The 2024 ProRodeo season is kicking into high gear with a new batch of Resistol Rookie of the Year team roping candidates.
Resistol Rookie of the Year contenders will begin to battle it out for a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity at being crowned the Heading and Heeling Resistol Rookies of the Year. New players are backing in the boxes with high hopes of ending their rookie season on top.
READ: A Complete List of Team Roping Resistol Rookies of the Year
Here are the five headers and heelers that have an early lead in the marathon.
2024 Heading Resistol Rookie of the Year contenders
No. 1 Jesse Boos
$10,230.95 | White Cloud, Kansas
The 21-year-old Kansas header is the reigning PRCA Permit Finals (Waco, Texas) champion. Jesse Boos and his heeler and fellow Resistol Rookie of the Year candidate on the heel side, Jace Steenhoek, had recent success at the 2024 RodeoHouston, advancing to the Semifinals and winning Semifinals 2 to compete in the Championship Round of 10. Boos claims the Great Lakes Circuit and has a 2023 circuit finals qualification under his belt.
No. 2 Casey Thomas
$9,946.84 | Cedar City, Utah
Casey Thomas, a 24-year-old from Utah, got a good start in the 2024 Resistol Rookie of the Year race in Denver, Colorado, winning the average and $2,185 at the National Western Stock Show Timed Event Qualifier in Dec. 2023. He kept that momentum going into the new year, taking home $5,703 at the La Fiesta De Los Vaqueros in Tucson, Arizona, in February. The Wilderness Circuit cowboy heads for his brother Wyatt Thomas, the No. 1 heeler in the Resistol Rookie of the Year race.
No. 3 Quinton Parchman
$8,471.28 | Cumberland City, Tennessee
Quinton Parchman is in his rookie season, but the 29-year-old has a resume that shows he’s anything but a rookie inside the arena. Parchman is a two-time IPRA world champion header with multiple IFR qualifications and open roping titles, like the Biggest East of the Mississippi, to his name. Parchman claims the Great Lakes Circuit and has been heading for Garrett Smith. His biggest check of the 2024 season came from winning third at the Dixie Nationals in Jackson, Mississippi, for $4,760.
No. 4 Doyle Yazzie
$6,749.83 | Winslow, Arizona
Doyle Yazzie might have a leg up on some of the young guns as he’s a 43-year-old rookie. Yazzie is a multiple-time Indian National Finals Rodeo qualifier and is in his first year of ProRodeo. Yazzie ropes with his son, Hiyo, and their biggest hit of the 2024 season came from the National Western Stock Show and Rodeo in Denver. The Yazzies won $6,750 in Denver and made it all the way to the short round.
No. 5 Koby Sanchez
$6,668.74 | Ethel, Louisiana
Koby Sanchez is a 22-year-old product of the Southeast. The Louisiana cowboy college rodeoed for Pearl River Community College, followed by East Mississippi Community College where he qualified for the College National Finals Rodeo. Sanchez has competed across multiple open rodeo associations with several finals qualifications, including the IPRA, PCA (Professional Cowboy Association) and NCPRA (National Cowboys Pro Rodeo Association).
2024 Heeling Resistol Rookie of the Year contenders
No. 1 Wyatt Thomas
$11,641.67 | Cedar City, Utah
Wyatt Thomas is a 28-year-old rookie heeling for his brother, Casey. Thomas has one trip to the Wilderness Circuit Finals under his belt from Nov. 2023, where he took home second in Round 3 for $1,712. The Thomas brothers finished sixth in the average in Tucson to pick up $5,703 during their trip there.
No. 2 Chase Graves
$11,310.65 | Poplarville, Mississippi
For 24-year-old Chase Graves, rodeo runs deep. Graves is the son of three-time NFR header and 2002 Olympic Command Performance Rodeo bronze medalist Frank Graves. Since a young age, Graves has been making a name for himself, starting with taking home the 2013 National Junior High Finals Rodeo win. Graves college rodeoed for Pearl River Community College and the University of West Alabama, making trips to the CNFR for both schools. In 2020, Graves won the PRCA Permit Member of the Year Challenge. Graves currently heels for three-time NFR qualifier Jake Cooper.
No. 3 Jace Steenhoek
$10,230.95 | Bagley, Iowa
Jace Steenhoek is a 24-year-old from Iowa, heeling for fellow Resistol Rookie of the Year contender, Jesse Boos. Steenhoek sits second in the Great Lakes Circuit standings and has one trip to the North American Championship Rodeo (the Great Lakes Circuit Finals) from 2022 where he finished second in the average. Steenhoek is coming off his first trip to RodeoHouston where he and Boos made it all the way to the Championship Round of 10 and took home $4,701 during their trip. In 2023, Steenhoek won the PRCA Permit Finals in Waco, Texas, with Boos.
No. 4 Clinton Groff
$6,773.00 | Phoenix, Arizona
Clinton Groff is a 32-year-old rookie from Phoenix, Arizona. Groff currently leads the Turquoise Circuit standings on the heel side with $6,773.00 won thus far. Groff heels for Wikieup, Arizona’s Choc Westcott. This year, Groff won third at the Cave Creek Rodeo Days and took home a total $4,347. He and Westcott also won the Parada Del Sol in Scottsdale for $2,426.
No. 5 Hiyo Yazzie
$6,749.83 | Coyote Canyon, New Mexico
Hiyo Yazzie may only be 23 years old, but his list of accolades is impressive. Yazzie is the 2023 Indian National Finals Rodeo World Champion All Around Cowboy with multiple INFR qualifications to his name. Yazzie competed in the 2019 Jr. Ironman and has made multiple trips to the CNFR. Yazzie ropes with his father and Resistol Rookie of the Year contender on the head side, Doyle.
Coverage of the Resistol Rookie of the Year race is brought to you by our friends at Resistol.
