PRORODEO Sports News - February 7, 2025

PRCA Photo by Ric Andersen

MINTON & HALE SPLIT TIE-DOWN TITLE Sometimes, the short round isn’t enough to settle the score between rodeo cowboys. Brushton Minton moved to the top of the leaderboard halfway through the tie-down roping at the National Western Stock Show and Rodeo with a 7.3-sec ond run, and felt like he had a pretty good chance to earn the win. “I knew I had a good calf,” Minton said. “Riley Pruitt tied that calf in 7.5 seconds in the second round. That calf was phenomenal. I don’t remember much of the run. It was just a blur, but it all worked out.” Five runs later, Trevor Hale had other plans. The 22-year-old matched the leader at 7.3 seconds, ultimately earn ing a share of the top spot. “I just needed to go make the best run I could,” Hale said. “I had a great calf, and I knew it. It worked out well. My horse did everything it could to help me be fast. And on runs like that, ev erything has to go right to be in the low sevens. And we both had great runs.” But there was only one buckle on-site at the Denver Coliseum, so the two competitors decided to settle the score outside the arena - with a friendly game of rock, paper, scissors. Minton bested Hale in the schoolyard game to take home the buckle, but Hale will receive his in the mail from the Na tional Western in the coming weeks. “It feels good, I’m strapping it on right now,” Minton said. Hale didn’t mind waiting for the hard ware, especially after kickstarting his 2025 campaign. “It’s my first rodeo of the year, so to come out on top after one rodeo is great,” the 22-year-old said. “Hopefully, I can carry this momentum on.”

Tie-down roper TREVOR HALE matches Brushton Minton with a 7.3-second run to share the title at the Denver Coliseum.

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