Jake Orman and Will Woodfin roped their championship steer in 5.23 seconds to win $10,000 a man at the Cinch Boyd Gaming Chute Out at The Orleans Arena December 9. 

Orman and Woodfin received an invite for the Cinch Boyd Gaming Chute Out after finishing 21st and 25th in the PRCA world standings, respectively. They were 10.03 on their first steer and a no-time on their second. The Chute Out took back the top eight money earners to the semifinal round of six, and when only five teams earned money and nobody else caught two, Orman and Woodfin got another shot. 

They made the best of their luck with a 3.9-second run, getting back to the championship round in the number-two spot, behind Derrick Begay and Clay O’Brien Cooper’s 3.6-second run and ahead of Lee Kiehne and Rich Skelton. 

Kiehne and Skelton took a no-time on their championship steer, but Orman and Woodfin looked to put the pressure on Begay and Cooper. 

“That steer was good,” Woodfin said. “They were second on him in the first round, and second on him in the second round. Jake got out good and stuck it on him, but he fumbled his dally, so we went into catch mode at that point.”

Woodfin made sure to catch him, thanks to his 14-year-old roan gelding, Salt, who carried Shay Carroll to a Rodeo Houston championship in 2015. 

“That horse has really been a part of what Jake and I have done,” Woodfin said. “He’s really helped me be where I need to be and give me the same shot every time.”

Orman’s grey gelding, Frank, has been giving him the same solid start, too, that has helped set Orman and Woodfin up for success in 2018. They finished 2017’s ProRodeo season with a 4.0-second win in Stephenville, Texas, and placed at the All-American Finals in Waco, too, to count toward the 2018 standings. 

“Some of what works for us works on paper, and some of it doesn’t,” Woodfin said. “Jake’s got a great head horse who is part of the equation. I don’t really know why it all works, but it’s seeming to work out.”