Shiozawa Highlands DNCFR Champs

Matt Shiozawa was born in Pocatello, Idaho, and lives in neighboring Chubbuck. He gave the local Dodge National Circuit Finals Rodeo fans in Pocatello a moment they won’t soon forget, winning the tie-down roping in a finish more appropriate to Hollywood than Pocatello.

Shiozawa, the last man to nod his head in the four-man Wrangler Round, produced a time of 7.3 seconds just moments after Californian Wes Lockard had gone 7.6, the fastest time of the week to that point.

“I think it was almost better for (Lockard) to put up a 7.6, than an 8.6,” Shiozawa said, “because then you just let it go. You aren’t tempted to get conservative, play it safe and mess things up. It was kind of the perfect ending to what has been a wild week, with all the attention, all the calls and stuff. Luckily, I was able to keep my focus through it all.”

Shiozawa had also won the semifinal round earlier in the evening with a 7.8 second run to edge another local favorite, Nate Baldwin of Blackfoot. The two wins brought Shiozawa’s winnings for the week to $13,238 (along with the use of a Dodge truck for the year) and helped the Wilderness Circuit easily repeat as team champion.

The DNCFR gives cowboys and cowgirls who only wish to compete locally, but on a professional level, a chance for a national title. Two qualifiers in each event from 12 different circuits, or regions, qualify to Pocatello for a tournament-style rodeo. Other 2008 champions were Chris Harris, Itasca, Texas, bareback riding; K.C. Jones, Decatur, Texas, steer wrestling; Justin Spence, Modesto, Calif., and Evan Arnold, Santa Margarita, Calif., team roping; Chad Ferley, Oelrichs, S.D., saddle bronc riding; Shelley Murphy, Helena, Mont., barrel racing; Poncho Limas, Weatherford, Okla., bull riding.

SHARE THIS STORY
CATEGORIES
TAGS
Related Articles
Screenshot 2025-04-10 at 2.05
Old School
Classic* Moment: Derrick Begay, Clay Cooper Win The American in 2016
Broc Cresta
Never Forgotten
Broc Cresta: The Legend Lives On
Untitled design-14
5 Things J.D. Yates Did to Raise a Winner in Trey
Steer sitting in the chute getting the horn wrap taken off.
Make Your Steers Last Longer
Editor's Note
Editor's Note: Star Power
The Team Roping Journal
Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.