Canadian Clay Ullery and New Yorker Jake Edwards placed in every round at the Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo and won the finals with their 4.9-second run, walking away with $20,000 a piece, following an extraordinary week of roping.
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The unlikely duo were strangers before roping together at what is one of the biggest rodeos of the year. The two paired up when Ullery’s partner was drawn out and Edward’s header didn’t qualify. They exchanged one phone call before going on to share the most significant win of their careers despite the unique circumstances.
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“On our first steer we were the last team out and all we needed was a time,” Ullery the 2013 Canada Finals Rodeo average champion, said. “It really was not a good run at all. I missed the barrier and Jake roped a leg, but we won fourth because any time was going to place.”
They won the second round in their bracket, then placed in the semifinals, and were the first team out in the finals of the tournament style rodeo.
“This is my first year competing at the Fort Worth rodeo, and I have dreamt about winning it since I was a little kid,” Edwards, a three-time Ram National Circuit Finals qualifier, said. “It’s a life-changing rodeo. To get to run one steer for $20,000—I’ve never gotten to do that.”
Edwards, 20, has spent his whole life rodeoing in New York, and rode his 14-year-old palomino he calls Nugget.
“I got him about three years ago, and he has been my number one ever since,” Edwards said. “He is like old faithful. He worked great all week and gave me one of the biggest wins of my career.”
On the contrary, for Ullery’s bay horse, Fort Worth was the third time the 12-year-old reject cutter and son of Dual Ray has ever been headed on.
“Tommy Thompson, who I live with in California, renamed him Kid Russel because every time you try to catch him he acts more western than a Charlie Russell painting,” Ullery, who thinks of Thompson as a father figure, said. “He is pretty special. He comes with a lot of baggage, but he’s pretty special.”
Ullery trains outside rope horses and works with Thompson in his unique cow horse program run out of Shafter, California (cacowhorse.com). He plans on rodeoing this year and trying to make the Finals.
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Edwards plans on rodeoing in the Southeastern Rodeo Circuit and is currently looking for a partner. He takes classes online through a junior college.
Full Results:
Bracket 1: First round: 1. Dawson Graham/Coleby Payne, 4.8 seconds, $1,760 each; 2. Jeff Flenniken/Tyler Worley, 5.3, $1,230; 3. Nick Sartain/Austin Rogers, 10.1, $880; 4. Radley Day/Taylor Williams, 10.7, $440. Second round: 1. Jr. Dees/Lane Siggins, 4.4 seconds, $1,760 each; 2. Jeff Flenniken/Tyler Worley, 5.4, $1,320; 3. Riley Minor/Brady Minor, 5.7, $880; 4. Coleman Proctor/Ryan Motes, 14.4, $440.
Bracket 2: First round: 1. Tate Kirchenschlager/Ross Ashford, 4.1 seconds, $1,760 each; 2. Garrett Chick/Walt Woodard, 5.7, $1,320; 3. Brandon Webb/Matt Kasner, 5.9, $880; 4. Mitchell Barney/J.W. Nelson, 7.1, $440. Second round: 1. Kal Fuller/Reagan Ward, 9.3 seconds, $1,760 each; 2. Tate Kirchenschlager/Ross Ashford, 10.1, $1,320; 3. Mitchell Barney/J.W. Nelson, 10.6, $880; 4. Brandon Webb/Matt Kasner, 13.1, $440.
Bracket 3: First round: 1. Billy Bob Brown/Tanner Braden, 4.7 seconds, $1,760 each; 2. Luke Brown/Patrick Smith, 4.8, $1,320; 3. Chad Masters/Wesley Thorp, 5.0, $880; 4. Garrett Tonozzi/Dustin Davis, 5.5, $440. Second round: 1. Garrett Tonozzi/Dustin Davis, 5.6 seconds, $1,760; 2. Jake Cooper/Caleb Anderson, 6.6, $1,320; 3. Luke Brown/Patrick Smith, 10.3, $880; 4. Chad Masters/Wesley Thorp, 11.4, $440.
