When the flag dropped on their final steer in the #15 USTRC National Finals Shoot-Out, Thomas Braman and partner Dennis Gatz exited the arena with a time of 29.4 seconds on four head.

“It was pretty tough from what I remember,” Braman, who works at TC Oil Company, said. “I think we were 6 or 7 on our last one.”

Braman won the Top 10 buckle aboard a horse that has been seen in the Thomas & Mack with two-time World Champion Header Chad Masters.

“I was riding my black horse that I got from Chad Masters. He’s an 18-year-old named ‘Wart.’ Chad won the world on him in 2012. I’ve got two blacks and the other one was crippled, so he’s just the one I took.”

Braman, from Victoria, Texas, sports his Top 10 buckle due to that fact that a special someone took his favorite buckle.

“My daughter took my Texas Circuit Rookie buckle away from me.”

In addition to the buckles that Braman and his daughter already wear, he has his sights set on winning a Bob Feist Invitational buckle.

“I think it’s probably the coolest roping that there ever is, and my best friend (Rube Woolsey) won it in 1995. He’s kind of been my mentor my whole life and I think it’s probably the coolest roping there is to win.”

More Buckle Ups:

The Buckle Before Salinas: Dahozy’s Sisters Rodeo Buckle

Buckle Up: Cyle Denison’s 2016 CPRA Year End Buckle

Miller’s 2018 CINCH USTRC NFTR Buckle

One of Many: Junior Nogueira’s 2014 Hork Dog Buckle

Shared Success: Rockey Ramone’s Gifted Buckle

READ: Bobby Jean Colyer’s #9 World Series of Team Roping Finale X Top 10 Buckle