Jade Corkill, now a three-time PRCA world champion heeler, was 20 when he won RodeoHouston in 2008 with Chad Masters, propelling him to his first National Finals Rodeo qualification that year.

Masters and Corkill had started roping earlier that winter for the first time, but their run at Houston was the last one they’d make until the summer. 

“Chad had torn his knee up getting ready for the (Cinch) Timed Event (Championship),” Corkill said. “He was roping at Houston, and then he got surgery and was out until Reno.”

They made the most of it, taking the RodeoHouston saddles, buckles and $50,000 payday. But the win occurred back before RodeoHouston paid equal money in the team roping, so each man walked away with $25,000. 

“We were the last team to go, I think, and Travis Tryan and Michael Jones were 5.2 and they were winning it (on Walt and Jackyl),” Corkill said. “What I remember is I don’t know if we had the best steer, but we had one that we thought tried a little bit. Chad nailed the barrier and reached, and the steer checked off a little bit and made it to where I had a shot to throw. We were 4.3 and won the rodeo.”

Corkill—who years later won his first world title on Jackyl five years later—was aboard IceCube, the grade sorrel gelding the heeler made his living on for a decade. 

“I was probably confident, but I probably shouldn’t have been,” Corkill remembered. “When I got Chad, I thought that gave me the confidence that someone like him was roping with me. At that time in my life I wanted to be high call every time.”

Corkill roped with Masters upon his return that summer, then heeled for Brandon Beers in the Northwest that fall, finally roping at his first Finals with Luke Brown. It was also Brown’s first NFR, and they placed in seven of 10 rounds to win second in the average. Corkill finished that season with $166,673 won.

—TRJ—