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Team Roping Buddies
| | By: Melinda Clements | #10 Gold Plus Shoot Out—Cinch USTRC National Finals of Team Roping
Oklahoma State Fairgrounds—Oklahoma City, Ok
Wednesday October 28, 2009
By Melinda Clements
When one seriously considers the prize line of the #10 Gold Plus Shoot Out at the Cinch USTRC National Finals of Team Roping held in the Oklahoma State Fairgrounds arena it is, without a doubt, nothing to scoff at. Consider if you will about $251,800 total payout plus Gist Championship Gold Buckles, a 2009 Dodge Ram Truck and a Case IH Farmall two wheel drive tractor. It is enough to make you have a lump in your throat. Talk about pressure!
Thirty teams came back to the short go round of the #10 Gold Plus Shoot Out. A little over three seconds separated the tenth place high team back and the first place high team back. Every roper that rode into the coliseum wanted to win the #10. Regardless, of where you stood coming into the short round there was money to be had and it would be a mind-numbing event. It would be important to stay focused, on top of your game and not give an inch. There would be no predictions on the outcome. A new truck and a new tractor has a strange way of making one just a hair bit greedy.
Matt Carlson and John Coltharp were the second high team back coming into the short go round. Carlson was a calf roper turned team roper. John Coltharp had been roping for more years than he wanted to count. The important thing was Carlson and Coltharp were best of friends. They had been buddies awhile and had roped together for more than two years. Regardless, they knew what they wanted, they had a plan and they implemented it as the short go round unfolded.
The pair watched the fifth high back team of Tony Bracken and Bobbie Chandler move into the lead in the average with a run of 9.33 on their short go steer. Carlson and Coltharp were the second high team back and when it came time for them to rope they knew they needed a 10.32 to take the lead away from Bracken and Chandler. When the flag dropped they had posted a time of 8.46 to take the reins of the roping. As they pair rode out the back gate there were very content to have nailed down second place in the #10 Gold Plus Shoot Out. It was certainly nothing to be ashamed of and a paycheck of $32,800 and a beautiful buckle was a success story in itself.
What the pair didn’t know was the high team back would fail to make a qualified run. It wasn’t until everyone was hollering for them to take a victory lap that the pair realized they had, indeed, won the roping.
“I had no idea how the last team did or really who they were,” Coltharp said. “I gave it no thought and I was just really proud of our second place. That was good enough for me.”
When they announced that Coltharp and Carlson had tied for the truck they realized there would be a rope off to decide who took the truck and who took the tractor.
The pair went into the rope off just wanting to have a good time. They had already decided how they wanted it to turn out.
“We just wanted to have fun in the rope off,” Carlson said. “John and I are good buddies and it is fun when good buddies have the same things on their minds.”
When the rope off ended Coltharp would claim the tractor and Carlson would take home the Dodge Truck.
“We just planned it this way,” Coltharp laughed. “Matt’s truck is wore out with a lot of miles and my tractor is old and so it all came together just like we hoped it would.”
“I’m just glad it all came together like it did,” Carlson said. “My plan was to score sharp and turn every single steer. You do what you can do to make it all come together the way it is supposed to. I knew we had a good team. We both roped really solid and it showed.”
“I sure appreciate Tony Bracken heading for me in the match,” Coltharp said, “Tony really roped well and it worked out. I’m excited it all came together like it did.”
With the excitement of the match, the Dodge Truck and the Case IH Tractor as part of the prize line the #10 Gold Plus Shoot Out is a favorite among fans. The enthusiasm was not only electric on the arena floor but exciting in the audience as well. There is just something special about good buddies winning a roping like the #10 Gold Plus Shoot Out. It just makes you feel good when you watch a pair of team roping partners hug and congratulate each other for a job well done.
Posted: Oct.30, 2009 |
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