good one. I just did my job and made a nice run and am going to get paid a little bit for it.

“It’s nice to come to these two-headers and have two chances at good calves.”

The Lea County Fair Board has increased its portion of the purse to $25,000 per event. That, combined with the contestants’ entry fees, will make the overall payout, so Yates is looking to take home some serious cash out of southeastern New Mexico. This isn’t the first time he’s had success. Over his roping career, he has earned a lot of money in Lovington. 

“I know I’ve won checks just about every year I’ve been here,” Yates said. “I can’t recall the year, but I tied my second one in 7.2 (seconds). I don’t know, but it’s got to be pretty close to the arena record right here, so that was a pretty good highlight for me in Lovington.

“It’s always been good to me, so it’s always been a good stop on our trail.”

It’s been a solid season for the Texan. He is sixth in the world standings with more than $120,000 in earnings heading into this week of rodeos. Still, he trails the leader, New Mexican Shad Mayfield, by $80,000. Yates still has seven weeks remaining on the regular season and a trip to the NFR to surpass that total and walk away with rodeo gold.

“A lot more luck goes into it than a guy thinks,” he said. “The horses are the biggest part of our game. If you don’t have a good horse, you can’t do anything no matter how good you rope. With some luck that my horses stay together and I keep roping good, things will work out. The NFR will obviously be the deciding factor.”

That’s because go-round winners will pocket more than $30,000 a night for 10 go-rounds. Big things happen in the Nevada desert.

“There’s so much money added out there that as long as you have a chip and a chair, you’re going to have a chance,” Yates said. “Hopefully, I’ll finish off this regular season and look forward to being back in Vegas this year.”

Lea County Fair and Rodeo
Lovington, N.M.
Aug. 7-10
Bareback riding leaders: 1. Leighton Berry, 88 points on Pickett Pro Rodeo’s Shady Nights; 2. Garrett Shadbolt, 87.5; 3. (tie) Jacob Lees and Orin Larsen, 86.5; 5. Bradlee Miller, 86; 6. Nick Pelke, 85.5; 7. Dean Thompson, 83.5; 8. Richmond Champion, 82.

Steer wrestling: First round leaders: 1. Clayton Hass, 3.4 seconds; 2. (tie) Walt Arnold, Tyler Scheevel and Chance Howard, 4.1; 5. Sam Powers, 4.3; 6. Eli Lord, 4.4; 7. (tie) Tyke Kipp and Cameron Haumea, 4.5. Second round leaders: 1. (tie) Tyke Kipp and Don Payne, 4.0 seconds; 3. (tie) Matt Jodie, Will Lummus, Cody Devers and Chance Howard, 4.1; 7. (tie) Clayton Hass, Riley Duvall and Brady Reneau, 4.2. Average leaders: 1. Clayton Hass, 7.6 seconds on two runs; 2. Chance Howard, 8.2; 3. (tie) Tyke Kipp and Walt Arnold, 8.5; 5. Matt Jodie, 9.2; 6. Eli Lord, 9.3; 7. Cody Devers, 10.0; 8. Riley Duvall, 10.9.

Tie-down roping: First round leaders: 1. Cory Solomon, 9.0 seconds; 2. Bryce Derrer, 9.2; 3. Kincade Henry, 9.4; 4. Brushton Minton, 9.6; 5. (tie) Trevor Hale and Marcos Costa, 9.7; 7. Tom Crouse, 10.1; 8. Chet Weitz, 10.7. Second round leaders: 1. Marty Yates, 8.2 seconds; 2. Cash Hooper, 8.6; 3. Trevor Hale, 8.8; 4. Kater Tate, 8.9; 5. Zane Kilgus, 9.5; 6. (tie) Austin Lawrence and Cash Fretwell, 9.7; 8. (tie) Marcos Costa and Brody Stallard, 9.8. Average leaders: 1. Trevor Hale, 18.5 seconds on two runs; 2. Kincade Henry, 19.3; 3. Marcos Costa, 19.5; 4. Brushton Minton, 19.7; 5. Marty Yates, 20.0; 6. Tom Crouse, 20.2; 7. (tie) Chet Weitz and Cash Fretwell, 20.9.

