A new world champion steer wrestler was crowned at conclusion of the 2018 Clem McSpadden National Finals Steer Roping (NFSR).
Scott Snedecor, Fredericksburg, Texas, won his second-consecutive gold buckle by winning Round-10 with a blistering 9 seconds flat.
Calling for his final steer in the Kansas Star Arena at Mulvane, the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) title was far from cinched.
As the 14th roper in Round-10, Snedecor went right before Tuf Cooper who was battling him for the championship.
Snedecor had to win the round, which paid $9,155. That’d earn a check in the average race, and Cooper wouldn’t be able to catch him.
That’s exactly how things unfolded. In addition to winning the 10th round, Snedecor also took home $13,202 for finishing fourth in the average.
“I practiced and I prepared for this. I focused on doing what I do and having fun,” Snedecor said. “I would have preferred to have had the championship locked up before Round-10.
“But man it’s an exciting feeling to have practiced and have it pay off like this,” Snedecor said.
Snedecor joins Pratt, Kansas, cowboy Rocky Patterson with four world champion steer roper gold buckles.
Only three cowboys have more steer roping gold buckles than Snedecor and Patterson. The legendary Guy Allen has 18, while Everett Shaw and Trevor Brazile, each have six.
Snedecor, who also won world titles in 2005, 2008 and 2017, finished with $121,930.
Regular-season leader Tuf Cooper, 2017 world champion all-around cowboy from Decatur, Texas, ended second with $112,157.
Twenty-three-time PRCA world champion Trevor Brazile, also of Decatur, finished third in the world title race with $104,118.
Placing in four of ten rounds, Rocky Patterson was third in the average to end the year fourth with $95,559.
Snedecor won Round-2 and Round-10 outright and split the win in Round-1. He also was second in Round-4, while he split fourth in Round-6. He earned $51,086 at the NFSR, the most of any cowboy.
For the second year in a row, Snedecor won the world championship riding Possum.
“Possum is an outstanding equine athlete,” Snedecor said. “Stephen Stransky owns the horse and I’m fortunate to get to ride him. It doesn’t matter what circumstance you put that horse in, he’s great under any condition, long score, short score.”
Cooper had an outstanding regular season, establishing the PRCA record for money earned in a season before the NFSR with $89,427. The previous record was set in 1998 by Allen with $87,927.
However, Cooper had a rough NFSR, registering a no-time in six of the 10 rounds.
Cody Lee, Gatesville, Texas, won the average with 132 seconds flat on 10 head. He earned the $27,347 first-place check and moved up from 15th to sixth in the world standings with $82,976.
Bryce Davis, Ovalo, Texas, finished second in the average with 136.7-seconds on 10 head. That put him seventh in the world with $80,787.
Lee and Davis were the only competitors to rope all 10 steers.
“I outlasted everybody,” said Lee, who also won the NFSR average in 2016. “I just kept tying them down. It feels great to win that first-place average check.”
Chris Glover, Keenesburg, Colorado, was sixth in the average, to end fifth for the yearend with $88,845.
Rocky Patterson won the fifth go-round with 11.1-seconds, worth $9,155. He was fifth in Round-2, split fourth in Round-6, and split sixth in Round-9.
Patterson won the steer roping this year at Weatherford, Texas; Prescott, Arizona; Onida, South Dakota; and Mound City, Kansas.
He has qualified for the NFSR 24 times, and has collected nearly $1.5 million in professional rodeo arenas.
A rancher, Patterson also serves at the head rodeo coach at Pratt Community College.
Trevor Brazile’s NFSR check moved him within close striking distance of Tuf Cooper in the 2018 world all-around cowboy race.
Both Cooper and Brazile have qualified in tie-down calf roping for the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo, December 6-15, in Las Vegas.
Cooper is ranked first in the all-around standings with $239,857, while Brazile is second with $234,154.
Completing the Top 15 steer ropers in the world are: eighth, Vin Fisher Jr., $77,698; ninth, Chet Herren, $76,145; 10th, J. Tom Fisher, $74,353; 11th, Garrett Hale, $65,132; 12th, Brodie Poppino, $63,197; 13th, Jarrett Blessing, $62,345; 14yh, Tony Reina, $58,292; and 1515, Will Gasperson, $47,056.