Garrett Rogers and Bo Patzke roped their way to the 2024 Columbia River Circuit Finals average title in Redmond, Oregon, Oct. 17-19, while Riley and Brady Minor sealed the deal on the year-end titles with $30,433.93 won on the circuit front.
Rogers and Patzke roped three steers in 16.9 seconds for $3,593 a man to win the average—a second time for Rogers and a first for Patzke.
“It’s still kind of sinking in, but it feels really cool,” Patzke said. “I never really thought about winning the Columbia River average, but I just thought it wasn’t exactly as big of a deal as it is. Now, it’s sinking in; I’m like, holy smokes, this is pretty big.”
The Minors, who have 24 NFR qualifications between them, are Columbia River Circuit veterans, now with six year-end titles for Riley and seven for Brady. With the addition of the NFR Open in Colorado Springs each July, NFR teams like the Minors have a bigger incentive to get their circuit count in.
“You kind of prioritize your circuit rodeos a little bit because you can win so much at Colorado Springs,” Riley said. “So, we definitely go to a few more—or try to. The Columbia River Circuit’s so good that there’s so many big rodeos in it. They’re towards the end of the year, though, so everybody’s entered, and it can get pretty tough.”
Rogers and Patzke capitalize in Redmond
Patzke, 36, hasn’t ProRodeoed since 2018. He spent the last six years being a dad and family man but, in January, he made the decision to buy his PRCA card again.
Rogers,31, and Patzke are on the same page in that their priorities do still lie outside of rodeo right now—Rogers is a two-time NFR qualifier but now has a cattle operation, two kids and a wife at home, and Patzke shoes horses and works full-time for the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, on top of being a father.
“We started out only planning on going to four,” Patzke, of Lostine, Oregon, said. “Then we had pretty good luck at first, so we just started entering to make the circuit finals.”
Rogers and Patzke only ended up going to 17 rodeos, so they made the Columbia River Circuit Finals in Redmond, Oregon, lower in the standings. The team went into Round 1 focused on doing their jobs and letting the cards fall where they may.
Their first steer was a little strong and ran up the rope, but they managed to split fourth in the round with a 7.6 for $299 a man. Round 2 treated them much better with a 4.8 to win the round and $2,395 apiece. Going into the third and final round second in the average, Rogers and Patzke did what they needed to and won the round with a 4.5 for $2,395 a man. Patzke credits Rogers for their win.
“It was the way Garrett headed—he outheaded everyone there,” Patzke said. “And he handles cattle so good that it’s pretty easy to heel behind him.”
Their trip to Colorado Springs will be Roger’s third trip to the NFR Open (plus a few RAM National Circuit Finals trips, too) and Patzke’s first.
“Garrett went there this last July, so he had to turn out of a [circuit] rodeo and I found a calf roper,” Patzke said with a laugh. “So, I’ve heard about it from him, and he did good back there. It sounds like an awesome rodeo.”
Minors seal the deal on the year-end
While the Minors may not have finished the regular season as they planned, they bounced back with the 2024 Columbia River Circuit year-end titles.
Riley and Brady—who finished 17th and 19th in the PRCA world standings with $100,100.30 and $98,420.05 won on the year—got their first circuit check in May at the PRCA Last Stand Rodeo in Coulee City, Washington, for $1,963 a man for first. In June they had a $4,244-a-man trip in Prineville, Oregon, at the Crooked River Roundup, but they didn’t take control of the circuit standings until late July.
Though the Minors hit the road with NFR dreams each year, they’re still capable of getting their circuit count in because of how valuable the Northwest run is.
“There’s a lot of good rodeos for us,” Riley said. “That’s the thing is if you live in Texas, those guys can’t hardly get to their circuit rodeos because they’re gone too much. But the Columbia River’s easy to get to your rodeos. We count a few small ones that maybe you shouldn’t, but usually, if we’re driving by or they’re close to the house, we try to count them. They’re not too far.”
Riley and Brady rounded out their year on the circuit front winning $6,469 at their hometown rodeo in Ellensburg over Labor Day weekend, followed by $2,304 between the Lewiston Roundup in Idaho and Othello PRCA Rodeo in Washington. They went into the circuit finals with over a $6,000 lead and adding another year-end title to their track record.
In 2025, the brothers still have the NFR on their minds, but they’re playing things by ear.
“Just kind of start out this winter and go from there,” Riley said. “I don’t really have any plans. Like they say, to make the Finals, you got to rope better.”
