ProRodeo Sports News - Jan. 24, 2020

YAKIMA, WASH.

BY TRACY RENCK I njuries tried their best to sabotage saddle bronc rider Tate Owens’ career. Owens had right knee surgery twice, crushed his left clavicle and had hernia surgery. He earned $1,184 in 2014, and the toll the injuries took on his body forced Owens to sit out rodeo altogether in 2015-16. Then life got in the way, and Owens and his wife, Mallory, had two children – daughter, Oakley, 4, and son, Odie, 2. With his body mended and the full support of his family behind him, Owens is back on the rodeo trail and doing well. Owens won the average at the RAM Columbia River Circuit Finals Rodeo for the first time with 235 points on three head, Jan. 10-12. “It was exciting,” said Owens, 31. “I’m glad to be back and riding well and doing the sport I love.” Owens set his performance in motion in Round 1 by splitting the win with a 76-point ride on Flying 5 Rodeo’s Johnny Be Good. Owens followed that with a second-place finish in Round 2 before clinching the average with his third-place effort in the third round aboard Flying 5 Rodeo’s Spring Jubilee. “I had good horses underneath me and was just focused on staying under my rein, and it worked out for me,” Owens said. “By the time I got to the third round I had shaken off the nerves. I wasn’t worried about the pressure. I just wanted to make a good ride and have some fun.” Owens earned $6,126 in Yakima. He earned $11,475 during the 2019 season. “The last couple of years I’ve just focused on circuit rodeos,” Owens said. “I started a family, and it was great to go to the circuit rodeos and make some money and still get to see your family every week.” Owens and his family live in Colbert, Wash., which is 20 minutes from downtown Spokane. “We moved up in May from Stephenville, Texas,” Owens said. “This (Washington) is where my wife is from, and it looked like some good business opportunities, and I really like the Columbia River Circuit.” When Owens is not rodeoing, he runs his business. “I have a construction business where I build barns and fences,” Owens said. “I also recently bought a spray foam applicator to do some spray foam installation. I enjoy doing that stuff. The installation stuff is new, but it is cool stuff to work with. I like working with my hands and being outdoors.” Owens qualified for the RAMNational Circuit Finals Rodeo in Kissimmee, Fla., April 2-4. It will be his second trip to the National Circuit Finals Rodeo. The first was in 2010 in Pocatello, Idaho. “I’m super excited to go to Kissimmee,” he said. “I plan on taking the family and spending some time in Florida, and going to Disney World is not out of the question.” Healthy Owens takes circuit title

I’m super excited to go to Kissimmee. I plan on taking the family and spending some time in Florida, and going to Disney World is not out of the question.” – TATE OWENS

Roseanna Sales photo Tate Owens rides Flying 5 Rodeo Company’s Sprint Jubilee to place third in the third round of the RAM CRCFR, Jan. 12. The ride helped Owens win the three-head average.

MONTERO KEEPS ROLLING Last month, bareback rider Trenten Montero made his Wrangler NFR debut, setting a Round 2 record. Montero’s success contin- ued with the average win at the RAM CRCFR with 245 points on three head and the year-end crown.

ProRodeo Sports News 1/24/2020

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