ProRodeo Sports News - Nov.20, 2020

HEBER CITY, UTAH

Jake Stocking grateful after winning RAM WCFR title Shoop Dog BY MATT NABER J ake “Shoop” Stocking was in theThanksgiving spirit after winning the RAMWilderness Circuit Finals Rodeo in November. “It took an army to get me to where I am today,” Stocking said, listing his wife, Abbie, and several friends and relatives. “I ALL-AROUND & TOP MONEY WINNER TOP SCORES Wright

Saddle bronc rider and bull rider Stetson Wright, $6,628 BAREBACK RIDING

owe a lot of it to my horse, Maverick, that I own with Olin Hannum. He (Maverick) does a lot of the work for me and is a special animal that I get the opportunity to ride. He allows me to get a good start and make the same run every time.” Hannum was Stocking’s traveling partner and his hazer in Heber City, Utah. “He did a lot for me all year and this weekend, so with those two (Hannum and Maverick), it makes my job very easy,” said Stocking, 26. Stocking’s praises aren’t unfounded. The 15-year-old American Quarter Horse has been ridden at the National Finals Rodeo by Hannum and Hunter Cure. Stocking and Hannum have co-owned Maverick since July 2017, when he was a typical ranch horse. “Going frommoving cows to the big lights of Vegas is very special,” Stocking said. Maverick’s NFR horsepower helped Stocking win $5,041 at the RAMWCFR with consecutive 4.2-second runs followed by a 4.5-second run in the final round to win the average by a 2.1-second margin. Stocking was particularly excited about making the RAMNational Circuit Finals Rodeo since Hannum will be there for winning the Wilderness Circuit’s year-end title. “It’s always been a goal of mine, and I wanted to make it there together,” Stocking said. Stocking had remained largely under the radar until his Heber City win. He finished 12th in the 2018 PRCA | Resistol Rookie Standings and entered the 2020 RAMWCFR eighth in the circuit with $991. “We go to these rodeos all year and dream of an outcome like this, and the rodeo road gets tough,” Stocking said. “I think what it all boils down to is it doesn’t always go well, but it’s staying the course, keep fighting and digging, and believing in yourself.” Winning the RAMWCFR has been a lifetime in the making for the Salina, Utah, cowboy. When Stocking was a toddler he would tag along with his uncle, steer wrestler Jake Ashworth, and Ashworth’s friends. “From the get-go, my life already had a foot in the front door of rodeo and it was in my blood,” said Stocking, who also credited former ProRodeo steer wrestlers Craig Smith and Clint Robinson for helping him. Stocking competed in college rodeo for Utah Valley University and Weber State. But rodeo wasn’t the only lifelong impact from his childhood. “They (Ashworth and Robinson) would say a different word and I would say, ‘Shoot’ instead, but I couldn’t say the T (and it came out “Shoop,”), so from 2 or 3 years old they all knew me as Shoop,” Stocking laughed. “Then when I got with the PRCA, I saw the nickname tab and I put it down, not thinking anything of it. When we showed up at the rodeo, I was listed as Shoop Stocking. But even before that, people would call me Shoop – that’s how it’s been for me for 25 years.”

1. Kaycee Feild .............. 255.5 pts. on 3 2. Cooper Bennett ........................ 252.5 3. Mason Clements ...................... 243.5 STEER WRESTLING 1. Jake Stocking ............. 12.9 sec. on 3 2. Olin Hannum .............................. 14.8 3. Zach Trapp ................................. 19.7 TEAM ROPING 1. Kesler/Siddoway ......... 16.2 sec. on 3 2. R. Richard/J. Anderson .............. 22.1 3. M. Sherwood/K. Winn ................ 36.1 SADDLE BRONC RIDING 1. Spencer Wright ............ 259 pts. on 3 2. Mitch Pollock ........................... 257.5 3. Rusty Wright ............................... 257 TIE-DOWN ROPING 1. Clint Robinson ............ 27.7 sec. on 3 2. Justin Brinkerhoff ...................... 36.2 3. Matt Shiozawa ........................... 39.4 BARREL RACING 1. Meka Farr .................. 46.74 sec. on 3 2. Kellie Collier ............................. 46.95 3. Kathy Grimes ........................... 47.81 BULL RIDING 1. Stetson Wright ............. 262 pts. on 3 2. Tyler Bingham ............................. 250 3. Two tied at .......................... 166 on 2

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James Fain photo

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