PRORODEO Sports News - July 26, 2024

OGDEN, UTAH

OGDEN PIONEER DAYS

Carroll/Helton earn team roping title Unikely Duo BY ALEX DODD A n unlikely team roping duo proved the most consistent at Ogden (Utah) Pioneer Days from July 19-21. Three-time Wrangler National Finals Rodeo qualifier and header Shay Dixon Carroll paired up with

permit heeler Jace Helton this season because it just made sense. Carroll and Helton didn’t earn a round win in Ogden, but they stayed the course to win the average at 10.6 seconds on two head and pick up an $8,241 check. “It helps to go at the end because you have an idea of how hard to push,” Carroll said. “There are so many good competitors that you hate to go at the beginning and go too slow. Being at the end gives you an idea of how fast you’ve got to go. I think that was a big advantage.” Carroll met Helton when he was a 16-year-old high school student in need of a new horse. The seasoned pro sold the aspiring cowboy the horse that took him to his first NFR. A few years later, when Helton moved to Texas, Carroll invited him to come over and practice roping a few steers on his ranch. Helton thought Carroll was just being nice, but he insisted. “With my past in heeling, I’ve been able to help him with his heeling and try to get him going on the right path,” Carroll said. “Now, that he’s old enough to rodeo, it’s been fun to go out there with him and try it at the ProRodeos.” In April, Carroll and Helton roped together at the San Angelo (Texas) Stock Show and Rodeo. They ended up winning the average and decided to team up for the summer. “We ended up roping at San Angelo, and we did good there,” Helton said. “We roped at a couple of other places and were winning. It all just kind of worked itself out. It was never really a planned deal. It just kind of seemed like it was working, so we stuck with it.” Carroll and Helton opened Ogden with a 5.1-second run to nab sixth and $1,551 in the first round and followed it with a 5.5-second run in the second round to clinch the average title. Carroll last qualified for the NFR in 2020 and currently sits 30th in the PRCA | RAM World Standings. But the 33-year-old isn’t overly concerned with returning to Las Vegas. “That would be exciting, but it is what it is. It’s not the end all be all,” he said. “I just like competing and seeing where my horses are at. I like competing against the best guys in the world because it gives you a ladder to judge yourself by.” Helton isn’t eligible for a trip to the Thomas & Mack Center this December because he originally planned on roping part-time this summer and stayed on his permit. “I really thought about buying my card this winter. I don’t know if it makes a difference winning the rodeo on my permit or with a card,” Helton said. “I’d be pretty happy to win it either way, except that I wish the money would’ve counted toward the world standings.”

Amanda Dilworth photo

Team roping header Shay Dixon Carroll, right, and heeler Jace Helton won the average with 10.6 seconds on two head.

BAREBACK RIDING 1. Dean Thompson ...... 89 pts. 2. Kade Berry ..................... 88 3. Cole Franks .................... 87

STEER WRESTLING 1. Jacob Edler .... 6.5 sec. on 2 2. Riley Duvall ................... 7.8 3. Cody Cabral ................... 7.9

TEAM ROPING 1. Carroll/Helton ...... 10.6 sec. on 2 2. L. Brown/T. Graves ............. 10.8 3. R. Minor/B. Minor ............... 11.0

SADDLE BRONC RIDING 1. Kade Bruno ........... 87.5 pts. (Tie) Lefty Holman ....... 87.5 3. Ben Andersen ................. 87

TIE-DOWN ROPING 1. Marty Yates ... 14.5 sec. on 2 2. Cole Walker ................. 15.1 3. Haven Meged ............... 16.2

BARREL RACING 1. Kassie Mowry ..... 16.93 sec. 2. Jordon Briggs ............ 17.01 3. Michelle Alley ............. 17.03

BULL RIDING 1. JR Stratford ............. 88 pts. 2. Cooper James .............. 86.5 3. Bubba Greig ................. 85.5

TOP MONEY WINNER Marty Yates ($16,246, tie-down roping)

TOP

SCORES

Complete results/Page 109

ProRodeo Sports News 7/26/2024

ProRodeo Sports News 7/26/2024

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