LAS VEGAS – Team ropers J.C. Yeahquo and Buddy Hawkins were the first tandem out of the timed-event box Sunday night at the National Finials Rodeo, and they set a standard that wasn’t beaten.
It was tied, however, by three other teams. They stopped the clock in 4.1 seconds, and each of the eight men earned $23,635 for sharing the fourth-round victory. That’s a good thing for Yeahquo, a first-timer on ProRodeo’s biggest stage.
“It’s awesome; this was a good night for me,” said Yeahquo, 24, of Stephenville, Texas. “I was just excited to be here, just happy I got a good steer and my partner did a good job. It all came together.”
Yeahquo was born in northwest North Dakota, and his family moved to Crescent, Oklahoma, when he was a toddler. He’s been roping almost all of his life, and his adventure to Las Vegas is the culmination of the dreams he’s had. He’s competing with men who first qualified for the NFR when Yeahquo was just 10 years old.
Most of the 30 men in the field (15 headers, like Yeahquo, and 15 heelers) are his heroes, and he either beat or tied them Sunday night.
“I think after the first night, I was a little off the barrier and was a little hesitant at the start,” said Yeahquo, who has earned $45,046 at the NFR, all but $10,000 over the past two days. “When I realized I left right after the steer and was off the barrier, I was like, ‘I can go whenever I want.’
“That just makes my job a whole lot easier to be able to go, and I can get close to the cow and just try to turn them.”
He’s pushed his season earnings to $171,341 and sits seventh in the world standings. Even after being saddled with a no-time in Round 1 and a five-second penalty on Night 2, Yeahquo and Hawkins have moved up to ninth in the four-run aggregate. If they can maintain consistency through the final four rounds, they have a good chance to collect an average bonus when the finale ends Saturday.
“I’ll just keep going from here,” Yeahquo said. “I don’t want to change anything. I just want to keep hitting the steer and having fun. I don’t want to think about it too much or trying to do things to do better. I think if I just keep the pace that I’m at right now.
“I just want to maintain what I’ve got.”
It’s working. At major championships like this, there’s no sense in changing a winning formula.