Brady Tryan, of Huntly, Montana, is leading the Montana Circuit Heading Standings with a nearly $4,000 lead on Cody Tew, with goals of winning the circuit for the third year in a row.
“[The goal] is always to win the circuit,” said Tryan, the youngest brother of the Tryan Trio, which includes Clay and Travis. “I’ve won it the last two years, so I thought three in a row would be kind of cool to do. That’s what we set out to do.”
Tryan, 32, is heading for long-time friend and Montana Circuit Standings heeling leader Justin Viles. They added a total of $4,666 to each of their earnings after placing at the Richland County Fair and Rodeo in Sidney, Montana, and the Bozeman (Montana) Stampede, both held in early August this year.
At the Richland County Fair and Rodeo, the team drew a steer that Tryan recalled watching Erich Rogers and Paden Bray rope in 7.9 seconds in Wolf Point, Montana, where he and Viles tied Riley and Brady Minor for third with a 5.6-second run, worth $1,990 a man.
“Justin has told me for years that Sidney is his lucky rodeo,” Tryan said. “When I had seen what steer we drew, I said, ‘We’re about to see how lucky you really are.’ The steer handled funky and [Justin] heeled him fast. I looked at him and he kind of grinned at me. I was like, ‘You lucky SOB. I guess you’re right.’”
In Bozeman, they won the Stampede with a 4.5-second run, worth $2,616 a man, on what Tryan believes to be the “best steer in the herd.”
“I knew that, as long as I got out at the barrier and we caught him, we would have a good chance to win it,” Tryan said. “I don’t want to say that it was an easy win, but if you don’t win the rodeo on that steer, then you need to do some work on yourself. If I could bring that steer to every rodeo, I would.”
After the big hit at the Bozeman Stampede, Tryan and Viles slid inside of the Top 50 in the PRCA World Standings with $17,077.76 each in total season earnings. While they continue to pursue No.1 in their circuit, they are also working toward breaking inside the Top 30 in the World Standings to qualify for the winter Pro Rodeos.
“If it works out, it works out,” said Tryan, who roped at the Wrangler NFR in 2010 and 2011. “I would like to get a chance to go to San Antonio and that stuff again. Our rodeos this month up here are pretty good, so if we got on a pretty good winning streak, we would have a chance at that.”
After years of trying to rope his way inside the Top 15 for a third trip to the Wrangler NFR, Tryan is satisfied with his new circuit rodeo cowboy lifestyle and staying close to home to be with his wife, Callahan, and 8-month-old daughter, Oakley.
“I dang sure tried for quite a while after that and didn’t have as much success,” he said. “The last few years, I’ve kind of slowed down. It’s nice to get to be around my wife and daughter every day.”
With roughly 20 circuit rodeos left, Tryan and Viles plan to earn money everywhere they enter and finish with a strong lead in the Montana Circuit.
“The goal is to win the circuit,” Tryan said. “I try to approach each rodeo and make money at each rodeo and the standings will take care of itself after that.”
