LAS VEGAS – Team roping header J.C. Yeahquo is having the experience of a lifetime during his first qualification to the National Finals Rodeo.
“It’s been great,” said Yeahquo, 24, originally from Manderee, North Dakota, raised in Crescent, Oklahoma, and now living in Stephenville, Texas. “I’ve been around great people. Everybody’s helped me fill in on all that I need to do, and it’s been extremely fun for me to be out here living a dream that I’ve had ever since I was a kid.”
His status in the City of Entertainment got a little better when he and his heeling partner, Buddy Hawkins, stopped the clock in 4.0 seconds to finish in a tie for fourth place in Saturday’s third go-round. That was worth $11,410 and helped push his annual earnings to nearly $148,000.
“I wasn’t nervous the first night when I was in the (timed-event) box,” he said. “The only time I was nervous was when I was sitting in the alley behind he boxes. I couldn’t swing my rope, and I was sitting there and watching all these guys rope that I’ve watched rope since I was a little kid. I was like, ‘This is the real deal here. This is this. All that I’ve waited for is right here.’ ”
Saddled with a no-time on opening night, he rebounded in Friday’s Round 2. Unfortunately, Hawkins snagged one leg instead of two, and the team incurred a five-second penalty. All the while, though, they gained the confidence they needed to find a payday on Night 3.
“I knew I could basically leave as soon as I nodded,” Yeahquo said. “With that, I didn’t have to worry about scoring; I just had to worry about roping. It takes all the hard stuff out of it that I’ve struggled with through the years, like scoring and riding. I just have to ride and rope. When you take all that other stuff out, it seems to be a lot easier.”
It helps, too, to have a partner like Hawkins, a six-time NFR qualifier who won the NFR average title in 2021.
“I didn’t give Buddy anything to go at on the first one, so that one was on me,” Yeahquo said. “I did the same thing on the second one, but he pencils it all down so good that he basically just knew it was going to happen again when the steer steeped right like that, so he just adapted, and he knows just what to do.
“Winning money felt really good. I was so excited when I got out the back. I was just grabbing and shaking buddy. I was just so happy that we finally got a clean run.”
It can be a long 10 days in the Nevada desert, but each evening offers a new chance and a new shot at making money. The focus now is on building to the momentum the team gained Saturday.
“I think I’ll just keep my head down and keep roping the sharpest here,” he said. “The pen of steers we have (Sunday are probably the strongest set. I don’t know if the times will be quite as fast as they were (Saturday), but I bet there will be a lot of catches, and I think think it’s going to be pretty good.”
It’s the next step in climbing the ladder to success in Las Vegas.