Koby Sanchez and Trace Porter took home the 2024 Southeastern Circuit Finals win after roping three steers in 17.6 seconds in Davie, Florida, Nov. 8-10.
The Louisiana team had their sights set on the NFR Open in July, especially after having a successful July trip out west in 2024. Now, they’re locked in for 2025.
“The NFR Open has always been a goal to try to get to through the average from our circuit finals,” Sanchez, 23, said. “But our rounds pay so good—it’s almost $3,000 round. You still can win a lot of money even if you’re not in the average. So, it kind of goes both ways. But getting to Colorado Springs is a really, really big plus to stay hooked to that average.”
For Porter, who finished 22nd in the world standings in 2018, he’s been itching to rodeo hard again. Thanks to their high-paying circuit finals, their $7,788 weekend may have set them up to hit the road again in 2025.
“We started some businesses, but I just wanted to go again,” Porter, 32, said. “We started at Springdale and went all the way to the Salt Lake rodeos. We stayed gone probably four weeks just to see how we stood as a team. We actually did some winning; we won right at $10,000 in three weeks. So, this win down here can set us up where we can maybe actually rodeo a little bit.”
How to win the Southeastern Circuit Finals
Sanchez and Porter went into Davie with their sights set on the average and the NFR Open.
“The first round, we didn’t really know a lot about the steers,” Porter said. “We just wanted to get one down and start playing the average game. [Koby] had done pretty good in the past of roping good down there, but neither of us had ever done any good in the average. So, we just wanted to start playing the numbers game, just knocking them down.”
Their first steer was a touch strong, but they made him work and laid the foundation for the average race with a 7.1-second run. Luck was on their side in Round 2, and they won second in the round with a 5.3 for $2,225 a man.
“We came back on a steer that everybody was wanting, and we got him,” Sanchez said. “He was real good, and we used him.”
Their third-round steer had some tricks to him, but Sanchez took a good start to beat his zigzagging. They split third in the final round with a 5.2-second run to pick up $1,113 apiece and seal the deal on the aggregate title for $4,450 a man.
Sanchez and Porter have been friends for years and, after roping here and there over the years, decided to enter full-time together in 2024. Sanchez credits Porter on the heel side for much of their success.
“We decided we were going to rope full-time this year, and it was good,” Sanchez said. “He’s been doing it a while, and he sure is great; he doesn’t miss very many, and he sure catches two feet. It’s nice to know, usually, when I turn them, they’re about heeled.”
Down the horse rabbit hole
For Sanchez, his rookie year was plagued with horse problems. Both of his good horses went down in October and, from the fall of 2023 through June, he rode 13 different horses, mounting out at nearly every circuit rodeo. Until RV Elvis 701 came along. Sanchez bought the 7-year-old gelding a week before heading west for the summer, and they clicked immediately.
“I went and tried him, and I loved him,” Sanchez said. “I threw him straight to the wolves. I bought him, we went to the Franklin, Tennessee, rodeo, and went to three or four rodeos that week. The next week we left and headed to Greeley.”
On the heel side, Porter rode a 14-year-old who’s been in his barn the last decade. King Of The Cats, aka “Gangster,” was a practice horse for nearly seven years, until the time and practice made him top of the line.
“All of a sudden, it just kind of got to where time made him better,” Porter said. “For so long, I’m not going to lie, I didn’t like the horse. All of a sudden, my good horse went down probably two years ago—he got old –and I really didn’t have nothing coming, so that horse I just kind of started. It was time for him to be ready, and he sure stepped up.”