Bracket 4: First round: 1. Colby Lovell/Dillon Wingereid, 5.3 seconds, $1,760 each; 2. Britt Smith/Jake Smith, 6.1, $1,320; 3. Doyle Hoskins/Monty Joe Petska, 8.3, $880; 4. Joshua Torres/Jonathan Torres, 11.3, $440. Second round: 1. Brooks Dahozy/Jeremy Buhler, 6.9, $1,760; 2. Doyle Hoskins/Monty Joe Petska, 12.1, $1,320; 3. Britt Smith/Jake Smith, 21.5, $1,026; no other qualified runs.
Bracket 5: First round: 1. Kaleb Driggers/Junior Nogueira, 4.3 seconds, $1,760; 2. Lane Ivy/Joseph Harrison, 5.1, $1,320; 3. Clay Smith/Jade Corkill, 5.2, $880; 4. Kaston Peavy/Trace Porter, 5.4, $440. Second round: 1. Charly Crawford/Logan Medlin, 4.4 seconds, $1,760 each; 2. Kaleb Driggers/Junior Nogueira, 4.7, $1,320; 3. Clay Smith/Jade Corkill, 7.7, $880; 4. Lane Ivy/Joseph Harrison, 9.7, $440.
Bracket 6: First round: 1. Britt Ellerman/Richard Durham, 6.3 seconds, $1,760; 2. Levi Simpson/Shay Carroll, 6.4, $1,320; 3. Tanner Baldwin/Nano Garza, 6.6, $880; 4. Clay Ullery, 12.2, $440. Second round: 1. Clay Ullery/Jake Edwards, 5.0, $1,760; 2. Colton Campbell/Kasper Roy, 5.3, $1,320; 3. Brenten Hall/Chase Tryan, 9.0, $880; 4. Tanner Baldwin/Nano Garza, 9.9, $440.
Bracket 7: First round: 1. Erich Rogers/Paden Bray, 5.1 seconds, $1,760 each; 2. Quinn Kesler/Colby Siddoway, 5.5, $1,320; 3. Tyler Wade/Billie Jack Saebens, 5.8, $880; 4. Matt Sherwood/Trey Yates, 6.0, $440. Second round: 1. Quinn Kesler/Colby Siddoway, 4.6 seconds, $1,540 each; 2. Tyler Wade/Billie Jack Saebens, 4.6, $1,540; 3. Matt Sherwood/Trey Yates, 5.4, $880; 4. Erich Rogers/Paden Bray, 5.6, $440.
Wild card round: 1. Clay Smith/Jade Corkill, 4.2 seconds, $1,200; 2. Lane Ivy/Joseph Harrison, 4.5, $800. Semifinal qualifiers: Clay Smith/Jade Corkill and Lane Ivy/Joseph Harrison.
Semifinal A: 1. Luke Brown/Patrick Smith, 4.6 seconds, $4,000 each; 2. Kal Fuller/Reagan Ward, 5.7, $3,000; 3. Clay Smith/Jade Corkill, 6.0, $2,000; 4. Clay Ullery/Jake Edwards, 6.3, $1,000.
Semifinal B: 1. Tyler Wade/Billie Jack Saebens, 5.2 seconds, $4,000 each; 2. Lane Ivy/Joseph Harrison, 5.3, $3,000; 3. Britt Smith/Jake Smith, 5.4, $2,000; 4. Charly Crawford/Logan Medlin, 5.5, $1,000.
Finals: 1. Clay Ullery/Jake Edwards, 4.9 seconds, $20,000 each; 2. Clay Smith/Jade Corkill, 5.1, $12,000; 3. Kal Fuller/Reagan Ward, 5.3, $8,000; 4. (tie) Charly Crawford/Logan Medlin and Lane Ivy/Joseph Harrison, 5.6, $2,000 each.
