ProRodeo Sports News - November 17, 2023

SAN ANGELO, TEXAS

SAN ANGELO ROPING FIESTA

The Finisher

Hale capitalizes on slower schedule with Fiesta, circuit wins BY ALEX RILEY Special to ProRodeo Sports News T his portion of the rodeo season isn’t preferable for everyone, but to Garrett Hale the time between the end of the regular season schedule and the year’s culminating championship events fits his personality. Yes, there is more money to be made in the summer when rodeos are occurring almost nonstop across the country. But for the Snyder, Texas, steer roper, there’s something about the spacing between events that seems to work well. “It’s easier in the middle of summer to win money because you can go to something almost every day and you can keep your competitive edge sharp going behind the barriers, competing every day. But I seem to do better when I have a little time off because I can work stuff,” Hale said. “When you do have an up and there’s not a lot going on, that helps me more than anything. Because I could turn around tomorrow and have a not very good day at a rodeo and be right back down.” With a few days to rest and a little time to think, Hale got his 2024 schedule off to a good start at the end of October, as the short drive from Synder to San Angelo, Texas, for the Cinch Roping Fiesta yielded big dividends. Hale’s aggregate time of 41.3 seconds on three head was a full 2.5 seconds better than runner-up Cody Lee, helping the veteran steer roper come away with his second Cinch Roping Fiesta title in three years. The three runs earned him $5,562. The win was anything but easy as Hale battled the elements and a tough field of competitors along the way. Just before the Roping Fiesta, the weather in San Angelo shifted as rain moved in and the temperature dropped by 20 degrees. After barely cracking the top eight in the first round with a time of 14.5 and failing to place in the second with a 16.1-second run, Hale entered the final round knowing he was sitting middle of the pack at best. “I thought, ‘Well, I might as well go for it because the guys in front of me are all multi-time qualifiers (for the National Finals Steer Roping) and they’re going to go fast.’ I thought, ‘I get to go before them, I’m going to try and put the pressure on.’ The luck was on my side that day. Nothing spectacular, it just worked out in my favor,” Hale said. “I could not feel my hands when I rolled into the box. So maybe I should do that more

TOP MONEY EARNER TOP SCORES

Caleb Smidt ($11,760, tie down roping) TIE-DOWN ROPING

Smidt

1. Caleb Smidt ................ 30.7 sec. on 3 2. Haven Meged ............................. 32.0 3. Chance Thiessen ........................ 32.5 STEER ROPING 1. Garrett Hale ................ 41.3 sec. on 3 2. Cody Lee .................................... 43.8 3. J. Tom Fisher ............................. 45.4

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often.”

His run of 10.7 seconds not only won the round but was by far the fastest time from any steer roper all weekend. Only one other competitor was able to record a time under 12 seconds throughout the whole competition (11.9 seconds by Tuff Hardman in the first go). Following the win, Hale took a few days to unwind before hitting the road again for the RAM Turquoise Circuit Finals in Camp Verde, Ariz. The respite appears to have paid dividends again. Hale won the first and second rounds, then placed runner-up in the third to win the average on three head with an aggregate time of 33.8 seconds. That marks back-to-back Turquoise Circuit Finals championships for Hale and it’s his fourth title at the event since 2019. HIs pay out for the win totaled $6,703. Once again, it’ll be a small break for Hale before heading to Mulvane, Kan., later this month to compete in his sixth straight National Finals Steer Roping. For the 2023 season, Hale finished seventh in the RAM | PRCA World Standings. With some positive momentum on his side, Hale will go to NFSR with an abundance of confidence. A little downtime to mentally prepare doesn’t hurt either. “Any time you can make the NFR or the NFSR or whatever it is, that’s a big goal to anybody, especially me,” Hale said. “My goal was to be able to get 20 of them in a row consecutively without missing a single one. So, I’ve hit another step towards that.”

Dave Jennings photo

Steer roper Garrett Hale won the storied Cinch Roping Fiesta in San Angelo, Texas. He earned $5,562 at the event.

ProRodeo Sports News 11/17/2023

ProRodeo Sports News 11/17/2023

ProRodeo.com

ProRodeo.com

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