ProRodeo Sports News - January 8, 2021

COWBOY GRILLE WITH TRACY RENCK

How did you get involved in rodeo? Billy: When we were kids, my dad (Ike) tripped steers at all the rodeos. I have two older brothers, Tel and Brad. We junior rodeoed all through our younger years and then I quit and started playing basketball for a while. Then I made the decision when I was in high school to just keep roping, and when it came down to college I was going to rodeo. Where did you rodeo in college? Billy: I went to Eastern New Mexico University. I team roped, bulldogged and (tie-down roped) in college. How did steer roping come about for you? Billy: In college, I always wanted to trip steers, but I couldn’t afford it. Standings with $55,750. He won the Dixon McGowan Award, given to the highest-ranked first-time qualifier at the NFSR. The 6-foot-3, 185-pound Good has his eyes on making a return trip to the NFSR. Steer roper Billy Good, 29, joined the PRCA in 2016 and had a career-best season in 2020. The Wynnewood, Okla., cowboy made his debut at the Clem McSpadden National Finals Steer Roping in November at the Kansas Star Arena in Mulvane. He finished ninth in the PRCA | RAM World

BILLY GOOD

When I moved up here to (Oklahoma) and started working I started roping steers around 2014 or 2015. It was a goal of mine to make the NFSR.

What was it like to make your inaugural appearance at the NFSR? Billy: It dang sure was a goal I wanted to reach and a dream of mine. It was a great experience for sure. It was nerve-wracking a little bit because I know I could have roped better. I was still able to win quite a bit of money (more than $19,000) and I had a lot of family and friends who showed up and had a lot of people calling. It was cool to have all those people supporting me and help me reach that goal. What was it like to win the Dixon McGowan Award at the NFSR? Billy: That was awesome. Darwin McGowan (Dixon’s father) is a good family friend of ours. A couple of years ago I went up to the NFSR and helped my buddy Garrett Hale, and he won the award in 2018. That year when we left, I told my wife (Darcy) I really wanted to win that award the first time I made it.

Did 2020 light a fire in you to make a return trip to the NFSR? Billy: You bet. I want to go back and have an even better year this year.

What has been your biggest career PRCA rodeo win? Billy: I won Lovington (N.M., the Lea County PRCA Rodeo) in 2019, and that was great because that’s where I grew up. In 2020, I won Odessa (Texas, the Sandhills Stock Show & Rodeo) in January, and that got my season going. Is there a rodeo on your bucket list – outside of the NFSR – that you want to win? Billy: I would like to win Pendleton (Ore.) for sure. Before 2020, the most money you earned in a season was $12,361 in 2018. What was the key to your breakout performance last season? Billy: I had a real good fall and finally had a finished horse underneath me. I won at the right places. I felt like I was finally roping at that level (I needed to be) and my accomplishments were falling into place. What horse were you riding? Billy: A bay horse of mine I call Archie. He’s 11.

What do you enjoy doing when you are not rodeoing? Billy: I shoe horses, which is something I’ve been doing for 10 years, and I train horses. But I really enjoy hunting. We try and make it a family thing and go as much as we can. We usually go hunting for whitetail deer. I also go fishing for bass and catfish. What is your favorite fast-food restaurant? Billy: Whataburger. I get the green chile cheeseburger, you can’t go wrong with that burger.

What’s your favorite holiday? Billy: I would say Thanksgiving and Christmas. It seems like everybody in my family makes a point to get together on those two days and I get to see more people.

ProRodeo Sports News 1/8/2021

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