First Strike: Tyler Wade and Cole Davison's 3.9 Wins Round 6

First Strike: Tyler Wade and Cole Davison’s 3.9 Wins Round 6

Tyler Wade and Cole Davison got their first paycheck of the week in Round 6 of the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo with a 3.9-second run.

Tyler Wade and Cole Davison got their first paycheck of the week in Round 6 of the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo with a 3.9-second run, worth $26,230.77 a man—enough to help them breathe a sigh of relief after a week of misses and legs.

Their win came in a go-round that saw Bubba Buckaloo and Chase Tryan win second with a 4.4-second run, worth $20,730.77 a man, followed by Clay Smith and Paul Eaves’ 4.5-second run worth $15,653.85 a man. Lane Ivy and Buddy Hawkins win fourth with a 4.7-plus-5, worth $11,000 a man, and Aaron Tsinigine and Trey Yates win fifth with a barrier and a leg to be 19.50, worth $6,769.23 a man. There were only five completed runs, so the sixth place hole was split evenly between all five placing teams.

Davison has ridden Apollo, a horse he bought from friend and all-around contender Rhen Richard. Jamie Arviso

“It’s not hard to miss one here, obviously,” Wade said. “We proved that, five in a row. In this arena, you can’t get out of the run. It’s two swings heading, and second or third hop heeling. When you go to just catch, there’s not enough arena to catch.”

The round fell apart on what should have been the best set of steers of the rodeo, the set that saw Lane Ivy and Buddy Hawkins win Round 3 with a 4.0 earlier in the week and a 4.3 split last hole.

“Why couldn’t a round have been this easy when I roped a leg to be 3.6?” Davison joked. “No, I’m just pretty bad about trying too hard. And tonight I realized, ‘Why am I doing this stupid thing?’ I told myself tonight it doesn’t work for you, don’t try too hard. Tonight, I thought no matter what I had to catch a steer, so I tried to relax and go catch.”

Despite maxing out penalties, Tsinigine and Yates moved to first in the average with a 48.40 on six when Kaleb Driggers and Junior Nogueira took their first no-time of the week. Smith and Eaves, who lead the PRCA world standings with $197,126.60 each at of the completion of Round 6, are second in the average with a salty 21.90 seconds on five head.

Wade and Davison make their Round 6 victory lap, a first for both ropers. Jamie Arviso

In the all-around race, Trevor Brazile picked up a fifth place check in the tie-down roping while Tuf Cooper broke the barrier to be 7.2 plus 10. Rhen Richard failed to place in both events, but is third in the average in the calf roping and fifth in the team roping despite a no-time tonight.

Team Roping Results Round 6:

1. Tyler Wade and Cole Davison, 3.90, $26,230.77 each

2. Bubba Buckaloo and Chase Tryan, 4.40, $20,730,77 each

3. Clay Smith and Paul Eaves, 4.50, $15,653.85 each

4. Lane Ivy and Buddy Hawkins, 8.70, $11,000 each

5. Aaron Tsinigine and Trey Yates, 19.50, $6,769 each