Corey Whinnery and Robert Murphy walked away from the 2025 Turquoise Circuit Finals in Cave Creek, Arizona, as the average champions with a time of 21.9 seconds on three head, earning $3,295 each.

Whinnery and Murphy, who roped together most of the year, were 8.0 and 8.1 seconds on their first two steers, respectively.

Whinnery, a Wittmann, Arizona, resident who spends summers in Colorado, hadn’t entered a rodeo since the end of summer before the circuit finals.

“I hadn’t been anywhere for money since the end of August at the rodeo in Pueblo,” Whinnery said. “I felt a little rusty out there, actually. I missed the barrier on the first two and finally got a good start on the third one.”

The team ended up third in the third round with a 5.8-second run, good for $1,098. The stock contractor brought enough steers for everyone to get a fresh one in each round.

“We didn’t have a chance for the year-end,” said Murphy, of Congress, Arizona. “The first one was a little stronger, so we just went and got him caught. On the second one, we were hoping to make up a little time, but he was also a little stronger. Then that third one, he was pretty good, so it gave us a chance to get back in there a little bit.”

Whinnery headed to Congress a few days early to get some runs in with Murphy before the finals.

“We guide hunters in the fall,” Whinnery explained. “I got down there a couple days early to practice with him.”

For horsepower, Murphy was riding one newer to his string that he calls “Modelo”.

“I got him a year and a half ago; he’s ten,” Murphy said. “This is the first year I rode him, so it went pretty good.”

Whinnery was heading on one he calls “Casper” that he bought from a two-time world champion.

“I bought him from Matt Sherwood two years ago, and he’s been good,” Whinnery said. “He’s been my number one since I got him.”