Cody Doescher Wins Round 2 Cinch Timed Event Championship

Doescher Gets Round 2, Rookie Wakefield Pulls Ahead in CTEC 2023 Average Race

Cody Doescher wins Round 2 of the 2023 Cinch Timed Event Championship, as Riley Wakefield pulls ahead in the average.

Oklahoma’s Cody Doescher got the go-round win in Round 2 of the 2023 Cinch Timed Event Championship, while Nebraska’s 26-year-old Cinch Timed Event Championship Rookie Riley Wakefield now has the lead on 10 steers with an aggregate time of 121.5 seconds at the Lazy E Arena in Guthrie, Oklahoma, March 3.

This is 33-year-old Doescher’s second consecutive Round 2 win at the CTEC. He won the same round with a 51.3 on five in 2022, speeding up with a 48.9 on five in 2023. In his 10th CTEC, Doescher moved to seventh in the average with a time of 146.3 on 10 head.

“I drew pretty good,” Doescher, who rode Adam Hubbler’s head horse and his heel-horse mare, Ginger, said. “My team roping steers were both pretty strong. But that’s OK—here, most of them are pretty strong. Douglas (Rich) did a great job on both sides, cleaned them up when I was heading and did a great job heading for me.”

Doescher’s calf took off more than he thought he would in the calf roping, but he hung on the end of his rope and took the tie great to let him be 12.9 on that run. That run came with the help of Kyle Myer’s Casino, an 8-year-old tie-down horse that’s been to the horse shows but hasn’t had much experience on big stages.

“He’s a great horse, and he’s really easy but has all the stuff too to make everything work,” Doescher said. “Big stop, and he lets me get off. I’m not a calf roper, so I don’t get off real fast. He’s really honest. He hasn’t seen anything this big, but he’s worked great so far.”

In the steer wrestling, David Reager’s horse and hazing skills fit Doescher just right to overcome a little late start.

“I missed the barrier just a tick in the bull dogging,” Doescher said. “But my horse worked great as always. Coop (David Reagor), my hazer, did a great job hazing.”

In the steer roping, Doescher drew the steer Russell Cardoza used in Round 1 for the win in the go.

“I knew he was good, so I just went ahead and tried to make a normal run instead of trying to be so safe,” Doescher explained. “I let my horse take care of it, and he did. His name is Holyfield. I bought him in 2019 when I was roping with Spencer Mitchell as a backup heel horse, and he’s a little strong, and I needed a steer horse. Me and Blake Deckard and Jason Stockton made him a steer horse, and he’s turned into a great one for me.

Doescher—who got hurt in the 2020 CTEC and needed knee surgery that COVID delayed—hasn’t been rodeoing full-time since. He’s built a business as a ringman for auto and horse auctions, as well as a family, so the CTEC is his time to shine.

“I work two car auctions a week, and I have a horse sale every weekend,” Doescher said. “I haven’t gotten into the building rodeos, and I’ve been so busy I haven’t made an attempt to get in. I have three kids and a wife to support. It’s hard to go chase it when you don’t get into the buildings. But this event stands out and speaks for itself. You can’t make it mean anymore than it does. It’s the most prestigious event in the sport of rodeo, and for me, the payout is life-changing. But it’s more enjoyable now. It’s not such a job anymore. I get to get ready, and I get to celebrate with my family.”

Average Race

In the average race, Wakefield is 8.6 seconds off the pace Erich Rogers set by the second round in 2022 when he won the $100,000 paycheck. Wakefield, wearing the No.6. back number, subbed in for Haven Meged two weeks ago.