ProRodeo Sports News - October 16, 2020

TEAMWORK MAKES DREAMWORK It didn’t matter if Roy was the header or the heeler, he was the common denominator in one of the fastest team-roping runs each of the last two seasons. As a heeler, Roy and header Kal Fuller topped the 2019 leaderboard in 3.4 seconds at the Kitsap Stampede in Bremerton, Wash. “It was a tough slack during a tough rodeo, and everyone was letting their hair down and being really fast,” Roy said. “Quite a few guys were getting flagged out on crossfires, so I tried to heel fast without crossfiring, and I was like, ‘Holy cow! That’s my fastest run ever.’” Roy switched to heading and joined forces with Levi Simpson to tie for the second-fastest run of the 2020 season, 3.6 seconds at the Maple Leaf Circuit Finals Rodeo in Regina, Sask. “I’d had a little heck and didn’t want to leave with nothing, so I went all or nothing for the last one,” Roy said. “I was pretty pumped up. Any time you come in clutch like that with a good run, it always makes you feel good and makes a guy feel like he didn’t do too bad all weekend if he can finish like that.” The stars aligned for Long and his header Clay Smith at the 2019 San Angelo (Texas) Rodeo when they posted two of the fastest runs of the season in rapid succession at 3.5 and 3.6 seconds. Their 3.5-second run was the second fastest of 2019, and only four sets of team ropers were able to match their 3.6-second run. “We went as fast as we could and happened to catch them both,” Long

said. “Our backs were against the wall, but we happened to put two good runs together. It’s crazy, I don’t care what the setup is or what the steers are like, it’s hard to be that fast two times in a row. We drew two really good steers that ran a good pattern, and that’s as important as anything in San Angelo, where it’s a short barrier.” Long kicked off the 2020 season with what turned out to tie for the third-fastest run of the rest of the season when he and header Dustin Egusquiza stopped the clock in 3.7 seconds at the Heart O’ Texas Rodeo inWaco. “Honestly, it was kind of the same deal, we drew an outstanding steer,” Long said. “We made a good run in the first round and decided to make as good of a run as we could and stay aggressive, and Dustin is as comfortable as anyone in the world in doing that.” Team roping heeler Crites tied for the third-fastest run of the season two years in a row and with different partners. “I don’t think anything sets us apart,” Crites said. “My partners and I are generally really aggressive, and fast runs come from a lot of aggression. We were lucky enough to draw good at the right spots, and both years my headers did a great job. Heck, all I did was heel them.”

“My partners and I are generally really aggressive, and fast runs come from a lot of aggression.”

– BRYE CRITES Team Roping Heeler

In 2019, Crites and header Cale Markham won the Cowboy Capital of the World PRCA Rodeo with a 3.6-second run in Stephenville, Texas. Crites proved it wasn’t a fluke when he and header Jake Orman posted a 3.7-second run at the West Texas Fair & Rodeo in Abilene in September 2020. “Stephenville was the first big rodeo I’d won, and it made me want to go again,” Crites said. “You feel like you can win anywhere after you do that.”

Jackie Jensen photo

Brye Crites tied for the third-fastest team roping times of the 2019 and 2020 seasons with two different partners.

ProRodeo Sports News 10/16/2020

ProRodeo.com

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