Blake Hirdes and Jake Edwards won the 2025 California Circuit Finals Dec. 31, en route to the year-end team roping titles.
Hirdes and Edwards roped three head in 17 seconds to pick up $9,275 a man in Red Bluff, bringing Hirdes, 38, to $41,054.66 won on the year and Edwards, 26, to $39,948.86. Hirdes has a successful track record on the California Circuit front: The win marked his fifth team roping year-end title and his 12th overall (Hirdes has won the all-around three times and the tie-down roping four times as well). He’s also got the 2022 NFR Open title to his name, too.
“You just have to be consistent, I guess,” Hirdes, of Turlock, said. “I turned a lot of steers. I’d say almost at the beginning (of 2025) and halfway through, we really didn’t do that good; we didn’t really place at none of the bigger rodeos or anything. And then later in the year, we placed everywhere we went. I don’t know that we changed anything. I felt like we were doing the same stuff, but we were just placing.”
Edwards now has titles in two circuits, both on opposite ends of the country. The New Yorker has two First Frontier year-end heeling wins, and now his first California Circuit title.
“It’s pretty awesome,” Edwards said. “Honestly, I don’t know of a lot of others that have really done that, so I think it’s kind of cool to have that under my belt. What was really cool this year was my mom got to be in Red Bluff for the circuit finals and got to watch me win it there. Obviously she was also back in New York at the First Frontier Circuit Finals when I won it there, so it was pretty special to have her there to celebrate with us.”
Ringing in the New Year in Red Bluff
Hirdes and Edwards didn’t get to rope much leading up to Red Bluff due to weather, but when they did, they made a game plan.
“We got to rope the day before we went up there, and we just talked about making our run,” Edwards said. “I think we’re pretty good at making the same run every time, and I know what he’s going to do. He hits the barrier every time, and he gives us a chance to win every time.”
Hirdes and Edwards knew they drew a good steer in Round 1 and, with only 12 teams fighting for good average and day monies, they knew they wanted to win as much as possible on the stock they drew. They kicked their week off with a 5.3 to win Round 1 for $2,559 a man.
They drew another steer they liked for the second round, which just so happened to be a softer night in the team roping. They split second and third with a 5.6 to pick up $1,599 each in Round 2.
Hirdes and Edwards had some cushion heading into the third and final round, but they also had a steer that stopped in the second round. Despite having made the California Circuit Finals nearly every year since 2007, there’s still some pressure if you ask Hirdes.
“You still get nervous, I guess, and anxious wanting to win,” Hirdes admitted.
Hirdes and Edwards capitalized on their tougher steer, winning third in Round 3 with a 6.1 for $1,279 apiece. On the head side, Hirdes called on his main mount for the last five or six years: Crown Rocks, aka “The Rock.”
“Rick Machado raised him, so he’s from over there,” Hirdes said of the 2011 gelding. “He’s pretty stingy, and he’s a little spooky and stuff, but he runs hard and he’s just honest. He scores good and he’s easy. He’s really broke, so I can do pretty much anything I want with him.”
Edwards rode “Snickers,” registered Decent First Down. Two years ago he bought the now 14-year-old gelding from 16-time NFR heeler Travis Graves, and he’s proven good on any setup for Edwards.
“Jaylen Eldridge owned him originally and trained him, and he’s been a blessing in my life, that’s for sure,” Edwards said. “He’s the best horse I’ve ever rode, and I have to give a lot of credit to him because I wouldn’t be where I’m at today in my career without him, really. He gives me a chance every time from Salinas to anywhere. He’s pretty great in any kind of setup you put him in.”
Reflecting on 2025
From one coast to the other, Edwards made the swap to the California Circuit a year ago after moving to the West Coast with his fiancee Sheena, a California native. After trying to make the NFR for a few years, Edwards faced some burnout and wanted to get things rolling in the right direction. So, he made the decision to stay on the circuit front.
Hirdes and Edwards kicked off their 2025 partnership early, winning $3,182 in the fall of 2024.
“I’d seen Blake rope quite a bit in years past, and he’s always got good horses and ropes really good,” Edwards said. “If I was going to stay around California all year, I wanted to go to everything that I could go to, and he’s the guy for that. He’s real consistent, turns a lot of steers and loves rodeo just as much as I do. It worked out pretty good.”
Hirdes and Edwards went to nearly every California Circuit rodeo, yet they didn’t win much at the bigger hits.
“We really didn’t win at the bigger rodeos, but we were kind of the consistent team, I guess,” Edwards explained. “We placed a lot but like at Red Buff, Clovis, Redding, Salinas–the bigger rodeos–we never really did very good. But it seemed like everywhere else we just kind of caught and placed along. I told Blake, we probably won more $800 checks this year, just chipping away at them. But it added up in the end.”
Year ahead for Hirdes and Edwards
One of the West Coast’s top names, Hirdes chooses to stay closer to home and his family these days.
“I’m getting too old for it, I think,” Hirdes said. “[My family], and we got cattle. And then I work at the sale yard at Turlock and help run the sale over there.I’ve got a good job, and I don’t like missing that; we make good money over there. And I like being home. I like going on the weekends and being able to work during the week. We go to all the circuit rodeos and I mean, we probably go to 20 amateur rodeos out here, too. So we can go to quite a few still.”
His 2026 will look no different, other than a trip to Colorado Springs in July for the NFR Open. But for Edwards, he’s getting back out on the road this year.
“I’m in Texas right now, and I actually just got the callbacks for RodeoHouston about an hour ago,” Edwards said. “So that’s pretty exciting. Me and Cash Duty, we’re planning on roping this year and we went to all the rodeos in the fall. Shoot, I went from Bonifay, Florida, to Brawley, California, trying to get into Houston off the new year. And we barely got it done, but we got it done. So, that’s the plan. Obviously goal is to make the NFR this year.”
