ProRodeo Sports News 2023 Year-End Edition

TEAM ROPING WORLD CHAMPIONS

Team roping partners header Tyler Wade, left, and heeler Wesley Thorp acknowledge the crowd after winning their respective PRCA World Championships. PRCA ProRodeo photo by Hailey Rae

PRCA ProRodeo photo by Click Thompson

Gold Buckle Dreams

know you are because you already got one.’ I just let him guide me I guess.” It’s the second PRCA World Championship for Thorp, his first came back in 2019 with partner Cody Snow. He said there’s no better feeling than walking out with a gold buckle after the ups and downs of a long ProRodeo season. “This is unbelievable because all I can think about is all those times throughout the year when you’re down and you have to find something to pick you up. It makes you look back on how you got from that low to this spot right here,” said Thorp. “This is everything when you get to have this moment because it makes you realize you just have to be ready for any opportunity when it comes, and it can payoff huge. “It’s just awesome to be in this spot and to be able to do it with my family

and a great friend makes it just that much more special.” Wade entered the Wrangler NFR sitting second in the PRCA | RAM World Standings, while Thorp was the No. 1 heeler in the world. The team came in with a plan and executed it to perfection. “I think the entire time out there in Vegas we were just doing what we could to give ourselves a chance,” Wade said. “We had to take the risks when we needed to take them, and it literally couldn’t have worked out better in our favor. “Anytime we needed to step up in a round and actually do something we drew the best steer. We hung on and caught some of the harder steers we needed to catch. Then we were able to take advantage of the good steers and catch them clean and fast. “I think it was just God’s timing more than anything.”

Wade/Thorp capture team roping glory

BY TANNER BARTH T eam ropers Tyler Wade/Wesley Thorp made the decision in early April to join forces inside the arena after being friends for years outside of it. Their friendship and trust in one another were on full display during the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo presented by Teton Ridge. The duo came up clutch, winning two of the final three rounds inside

the Thomas & Mack Center to capture the PRCA Team Roping Header and Heeler World Championship. Wade was at a loss for

words moments after winning his first gold buckle. “I don’t know how it feels yet honestly, it hasn’t really sunk in yet,” said Wade, 31. “I told Thorp ‘I don’t know if I’m a world champion header or not. I

ProRodeo Sports News 12/22/2023

ProRodeo Sports News 12/22/2023

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