PRORODEO Sports News | Roy Cooper 1955-2025 | May 2, 2025

STEER WRESTLER MIKE MCGINN SNARES BIG WIN AT CLOVIS RODEO By Alex Dodd

S teer wrestler Mike McGinn has been patiently waiting for a breakout performance, and he made it happen at the Clovis (Calif.) Rodeo April 24-27. McGinn entered the finals with a somewhat com fortable lead but needed a solid run under 9.1 sec onds to secure a big payday. The 30-year-old from Haines, Ore., was the last steer wrestler to back into the box and he made the most of the moment with a 5.4-second run in front of a sold-out crowd to win the average title at 21.7 seconds on four head. "I had just enough of a cushion today," McGinn told the PRORODEO Sports News. "If I got out of the barrier, I knew that my horse would let me do my job after that. I really liked the steer I had drawn, so it was a businessman type of run today." McGinn entered the event inside the top 30 of the PRCA | Bill Fick Ford World Standings and ensured that he'll be sniffing the Top 15 when the standings reset. He opened the trip to the Golden State with a 7.5-second run and followed with a 4.0-second run to win the second round and clinch a spot in the semifinals. McGinn also clocked a 4.8-second run in the semis - the top time of the round - to advance to the short round as the average leader.

"I just had to stay positive and not break the barrier," McGinn said of his keys to weathering the four-header. "That's the main thing because

we run four head here. Getting out of the barrier and making good runs is the key to winning out here. And I finally put it together after about five years." McGinn rode Gears, a horse owned by Payden McIntyre in Clovis. "He's just an awesome horse," McGinn said. "He lets a guy do his job and he's awesome." McGinn also benefited from the hazing work of National Finals Rodeo qualifiers Dirk Tavenner and Stan Branco. "Stan and Dirk have both hazed at the NFR a lot. And they're cowboys," he said. "When they're running them a long way out here, they can read a play. It's super important to have some people with knowledge in your corner." Other winners at the $393,865 PRORODEO Playoff Series event included bareback rider Tilden Hoop er (88 points on C5 Rodeo's Virgil); saddle bronc rider Rusty Wright (88.5 points on Corey & Lange Rodeo's Monster); tie-down roper Britt Bedke (45.4 seconds on four head); barrel racer Summer Kosel (50.54 seconds on three head); and bull rider T.J. Gray (88.5 points on Corey & Lange Rodeo's Stand By Me).

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