Breakaway roping leaders: 1. (tie) Kelsie Domer and Josie Conner, 2.1 seconds; 3. Bailey Bates, 2.5; 4. (tie) Maddy Deerman, Winter Williams and Kassidy Dennison, 2.6; 7. Bailey Currie, 2.7; 8. (tie) Jackie Crawford and Blyth Beshears, 2.8; 10. Christi Braudrick, 2.9; 11. Rylee Abel, 3.1; 12. (tie) Jordan Muncy and Devyn Dennison, 3.3; 14. Haley Mason, 3.5; 15. Kadin Jodie, 3.6; 13. Annie Winters, 4.5; 14. (tie) Lari Dee Guy and Teagan Miller, 12.10.

Saddle bronc riding leaders: 1. Brody Cress, 89 points on Pete Carr Pro Rodeo’s Dirty Jacket; 2. Lefty Holman, 87; 3. Gus Galliard, 86.5; 4. Jake Finlay, 86; 5. (tie) Weston Patterson and Logan Hay, 85.5; 7. Allen Boore, 85; 8. (tie) Ryder Sanford and Riggin Smith, 84.5.

Team roping: First round leaders: 1. Tyler Wade/Wesley Thorp, 3.8 seconds; 2. Tanner Tomlinson/Patrick Smith, 4.2; 3. Manny Egusquiza/Evan Arnold, 4.7; 4. Clay Smith/Coleby Payne, 4.9; 5. Wawa Ben Jr./Brandon Ben, 5.1; 6. Devon McDaniel/Walt Woodard, 5.2; 7. Seth Hall/Pace Blanchard, 5.3; 8. Cyle Denison/Tanner Braden, 5.3. Second round leaders: 1. Kaleb Driggers/Junior Nogueira, 3.7 seconds; 2. Brenten Hall/Kaden Profili. 4.1; 3. Cash Fretwell/Creed West, 4.5; 4. Coy Rahlmann/Ross Ashford, 5.2; 5. Clay Smith/Coleby Payne, 5.4; 6. Wawa Ben Jr./Brandon Ben, 6.6; 7. Seth Hall/Pace Blanchard, 6.9; 8. Devon McDaniel/Walt Woodard, 9.2. Average leaders: 1. Clay Smith/Coleby Payne, 10.3 seconds on two runs; 2. Coy Rahlmann/Ross Ashford, 10.6; 3. Wawa Ben Jr./Brandon Ben, 11.7; 4. Seth Hall/Pace Blanchard, 12.2; 5. Devon McDaniel/Walt Woodard, 14.4; 6. Cash Fretwell/Creed West, 14.6; 7. Reno Stoebner/L.J. Yeahquo, 15.9; 8. Tyler Wade/Wesley Thorp, 17.5.

Steer roping: First round leaders: 1. Will Eddleman, 15.4 seconds; 2. Shad Mayfield, 15.6; 3. Tanner Stec, 15.7; 4. Brian Garr, 15.8; 5. Coleman Proctor, 16.1; 6. Seth Schafer, 16.8; 7. Clay Long, 17.1; 8. Chad Mathis, 17.5. Second round leaders: 1. Cole Patterson, 12.8 seconds; 2. Ryan Willberg, 13.4; 3. (tie) Tuff Hardman and Scott Snedecor, 14.0; 5. Mark Milner, 14.6; 6. (tie) Keith Hudson and Chet Herren, 14.9; 8. Coleman Proctor, 15.8. Third round leaders: 1. Scott Snedecor, 11.8 seconds; 2. Quay Howard, 12.0; 3. Cole Patterson, 13.0; 4. Will Eddleman, 13.3; 5. Marty Jones, 13.5; 6. (tie) Ryan Rochlitz and Seth Hall, 14.1; 8. Stratton Lopez, 15.3. Average leaders: 1. Will Eddleman, 45.7 seconds on three runs; 2. Chet Herren, 49.5;3. Duck Benson, 54.5; 4. Tony Reina, 60.4; 5. (tie) Cole Patterson and Scott Snedecor, 25.8 seconds on two runs; 7. Coleman Proctor, 31.9; 8. (tie) Keith Hudson and Seth Shafer, 33.6.

Barrel racing leaders: 1. Wenda Johnson, 17.50 seconds; 2. Sadie Wolaver-Troyer, 17.51; 3. Tarryn Lee, 17.54; 4. Paige Jones, 17.56; 5. Hailey Kinsel, 17.57; 6. Londyn Ross, 17.63; 7. Jamie Olsen, 17.67; 8. Natalie Bland, 17.73.

Bull riding leaders: 1. Wacey Schalla, 89.5 points on Pete Carr Pro Rodeo’s Armed Conflict; 2. Brad Moreno, 87; 3. Wade Tuni, 85.5; no other qualified rides.