LAS VEGAS – When things get rolling in this city, it goes fast.
Take Tuesday’s sixth round of team roping at the National Finals Rodeo. Five of the 15 tandems posted runs of 3.8 seconds or faster, which is lightning quick, especially considering there are five elements involved: a header, a heeler, two horses and a steer.
J.C. Yeahquo and his heeler, Buddy Hawkins, stopped the clock so fast that ProRodeo officials questioned Yeahquo’s release point. A header must be outside the timed-event box before he can release his rope. Instant replay was used, and the judges said no infraction took place.
The result: The clock stopped in 3.6 seconds. The funny thing is, Yeahquo and Hawkins settled to tie for second place with reigning world champions and standings leaders Tyler Wade and Wesley Thorp. Brenten Hall and Kaden Profilli won the round with a 3.5.
“We had a good steer,” said Yeahquo, 24, of Stephenville, Texas. “They put No. 60 on the best one, and I guess that’s the one we had. We just took advantage of the steer and were able to be fast enough on him.”
While he didn’t win the round, the money for their feat was still outstanding. He earned $23,364 and has collected just shy of $80,000 during his stay in Las Vegas. After being saddled with a no-time in the first round and suffering a five-second penalty on Night 2, Yeahquo and Hawkins have placed in four straight nights. They have a cumulative time of 26.8 seconds on five qualified runs and have jumped to fourth in the aggregate race.
The average winners in each event will earn a bonus of more than $86,000 when the NFR concludes. Should Yeahquo remain fourth through Saturday night, he will add nearly $41,000. He’s already moved up to fifth in the world standings with $206,115.
“I try to just let my instincts take over and go from there,” Yeahquo said of his solid performances. “I try not to plan too much. I just try to rope and have fun. I don’t even know the numbers (of the steer) or anything like that. I think all (the steers) are pretty good, so I’m jut taking advantage.
“These were our best steers, the softer set. When you have a set of steers like that and they’re all going to naturally do the same thing and just be medium speed, time times are going to be fast like that.”
He has found a rhythm, which is important at ProRodeo’s grand finale. This is a tough place to play the game, especially with the pressure to perform that’s on every contestant. Yeahquo isn’t responding like a first-timer to the NFR.
“I think we’re just rolling with the flow,” he said. “I think missing the first one probably helped me. I think if I had started out catching, I would have just been trying to play along rather than trying to win money every night.”
Everything is clicking for Yeahquo and Hawkins, and there are still four more nights of chances before them.