Matt Sherwood and Walt Woodard won the Southwestern Exposition and Livestock Show in Fort Worth, Texas after turning in a time of 15.6 seconds on three head worth $7,565 each.
“We came back tied for first with Shane Phillip and Joel Bach with a 10.1,” Woodard said. “They got to go last because they were 4.9 on one and we were 5 flat. They drew a steer that ran—too bad.”
Sherwood and Woodard snuck into the final-round placings after drawing a good steer and using him, placing second with a 5.5 second run, worth $1,344 each.
“The steers that we had were good,” Woodard said. “We were 5.1 on our first steer, and there was a steer in there that Joe Day had. My wife is really strong on positive talk. Say what you want and speak it. She said to me, ‘What steer do you want in the second go?’ and I said, “I want Joe Day’s steer—I want that paint steer.’ We went over there and got him and were 5-flat on him and there was only one steer in the whole rodeo that was better than him, and we got him in the short go.”
Woodard was aboard a 10-year-old horse that he and his son Travis Woodard halter broke.
“Blueberry is an amazing horse,” Woodard said. “When I mess up it’s my fault. He never makes a mistake. He’s as good of a horse as I’ve ever ridden.”
Sherwood and Woodard roped in 2006, when Sherwood won a World Championship, then split when Woodward began roping with Clay Tryan, the same year he won the world title. Sherwood and Woodard didn’t get the band back together until last year.
“Matt had roped great this year so far and he’s turned every steer. Being able to travel with someone that’s not listening to rap music, not that rap music is bad, but at 62 I’m not a rapper. I have to travel with someone that has some of my likes. You have to give and take because you’re with another man for eight months out of they year. Getting along with a man for eight months is not an easy thing when it’s someone you’re in business with.”
Woodard has been working on figuring out way to help his roping and found success in changing his rope to rope with a lighter heel rope.
“I’ve been working on a couple things in practice. I went to a GT4 Lite—I’ve never used that before, but I did that to help my swing speed just because as I’ve gotten older my swing has slowed down. I really work on my swing speed and my focus, and I was able to do it over there.”
After changing a few things and still working at his roping every day, Woodard has high hopes to rope him in another world title before he’s done.
“I want to rope for a world championship title again—that’s the goal. I wanted to see if I could do it in my 50s, then secretly I wanted to see if I could do it in my 60s on a horse that we broke, so that’s what I’m doing.”
Full Results from Fort Worth:
First round: 1. Cody Snow/Wesley Thorp, 4.1 seconds, $5,043 each; 2. (tie) Dustin Egusquiza/Kory Koontz and Tom Richards/Jake Smith, 4.7, $4,056 each; 4. (tie) Shane Philipp/Joel Bach and Kaleb Driggers/Junior Nogueira, 4.8, $2,741 each; 6. (tie) Luke Brown/Jake Long, Jake Cooper/Logan Medlin and Rhett Anderson/Coleby Payne, 4.9, $1,096 each. Second round: 1. Spencer Mitchell/Jason Duby, 4.0 seconds, $5,043 each; 2. Clay Smith/Paul Eaves, 4.1, $4,385; 3. Mitchell Barney/J.W. Beck, 4.5, $3,728; 4. (tie) Jake Orman/Will Woodfin, Clay Tryan/Jade Corkill and Coleman Proctor/Billie Jack Saebens, 4.6, $2,412 each; 7. (tie) Quisto Lopez/Trey Carter III, Brandon Beers/Daniel Braman IV and Jesse Stipes/Jake Clay, 4.8, $512 each. Finals: 1. Jake Cooper/Logan Medlin, 5.0 seconds, $1,624 each; 2. Matt Sherwood/Walt Woodard, 5.5, $1,344; 3. (tie) Cody Snow/Wesley Thorp and Luke Brown/Jake Long, 5.8, $924 each; 5. Derrick Begay/Clay O’Brien Cooper, 6.2, $504; 6. Shane Philipp/Joel Bach, 6.4, $280. Average: 1. Matt Sherwood/Walt Woodard, 15.6 seconds on three head, $7,565 each; 2. Luke Brown/Jake Long, 16.0, $6,578; 3. Jake Cooper/Logan Medlin, 16.3, $5,591; 4. (tie) Cody Snow/Wesley Thorp and Shane Philipp/Joel Bach, 16.5, $4,111 each; 6. Derrick Begay/Clay O’Brien Cooper, 17.2, $2,631; 7. Tyler Wojciechowski/Ross Ashford, 21.2, $1,645; 8. Lee Kiehne/Rich Skelton, 23.4, $658.
