Conner Herren may only be on his permit, but he’s given the veteran Mountain States Circuit ropers a run for their money as he leads the 2024 heeling standings with $29,333.08 won on the year.
Herren, who turns 20 this month, has a $6,474.53 lead over the No. 2 heeler—reigning and three-time circuit champion Cullen Teller—as the regular season ends for the Mountain States Circuit.
“I think it’d be really cool to win the circuit and go to the NFR Open,” Herren said. “That kind of was the goal at the start of the year with Garrett, just trying to teach me and get me to a point where I can get a really good run in the next couple of years and get into the NFR Open [this year].”
For the South Dakota kid, his lead is even more impressive considering he first picked up a rope just five or six years ago. When his sister got into riding horses, Herren bought a rope and put in the work. No beginner escapes some struggles, but between his desire to win and trips to Arizona, where he roped around some of the best in the game, he excelled quickly.
“I didn’t like to lose, and I just kind of progressed in the last couple of years fast,” Herren said. “But I just worked as hard as I could to do it, and I just lighted up I guess.”
Learning the ropes
While on his last permit year, Herren knew staying on the circuit front was a good way to get his feet wet in the ProRodeo world.
“It’s just so different than jackpotting,” said Herren, who has seen plenty of success in the jackpot arenas, including a third-place finish heeling for two-time World Champion Kaleb Driggers in the USTRC National Finals #16.5 this past April. “I think getting an older header that’s there to just rope and staying out of the other parts—a lot of young guys go out and party—so just getting with a guy that is there to rope and just there to do your job.”
Out on the rodeo trail, Herren had the help of a seasoned veteran who’s seen the bright lights of Vegas twice in his career to help show him the ropes: Garrett Tonozzi.
A year ago, a friend of Herren heard that Tonozzi was looking for someone to heel for him every day and lined it out for Herren while he was in Texas last fall.
“I went over there and roped with him a bunch, and I just talked to him about maybe roping the next year,” Herren said. “And we did good together in Texas and roped good together, and we decided to try it out.”
Tonozzi and Herren partnered up in the Mountain States Circuit this year and, while Tonozzi did all the entering, he’s helped Herren with perfecting the finer details of roping.
“When I make a mistake like hazing or little things like that that help your header, he doesn’t get mad, but he’ll try to correct it as fast as possible,” Herren said of Tonozzi. “He’ll tell me you can’t do that because this is going to cost you when you’re trying to make the Finals or whatever. If you’re out rodeoing and you need to win, you just got to make sure to execute little things. Executing the little things is I think one of the biggest things he’s taught me.”
Making it count
Herren spent his first year on his permit in his native Badlands Circuit. Not only did switching circuits bring him an NFR mentor, it also fit his style well.
“It just seems like in the Mountain States, there’s a lot more big rodeos,” Herren said. “It’s less spread out and a lot more two- and three-headers. There’s hardly any two- and three-headers in the Badlands, if there even is any. We did a lot better at the three-headers.”
Not to mention those two- and three-headers are also some of the largest rodeos in the circuit. Tonozzi and Herren pocketed $6,878 a man at the Greeley Stampede in July after winning the short round and second in the average. They also picked up $3,938 a piece at the Central Wyoming Fair & PRCA Rodeo in Casper between their round finishes and taking fourth in the average.
Being able to win at not only the bigger circuit rodeos but some of the major summer rodeosfor Herren.
“It’s just cool to win at the bigger rodeos,” Herren said. “I mean, honestly, I’ve always kind of excelled at the bigger rodeos. Even last year, I always did better at bigger rodeos than small rodeos. I like big slacks when you get to hang out with all the better guys and talk to them, kind of pick their brains and then rope against them. It’s pretty cool.”
As the Mountain States Circuit has wrapped up, Herren heads next to the Mountain States Circuit Finals Oct. 25-26, in Loveland, Colorado. For his rookie year in 2025, Herren’s looking outside the circuit front.
“We’re going to go to some of the winter rodeos and stuff if we can get in and all that,” Herren said. “But we’re going to try to do that and, if we have a good winter, we’ll go.”
