ProRodeo Sports News - November 17, 2023

CAMP VERDE, ARIZ.

RAM TURQUOISE CIRCUIT FINALS

Yazzie captures another Turquoise Circuit Finals title Tradition BY JOLEE JORDAN, Special to ProRodeo Sports News R ooster Yazzie doesn’t really know where his unique handle originated. “It was a nickname, but I changed it to be my real name,” Yazzie, 23, laughed. “My dad gave it to me as a little kid and it stuck. TOP MONEY EARNER Evan Betony ($8,574, bareback riding) BAREBACK RIDING TOP SCORES

Betony

“I never really knew my real name.” Yazzie’s name is one to remember, not just because it’s unusual, but also because the man wearing it is dominating the steer wrestling in the Turquoise Circuit. At the 2023 edition of the RAM Turquoise Circuit Finals Rodeo in Camp Verde, Ariz., on Nov. 4, Yazzie wrestled three steers to the ground in just 15.9 seconds to win the average title and bank $4,838. The victory grants Yazzie a second trip to the NFR Open powered by RAM in just four years as a professional. Only the year end champion and circuit finals average winner are invited to participate in the ProRodeo circuit system’s championship event held annually in July with the Pikes Peak or Bust Rodeo in Colorado Springs, Colo. “I’m pretty excited,” Yazzie said, who will compete alongside Tyke Kipp, the 2023-year-end champ. Yazzie competed last summer in the NFR Open as the Turquoise Circuit’s year-end winner, taking home a good go-round check. “It’s a fun rodeo and pays well . . . if you do good.” Yazzie followed his family into the world of rodeo and is part of a rich heritage of native cowboys and cowgirls. In fact, he is just one of a strong contingent from the Navajo Nation to collect Turquoise Circuit average titles at the circuit finals, including bareback rider Evan Betony, breakaway roper Kassidy Dennison and team roper Erich Rogers, who also claimed the all-around title. Yazzie joined the PRCA in 2020, while still in college. While the Turquoise Circuit did not hold a finals event that year due to COVID, Yazzie made his first Turquoise CFR the following year, finishing third. A year later, he competed at the College National Finals Rodeo in the summer for Navajo Technical College and then clinched the Turquoise Circuit title that fall. Yazzie’s 2023 season was solid with wins in Las Cruces, N.M., and Moab, Utah. Coming back to Camp Verde for the finals, Yazzie was ranked fifth in the circuit standings about $4,000 behind leader Kipp. “My strategy was to go for the average,” Yazzie said. “I had a really good steer in the first round, but I didn’t want to get too aggressive on the start. I didn’t want to be too safe, but I also didn’t want to be stupid.” Seemingly finding the exact combination of those two attributes, Yazzie split the round win with Kipp with matching runs of 4.7 seconds. A “decent run” on the second steer at 5.0 seconds landed him one out of the money but second going into the third and final round. On the final night, Yazzie knew he didn’t have a go-round steer but also knew he could pick up good average money, only trailing Kipp by seven tenths of a second. “That steer was a little dead, but I knew I had a good shot at the average,” Yazzie said. “I took a smart start and threw him down.” Yazzie recorded a 6.2 and, when Kipp faltered on the final steer, claimed the average, gapping his hauling partner and hazer Michael Bates, Jr. by 5.6 seconds. “The rig had a good weekend,” Yazzie said.

1. Evan Betony .............. 242.5 pts. on 3 2. Matthew Tuni .............................. 222 3. Rhett Hadley Kelley..................... 207 STEER WRESTLING 1. Rooster Yazzie ........... 15.9 sec. on 3 2. Michael Bates Jr. ....................... 21.5 3. Wyatt Jurney ............................. 23.9 TEAM ROPING 1. E. Rogers/P. Eaves ..... 15.5 sec. on 3 2. C. Whinnery/R. Murphy ............. 19.1 3. S. Sproul/BJ Campbell ............... 23.8 SADDLE BRONC RIDING 1. Slade Keith ............... 244.5 pts. on 3 2. Garrett Long ............................... 233 3. Zachary Dallas ............................ 224 TIE-DOWN ROPING 1. Seth Hall .................... 29.2 sec. on 3 2. Richard Newton ......................... 30.0 3. Joseph Parsons ......................... 30.5 STEER ROPING 1. Garrett Hale ............... 33.8 sec. on 3 2. John Clark ................................. 40.1 3. Chad Mathis ...................... 26.6 on 2 BULL RIDING 1. Caelan Reynolds ....... 171.5 pts. on 2 2. Marco Juarez .............................. 170 3. JaCauy Hale ................................ 167

Complete results/Page 95

Doug Jorgensen photo Steer wrestler Yazzie Rooster competes during the RAM Turquoise Circuit Finals Rodeo in Camp Verde, Ariz. Yazzie won the three-head average and earned $4,838.

ProRodeo Sports News 11/17/2023

ProRodeo Sports News 11/17/2023

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