Clint Summers and Jake Long are having fun at the 2023 Wrangler National Finals Rodeo.

Their back-to-back round wins at 4.2 in Round 1 and 3.8 in Round 2, worth $61,412.82 a man, were a little more than they bargained for—but they were exactly what they practiced.

“That’s our run,” Summers, 32, of Lake City, Florida, said. “It’s what we’ve worked on every day in the practice pen.”

“I told Clint I’ve showed up here a lot with my chest bowed out thinking I would take all I could get this week,” Long, 39, of Coffeyville, Kansas, added. “And it’s humbled me in a hurry. It’s been weird—we’re really not trying to win first. I know it probably doesn’t look that way. But we’re trying to make good runs and the clock is being really friendly to us.”

Why was Jake Long in a tie-dye shirt in Round 2? He was honoring his late uncle, Goose Long, who passed away after a battle with cancer in August 2023. Goose regularly came out to the Finals to watch Jake, and was a big part of his life.

Summers and his 19-year-old gelding WSR Hesa Alive (Transmission) got in the barrier and stuck it on him quick. As soon as the steer was legal, Long fired to stop the clock fast. They sweated out a fast round while watching from the tunnel, where they saw Rodeo Houston Champs Rhen Richard and Jeremy Buhler come the closest with a 3.9-second run.

“Last night was a good start,” Summers added. “I wasn’t late, but I wasn’t in it. It wasn’t what I had practiced so hard at the house. I want to be in it. If you break the barrier, you break the barrier. I want to hit the barrier, and I want the steer to be right there where I can set them up the best for Jake.”

The win moved them to third and second in the world with $171,935.15 and $185,436.39 won on the year, respectively.

“I’ve come out here a lot tensed up wanting to win a gold buckle,” said Long, who rode his 11-year-old gelding JC Bar Diamond again in Round 2. “We all want to win a gold buckle, that’s the checklist. But I told him this year, I don’t care if we light them on fire or we don’t do good. I just want to enjoy it. I just want to enjoy this week and soak it all in again like a first-timer. We’re not stupid, we know we’re caught up and in the ballpark at least. But those first few years, I remember having backdoor chances. And I had zero clue. I’m aware of what’s going on—it’s hard not to know—but it really doesn’t matter. There’s so much money. As easily as it’s gone our way for these two, somebody else who had a rough go these last two rounds could just catch fire and we could look up and they’d be gone.”

Reigning Champs Kaleb Driggers and Junior Nogueira now both lead the PRCA world standings with $188,221.68 each won on the year.

Round 2 NFR Team Roping Results: