ProRodeo Sports News | 2020 Year-End Edition | Dec.18, 2020

JAKE PRATT BACK WITH A SPLASH Tie-down roper Jake Pratt hadn’t competed in a rodeo for more than a month before arriving at the RAMNCFR. He’d been sidelined with a nagging injury in his roping (right) shoulder. The Ellensburg, Wash., cowboy returned to the arena in grand fashion by winning his inaugural RAMNCFR title with an 8.5-second time in the final round to take home $16,070. He split the first-round win with Jesse Popescul as each had 9.2-second runs. In the second round, Pratt made a 12.1-second run to win the average. Pratt proceeded to win the eight-man semifinals with a 10.2-second run. He saved his quickest run of the rodeo for the finals. “I had tendinitis and muscle imbalance (in my right shoulder),” Pratt said. “I didn’t get to go to any rodeos for a month. I needed money and went to work, and I showed up here and got some more money, and now I’m headed back to work. They told me my shoulder was going to be fine, but I have to give a big shout to (physical therapist) Brad Bettis in De Leon, Texas. He helped me work through it. Soon as we get through working, I will be right back there working with him every day.” RAHLMANN AND VONAHN TAKE TEAM ROPING TITLE Team ropers Coy Rahlmann and Ryan VonAhn kept making solid runs throughout the RAMNCFR but weren’t victorious until it counted the most. The duo made an 11.1-second run to win the final round. “It is amazing to win this,” said VonAhn, 31. “It’s just great. I went to Kissimmee one time as a heeler, and this was my first time heading here. You want to go as fast as you can (in a final), and I didn’t think we did that because I hooked a leg, but luck was on our side.”

VonAhn was riding Simple, 7, whom he bought from his brother, Kollin, a two-time PRCA world champion heeler (2009 and 2015). “This is awesome,” said Rahlmann, 19. “This is my first year to get to ProRodeo, and he was my first partner, and this is cool for both of us. Our first steer (in the first round), we were longer than we wanted to be, and we kind of beat ourselves up over it a little. We came back and made a pretty good run in the second round (5.3 seconds to place second) and won third in the semis. We wanted to go as fast as we could in the finals, and it worked out.” Rahlman and VonAhn each earned $10,185. HANNUM THROWS EM’ DOWN FOR TITLE Steer wrestler Olin Hannum clocked a 3.7-second run in the finals to win the RAMNCFR. “I made the finals at (the RAMNCFR) in Kissimmee (Fla.), and I broke the barrier and didn’t do as well as I wanted to,” said Hannum, 42. “This year I didn’t win much money but did well right at the end.” During the four-day event, Hannum earned $5,578, including $3,880 in the finals. Hannum, who reached the NFR in 2011 and 2017, finished in a tie for third in the eight-man semifinals withWill Lummus, as each clocked 4.7-second runs. Hannum was the first cowboy to compete in the finals and had a simple approach. “I just wanted to get a good start and make the best run I could,” Hannum said. “Everybody there (in the final four) were really good bulldoggers and had really good horsepower. I thought some guys were going to need to stub their toes for me to have a chance.”

Olin Hannum clocked a 3.7-second run to win the sudden-death round at the RAM NCFR. PRCA ProRodeo photo by Roseanna Sales

ProRodeo Sports News 12/18/2020

ProRodeo.com

87