Garrett Hale Crowned as Cody Stampede’s First Steer Roping Champ
Garrett Hale made ProRodeo history as the first steer roping champion for the Cody (Wyo.) Stampede on July 4.
Named after former resident and American icon Buffalo Bill Cody, the town of Cody prides itself as the “Rodeo Capital of the World,” and 2020 marks the dawning of a new century for this iconic Wyoming rodeo with steer roping in the mix for the first time since the rodeo began in 1919.
“I’d like to thank the rodeo committee for having us, they didn’t have to, but they did,” Hale said. “That was probably the most excited I’ve been, to hear that Cody had steer roping. I have always wanted to (rope) steers there. We were tickled. I loved it and hope they keep adding.”
Since they’re Cody’s first, Hale and Landon McClaugherty set the Cody steer roping records – Hale with 20.2 seconds on two head and McClaugherty with his 8.1-second run in Round 2.
Hale compared steer roping in Cody’s arena to the arenas at the Black Hills Roundup in Belle Fourche, S.D., and the Walker County Fair & Rodeo in Huntsville, Texas.
“The arena at Cody is a bit bigger, but the setup was great for steer roping,” Hale said. “And the steers were outstanding, and that made the roping a lot tougher, particularly since more than half the people had a chance to win at any go round.”
Hale hit the arena with a first-place run of 9.1 seconds in Round 1, and although he was out of the money in the second round, he maintained a 0.9-second lead in the average to go home with $4,478.
“It was tough today for a two-header, everyone was going as fast as they possibly could, and it takes a bit of slowing down to be fast in steer roping,” Hale said.
Hale, 28, is no stranger to ProRodeo success. The Snyder, Texas, cowboy has won more than $250,524 since his rookie year in 2012, thanks in part to qualifying for the Clem McSpadden National Finals Steer Roping in 2018-19.
“Everything was smooth, and that’s what got me the win,” Hale said. “I had a pretty big high coming onto the bus back home today. I was pretty speechless.”
His Independence Day was made even sweeter by winning the World’s Oldest Rodeo in Prescott, Ariz., for $3,620, which brought his weekend total to $8,098.
Before winning Cody, Hale was 10th in the PRCA | RAM World Standings with $14,864, which was $12,818 shy of taking the No. 1 position.
With a double win on the Fourth of July, Hale is confidently heading to the Parker County Sheriff’s Posse Frontier Days and PRCA Rodeo in Weatherford, Texas, and the National Circuit Finals Steer Roping in Torrington, Wyo.
“Deadwood (Days Of ’76 Rodeo) is right after that, and my goal is to win it since I’ve come in second twice there,” Hale said, adding that he’d also like to enter the NFSR among the top five.
Other winners at the $297,350 rodeo were all-around cowboy Tuf Cooper ($9,706 in tie-down roping and steer roping); bareback rider Chad Rutherford (90.5 points on Frontier Rodeo’s Gun Fire); steer wrestler Ben Kilburg (3.6 seconds); team ropers Erich Rogers/Paden Bray (4.8 seconds); saddle bronc rider Rusty Wright (91.5 points on Frontier Rodeo’s Medicine Woman); tie-down ropers West Smith and Tuf Cooper (8.0 seconds each); barrel racer Paige Jones (17.10 seconds); and bull rider Roscoe Jarboe (90 points on Frontier Rodeo’s Lookin’ Up).
For more coverage of the Cody Stampede, check out the July 10 edition of ProRodeo Sports News.
Courtesy of PRCA