1. The Access

The Cinch Timed Event Championship allows unprecedented access to the best timed-event hands in the business. Fans can check the draw shoulder-to-shoulder with Clay Smith, Trevor Brazile, Jordan Ketscher and more before every round, right behind the Lazy E’s announcer stand. There’s no real barriers between fans and cowboys like Paul David Tierney and KC Jones, booting up their horses in the warm-up pen. Want to eat breakfast with the Erich Rogers? You’ll find him and the rest of the contestants at the Saturday-morning chuckwagon cook-off. 

2. The Records

Nobody wants to see guys go out of the average, but if they do—watch out. The pace of the event can get quick in a hurry. Guys like Kaleb Driggers and Jade Corkill and Spencer Mitchell and Dakota Kirchenschlager have the arena records at the Lazy E, and every year ropers are gunning for their crowns. 

3. The Helpers

Yeah, it’s cool to watch world champs battle it out in Cinch Timed Event Championship competition. But it’s almost as sweet to watch Cody Cowden, Clint Summers, Jake Smith, Charly Crawford, Chad Masters and more try to help their best buds win that cool $100,000 at the Lazy E on Sunday afternoon. 

4. The Shopping

I buy my husband a bit on every work trip I take—which isn’t the cheapest tradition. The Lazy E is packed with shopping, including shops with some of the best bit-makers in the business. There are custom makers with one-of-a-kind pieces, as well as more affordable options. The shopping also includes bookmakers, boutiques, CSI Saddle Pads and more. 

5. Bob Feist

There aren’t that many places where you can hear the legendary voice of Bob Feist announcing these days. He’s one of the things that makes the Cinch Timed Event Championship so special, paired with Justin McKee on the mic. Feist’s booming voice covering the action amplifies the excitement happening on the red dirt of the Lazy E. 

6. The Horse Selection

Nobody brings junk with $100,000 on the line. Rogers will ride his NFR-mount Boogie Man, Clay Smith will have untold good ones like Marty and Suntan, and on and on it goes. Kody Woodward and Ote Berry and others will bring the best batch of user-friendly dogging horses, and the calf horses have to be super strong to get into the ground and keep these massive, hard-running calves on their feet. 

7. The Food

Did you catch that chuck-wagon cook off mention earlier in this deal? Because for a food-motivated magazine editor like myself, that’s one of the highlights of the weekend. Chicken fried steak, peach cobbler, potatoes, biscuits and more with the best cowboys in the world sitting next to you? You bet. Get your tickets in advance here.  

8. The Who’s Who of Rodeo and Roping

Arena action aside, you’ll get to rub shoulders with the legends of the sport at the Lazy E. It’s an insider event for everyone. Catch World Champion Bareback Rider Bobby Mote talking head horses with Brazile, or find Billy Etbauer standing near the railing of the VIP section of the Lazy E. Rodeo revolutionary writer Kendra Santos will be manning the video camera for her oldest son Lane Karney, and the iconic R.E. Josey will watch the action from the Cantina. The faces in the stands just might outshine some of the celebs in the arena. 

9. The Jr. Ironman

The future—the top hands of the National Little Britches ranks will join other top competitors from across the country in the heading, heeling, calf roping and bull dogging each morning over three rounds at the Lazy E, with their heroes from the Cinch Timed Event Championship pushing their steers and offering advice. 

10. The Legends

You might be able to catch Rogers, Smith, Karney and Ketscher at rodeos across the country, but there’s only one event that brings the likes of Cash Myers, KC Jones and Kyle Lockett together in one arena. I love seeing the talents of steer ropers like Jess Tierney on display side-by-side with Rhen Richard and Taylor Santos. There’s truly nowhere else to be. TRJ