Gold Rush in Boerne

The fourth annual Rope for the Gold, hosted by Rich Skelton and Tom Cusick outside of Boerne, Texas, is an open roping that’s trying to give professional ropers a boost and at the same time change the way the open roping business is done. Rather than a marathon roping, less than 70 teams enter and the winners still go home with $20,000 apiece. And the top 15 cowboys’ in the world standings fees are waived.

The roping also boasts a pro-am roping, golf tournament and a sponsor dinner. Plus, part of the proceeds are donated to Heartland Home, a charity that benefits abused infants. In fact, Nick Sartain donated 10% of his winnings to the charity and Jake Barnes wrote a personal check for the cause.

The event was such a success that Cusick is even talking about kicking off a series. Hippie Sanchez and J.W. Borrego won one half of the pro-am, while Clay Tryan and Randy Bloomer won the other half.

Tryan, in fact, had a great day. He and Cory Petska won the event by roping five steers in 32.27 seconds to win $20,000 a man. Britt Williams was the big winner for the weekend, finishing second and fourth in the average to win $25,000. Jake Barnes and Clay O’Brien Cooper were third and won $12,500 each.