Craig Moore and Bobby Simmons pocketed $106,000 between the 2024 Riata #9.5 win and the head and heel horse incentives on You Rey and Sundae Rebel.

The Texas team took the win Saturday, Sept. 28, after roping four steers in 36.88 seconds. Moore and You Rey also picked up second for $73,400.

“This means everything,” Moore said. “The biggest thing for me is I’ve been around people my whole life and the passion that all of these guys have with this sport, I think they’d be here even if this kind of money wasn’t here. How family-oriented all of this is, for me, I just have a passion for it. The money’s wonderful, don’t get me wrong—we’re all all about it. But I’d be here if it was just giving a buckle away.”

Both Moore and Simmons were entered up in the Riata, starting the #12.5 for Moore and the #14.5 for Simmons, but hadn’t had the luck they were hoping for until the #9.5. The win is added redemption for Simmons, who’s been adjusting to roping after three surgeries.

“When when we made the short round I was like, ‘Just don’t mess up Bobby,'” Simmons said with a laugh. “It’s awesome just to get to win, and to win at any level is fun. I’m the type of guy that If I’m pitching quarters out, I’m all in to try to win. It’s all about competition.”

You Rey

By Stevie Rey Von out of You N Me Baby, Moore bought You Rey almost two years ago from Cody Wheeler who trained the 5-year-old stallion and took him to futurities. Moore turned You Rey out with no intentions of riding him for the next two years, until the Riata opportunity presented itself.

“I was not going to ride him until he was 7,” Moore explained. “But all this with the Riata here, I was like, I’m going to enter. I pulled him out and Martin Lucero helped me get him ready.”

You Rey is Moore’s first Stevie Rey Von progeny, and he won’t be his last as he appreciates how he can handle so many runs in one day.

“He is the sweetest, he just stays in your pocket all the time,” Moore said. “I’ve rode a bunch of horses where you go to throw your rope bag over them and they’ll jump plum through their skin. But it doesn’t matter, he is just calm about everything.”

Moore’s had some a-list help, too. From 16-time NFR qualifier Martin to three-time World Champion and ProRodeo Hall of Famer Tee Woolman.

“I would’ve been nothing in this industry without Tee,” Moore said. “Tee has helped me for 11 years, and he’s like a brother, dad, uncle—whatever—to me. He has been really good to me.”

Sundae Rebel

Simmons bought Sundae Rebel, the 6-year-old stallion by Metallic Rebel out of Starstruck Ichi, through the Select Online Sale.

“I bought quite a few horses from [Melanie Smith], and I called her and she goes, ‘Bobby, quit buying horses, I’ll call you when I got one that you’ll like,'” Simmons recalled with a laugh. “She called me and said, ‘You’re going to like this one.'”

While Moore and Simmons haven’t roped much together, they have a common friend in Lucero, who helped ride Sundae Rebel after Simmons bought him. He then went to TyDaniel Haller, who has had him since April after Simmons’ back surgery, and he’s become a versatile horse.

“He’s just easy,” Simmons said. “He’s good at my age; he’s soft, gentle and he doesn’t do anything but just his job. You can ride him at the open level or you can ride him in the #8 roping.”

As his first Metallic Rebel baby, Simmons likes the conformation and laid back attitude of Sundae Rebel.

“I like the bone of Metallic Rebel horses,” Simmons said. “This horse has a lot of bone, and his mind is just exceptional. He’s exceptional.”

Riata #9.5 results