PRORODEO Sports News - Nov. 7, 2025

probably 12 seconds or something.” He actually stopped the clock in 13.6 seconds. Then, Allen did the unthinkable and registered another no time. When Round 10 was complete Snedecor placed sixth in the round and more importantly, he won the average with a 123.4-second time on 10 head. Snedecor’s NFSR’s earnings totaled $21,850, the most of any cowboy at that year’s NFSR, and it included $11,400 for winning the average. Allen earned $5,700 at the NFSR and when the cal culations were complete the improbable became proba ble. Snedecor edged Allen by $1.67 to win his first gold buckle. “When they finally announced (I had won by) $1.67, I was like, that’s unbelievable. You know, everything you’ve ever dreamed of just came to a head right there,” Snedecor said. Fast-forward 20 years and Snedecor has won four PRCA

your belt, that was icing on the cake. I told those guys, if I never win another one shoot, I’m good with it.” Especially defeating The Legend, Allen. He’s the gold standard for all steer ropers past and present. “It was unbelievable, and I still look up to him. I still call and visit with him,” Snedecor said. “If (I’m) having problems, I call him and still bounce stuff off him. So, yeah, it was unbelievable, Buster (Record Jr.) beat him back in 2002 and broke his streak of 11 in a row. Then I traveled with Buster. So, I got to see that gold buckle hanging in that trailer for two or three years. And I was like, ‘Man, I’d sure like to have one of those.’ Then to finally get it was just unbelievable.” Adding to the drama of Snedecor’s 2005 world cham pionship was his horse – Sunny Dee Bueno, a 12-year-old sorrel he just bought that September. “That horse served his purpose there,” Snedecor said. “He wasn’t a big horse, he

wasn’t a great horse, but he was a good horse. I rode him at the last rodeo of the season, and then I rode him at the (NFSR) that year. He was just good and honest, he wouldn’t move on you. His drag was good every time. A strong little horse and he served his purpose. He let me tie 10 steers in a row right there when I needed it.” Snedecor, who was a PRORO DEO rookie in 1996, has now qualified for the NFSR 24 times (2001-2011, and 2013-25). He

Steer Roping World Cham pionships (2005, 2008, 2017 and 2018) but he still has fond memories of his inaugural gold buckle, which is still the smallest margin to win a world championship in PRCA history. “It is nothing that you can play out,” Snedecor said. “You hear people roping the dummy saying, ‘This is the last round

you got to beat (this time to win),”’ Snedecor said. “But $1.67 that’s a little tight right there, you can’t even go get a bottle of water for $1.67 You can’t buy anything.” To Allen’s credit, he offered no excuses about the world championship slipping through his grasp. “I just didn’t get it done,” Allen said in the Dec. 21, 2005, PRORODEO Sports News. “He (Snedecor) just roped really outstanding, and he deserved to win it. His horse worked really good and he used everything that he had. I just couldn’t get much done, really. It was just one of those deals where he roped outstanding and was hard to beat.” The narrow world championship reinforced Snedecor’s mindset of the importance of every run in the arena. “I do my schools, and I tell everybody, don’t give up on your run. Never give up on a run,” Snedecor said. “Then after that, I was for sure, like, you never know when you’re going to need that little bit. Don’t ever quit, never give up on anything. “So, yeah, it was dang sure a dream come true. As a kid roping, growing up, you’d watch calf roping and I roped calves a bunch. I team roped a bunch and then didn’t start roping steers until I was in college,” Snedecor said. “Every kid goes to the practice pen and ropes the dum my, thinking, what it would be like to be a world cham pion, you know? And to finally get that (gold) buckle on PRCA File Photo

enters the upcoming NFSR third in the world standings and would love nothing more than to add gold buckle No. 5 to what has been a Hall of Fame career. “I still think I can get a gold buckle,” said Snedeor, 50. “You know, it’s got to go my direction all the time. I’m not going to be the guy that’s just hanging on by a thread just because he loves the sport. I can go do something else, or go hunting, but I still have that competitive drive. I never like to lose. It doesn’t matter if you’re skipping rocks across there. I have that competitive drive. “I like making horses. That’s my fun part at home is making horses and seeing when I come to a spot like (the National Circuit Finals Steer Roping in Torrington, Wyo.), you know, I might have four or five horses that I’ve trained out there. So, to see them get to the top end is pretty good for me and it keeps me going at home. You know, when I do my practice runs and then I have people coming by for (his roping) schools, that keeps me staying younger. You can’t just lay back now and say, ‘Well, I’m too old or I’m 50 years old, I’m too old to do this.That is just a number to me. As long as I’m healthy, and I have good horses, I’ll still be here (roping).” And hopefully making more PRORODEO history like he did in 2005.

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Nov. 7, 2025