Clay Tryan and Jade Corkill Secure Spot in Days of '47 Gold Medal Round

Clay Tryan and Jade Corkill Secure Spot in WCRA Days of ’47 Gold Medal Performance

Clay Tryan and Jade Corkill secured their spot in the Gold Medal Performance at the WCRA Utah Days of '47 Rodeo with a 5.43-second run in the first semi-final round.

World Champions Clay Tryan and Jade Corkill stopped the clock in 5.43 seconds on Wednesday, July 20, to win the first semi-final round of the WCRA’s Utah Days of ’47 Rodeo, earning $1,600 per man and securing their spots in Monday’s Gold Medal Performance.

Only three teams were able to notch a time in the team roping, but Tryan and Corkill made it look easy with the only clean run of the night. Tanner Green and Trey Johnson took second with a 10.78, and Anthony Lucia and Speed Williams took third with an 11.58.

“We were fifth out and nobody before us had caught,” Corkill said. “Those are kind of a tough spot when they only take one team and there were a couple teams after us. So you don’t want to get a no-time, but you don’t want to go slow either, you know. We kind of made just a normal good run on him without messing anything up and it ended up just going our way.”

Tryan backed into the head box on JLo (BulletsOvrNiteSuxess), his 12-year-old bay mare, to secure the win.

“She scores good,” Tryan said. “Our steer was supposed to run pretty good, that was what I was told, and he didn’t really leave the chute at all and I kind of left too soon. She let me slow her down kind of all the way to the barrier line so I didn’t break the barrier.”

Corkill pulled back on two riding Champ (Sixes Posse), his 17-year-old gelding, to finish the run.

“He’s pretty much all I’ve been riding here these last couple of years,” Corkill said. “He’s just getting solid. Doesn’t really make any mistakes and just easy to catch on. He actually scored really good cause I watched Clay nod and I left with his nod, and when I looked the steer wasn’t going. I had to pull. He’s good about letting me float through there. He doesn’t stop, doesn’t get you rocked around, he just kind of slows down, then when I let go, he goes again.’

Tryan and Corkill will compete in Salinas, California, on Friday and Spanish Fork, Utah, on Monday morning before returning Monday night for the Gold Medal Performance and their shot at $25,000.

“You only have get by one steer to get a chance for 25 grand,” Corkill said. “You don’t ever really get to do that. So two steers total to win that much, you get paid good for what you have to do for sure.”

As they wait to see which team makes it through to the semi-finals, they are ready for one more fight for the gold.

“We just did what we wanted to do,” Tryan said. “To get the big money I’m sure we’ll have to make a way better run on Monday, but at least we get a chance for the big money now.”

Action at the WCRA Utah Day of ’47 Rodeo continues July 21 at 7:30 p.m. MT. Live streaming of the Utah Days of ’47 Rodeo is available on RidePass PlutoTV nightly at 7:30 p.m. MT. CBS will air the Gold Medal Round of the Utah Days of ’47 Rodeo on July 31 at 11 a.m. MT.

WCRA Days of ’47 Semi-Final Round 1 Performance Results:

1. Clay Tryan, Billings, MT/Jade Corkill, Lipan, TX, 5.43 seconds, $1,600 each; 2. Tanner Green, Cotulla, TX/Trey Johnson, Weatherford, TX, 10.78, $1,200; 3. Anthony Lucia, Brock, TX/Speed Williams, Comanche, TX, 16.58, $800; no other qualified times.