Slone Weishaar and Cannin Carson took home the biggest checks of their budding careers, winning the 2025 BFI Hooey Jr. #10.5 for $100,000.
The 16-year-olds, Weishaar from South Dakota and Carson from North Dakota, roped four steers in 30.71 seconds for the win March 27. When they backed in the boxes at high call, neither of them knew the stakes of the roping yet.
“I didn’t even know during the roping,” Carson said. “I was outside, so I never knew. It definitely helped calm the nerves a little bit.”
Weishaar and Carson were met by their closest friends–who were fanning them with their hats–at the backend of the Lazy E Arena after their 8.73-second run in the short round to seal the deal on the win.
“It was kind of just crazy,” Weishaar said. “When I heard it, I knew last year it was like $60,000 or something, and I thought it might be around the same again, if not, like, a little more. And when it was that much, I was kind of just crazy.”
Carson’s road to the WCJR
For Carson, the win has longer-lasting effects. Carson currently leads the WCRA Division Youth’s junior heeling leaderboard with 2,521.5. points, and he nominated the BFI toward the standings. While he isn’t exactly sure how the $100,000 win will boost his standings, he’s hopeful to see a wider gap in his lead so that he can enter the WCJR in July with some wiggle room.
“It’d be nice to go into [the WCJR] with little cushion,” Carson said. “I know this was a lot of points, so it’ll help.”
In 2023, Carson picked up the 2023 youth heeling world title, and he entered the 2024 WCJR leading the heeling standings. Returning to the Lazy E each summer is a priority for reasons other than the titles up for grabs.
“It’s just a fun thing, and it pays pretty good as well,” Carson said. “But I get to rope with my brother (Cashin, who leads the junior heading standings), so that’s even better.”
How to win $100K
Weishaar and Carson started the BFI Hooey Jr. #10.5 with a 6.40-second run, which was exactly what Carson had planned, to pick up $2,000 for the fast time in Rotation 3. They followed that up with a 7.82 in Round 2.
“First round, I was just trying to go as fast as possible–no reason to swing over them,” Carson said with a laugh. “My plan was about the same in second round. It’s a timed event, after all.”
In Round 3, they turned in a 7.76 to put them high call. While Weishaar also wanted to set the pace, he was more concerned with the start, which a lot of kids–himself included–struggled with.
“I broke out at ninth call for my brother,” Weishaar admitted. “I was trying to kind of just ping it and get out good, but I left too early. But for Cannin, on all the ones that I was good on the barrier for, I just really wanted to make sure that I didn’t break it. Cause who cares if I had to run them down? As long as we got a time and not make a 5-second mistake.”
No mistakes were made in the short round as they clinched the win with an 8.73-second run. On the head side, Weishaar rode a 7-year-old gelding he calls Shazam.
“I rode a horse that my sister used to breakaway on, and then I just kind of got him and tried to teach him how to fit my style,” Weishaar said. “He is pretty young–he’s like, 7–and this is the first big outing I’ve taken him to.”
Carson’s heel horse wasn’t even supposed to make the trek to the Lazy E, but it’s a good thing 6-year-old “Sid” did.
“Mine’s a young one that I wasn’t even gonna bring, but my better heel horse was crippled before we left,” Carson said. “So, I brought him and I honestly don’t even know why I rode him in this. I was gonna ride my other one, but good thing I didn’t.”
