ProRodeo Sports News - October 30, 2020

ROOKIES OF THE YEAR

CLAY FUTRELL AGE: 21 EVENT: Team Roping Heeling HOMETOWN: Union Grove, N.C. EARNINGS: $34,502

LUKE POTTER AGE: 20 EVENT: Tie-down Roping HOMETOWN: Maple City, Kan. EARNINGS: $34,301

What does this award mean to you? The big goal was to make the NFR, but this was my other main goal since it’s a once in a lifetime deal.

What does this award mean to you? It’s something I’ve always wanted to do, and it was a tough year for everyone, so I was glad I got it pulled off. Throughout the year it was hit or

miss for me and nothing clicked until mid-August, and that’s when I won most of my money. So I didn’t really know or think I would win it until the last week of the rodeo season. What do you consider to be your biggest achievement of your rookie year? At the end of July and start of August, my horse (Boone) was sick and in and out of the vet a lot. Then I got on a good roll starting in Baker, Mont., (Aug. 15-16) and my horse was working great again; so just overcoming all of that and the bad runs and not roping to the best of my ability and coming out of that slump. What’s special about Boone? He’s 16 or 17 years old, and I would say he was hands down the biggest part of my success this year, he was awesome for me all year long. It’s kind of funny, he has been passed around a few guys and was a weird fit for them, but he just fits me. He’s easy, scores good and is really strong in his stop and allows me to win. DALTON WALKER AGE: 20 EVENT: Steer Roping HOMETOWN: Clyde, Texas EARNINGS: $13,841 You compete in four events – steer roping, tie-down roping, team roping and steer wrestling. How do you do it? I haven’t entered everything, I just focused on steer roping this year, but I did it all through high school. You have to practice all day to get it done, but for some reason it’s easy for me to switch from one to another, it’s not difficult like it is for some people. I might wait a year or two before going for the all-around unless I hit a lick somewhere. Why is steer roping your main focus? Steer wrestling is an adrenaline rush, but steer roping is just as much of an adrenaline rush. It’s like team roping and tie-down roping at the same time. There are so many things that can happen in steer roping, and I’m an adrenaline junkie and love to go fast. You rope and get off and try to tie one as fast as you can, and it gets my blood pumping. What’s the most important lesson you learned during your rookie year? I’m still learning now, and you never stop. It’s just going and roping everything. I roped as much as I could.

What’s the most important lesson you learned during your rookie year? Oh, shoot, I learned a lot of things, but I think one of the most important things people don’t realize is that Waco (Texas), the first rodeo of the year, is just as important as Stephenville (Texas) at the end of the year. What’s one of the biggest challenges you overcame? One of the coolest ones was we left from a rodeo and had to get to Sydney, Iowa, and would have been pulling in when it started. It was seven hours out and I drove the whole thing without stopping. We filled the tank on the back of the truck and drove all night, I didn’t think I would be able to do it. What’s one of your biggest accomplishments of the year? We (Futrell and heading partner Cory Kidd V) were 3.8 (seconds) at Tremonton (Utah) and that was my first time being a 3 at a ProRodeo, and I was pretty happy about it. But I also learned you’re running a steer every day so you can’t let a run like that get you too confident since the next day something different could happen. You can’t ride the high, you need to stay humble to get better for sure. RIGGIN SMITH AGE: 22 EVENT: Saddle bronc riding HOMETOWN: Winterset, Iowa EARNINGS: $27,164 I’m just happy to be part of the rookie class that I was in, there are a lot of guys who ride really good. Recovery has been slow but I’m walking around good now and doing a lot of physical therapy, and so I should be back in November. What does this award mean to you? That was my goal for the year, and it backs up all the hard work you put into something. You only get one shot at it and it’s whoever really wants it. I think I got lucky enough and drew really good, so that helped me out. What’s the most important lesson you learned during your rookie year? Don’t take a bad experience to heart, like not riding very good. I don’t like losing at all, I’m very competitive, and if I’m losing, that bothers me BAD. Lefty Holman andWyatt Casper taught me to let it go since there’s another one tomorrow and to be more forgiving to myself. You got knocked out of competition on Aug. 22 when you tore your PCL, MCL and the meniscus in your right leg – but you still maintained the lead in the rookie standings. How do you feel about that?

ProRodeo Sports News 10/30/2020

ProRodeo.com

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