Horner & Hawkins Win BFI
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Horner and Hawkins Win $163K at 37th BFI
Reno, Nev., June 23, 2014 – Youngsters Drew Horner and Buddy Hawkins II out-roped the superstars on their way to winning a whopping $162,500 at the 37th Bob Feist Invitational on June 23.
“I set a goal to be considered one of the best in the world,” said Horner, a 25-year-old header from Plano, Texas. “To come out and win against the best in the world; to win a “major” is amazing. This is a dream come true.”
On June 23, Horner and Hawkins – a 26-year-old heeler from Columbus, Kansas – roped six steers in 45.2 seconds to split $158,500 in the average plus $4,000 in the second round. They also claimed the enormous BFI first-place prize package that includes Coats saddles, Gist buckles, Myler bits, Best Ever pads, Resistol black felt hats, Justin full-quill ostrich boots, Lubrisyn joint supplements, and much more.
“This is the most prestigious roping in the world, but that’s not quite the right word,” said Hawkins. “This is the most important roping in the world. If you look back in history, some of the best guys in the world came really close here but never got the opportunity to win this.”
Horner and Hawkins had started out slow and inched their way to third in the overall standings behind a bevy of world champions. But in Round Five, when defending BFI champion Trevor Brazile took his team out with a no-time and reigning world champion Jade Corkill did, too, Horner and Hawkins found themselves in the lead by two seconds.
Heading into the final round, Horner’s strategy was to stay aggressive; Hawkins was determined not to take a bad throw.
“It’s the heeler’s job to rope two feet,” said Hawkins. “The header wins the roping. Drew got a great start on a couple of steers where he kind of rolled the dice and took a 50-50 chance of breaking the barrier or moving us up in the roping.”
Horner and Hawkins, who cracked the top 15 rankings in the world for the first time last season, needed a short 9-second run to win it all at the BFI. They caught a hard-running steer in 8.2 seconds and Horner tossed his hat high and plastered a grin on his face that never disappeared.
“I don’t have the talent a lot of guys have,” said Horner, a communications major at the University of North Texas. “I didn’t start roping until I was 15. I wanted to make the NFR and I wanted to win the Bob Feist, and I’ve done that now.”
Reserve champs Aaron Tsinigine of Arizona and Ryan Motes of Texas (who won the BFI in 2009 with Caleb Mitchell) had never roped a practice steer together prior to the BFI. Still, they were second-high call and ended up just one second behind the champs to earn $42,000 apiece and a lot of summer rodeo momentum.
Motes’ horse, Starbucks, won Heel Horse of the BFI for the second time, and the award for Head Horse of the BFI went to Adam Rose of Willard, Mo., for his 11-year-old gelding, Alice.
Oklahoma’s Clay and Jake Smith placed third for $25,500 a man, while California’s Daniel Green broke the top 10 for the third year in a row, placing fourth with Nate Preuit to earn $16,500 a man. And the father-son team of J.D. and Trey Yates took fifth to earn $10,500 a man, much to the crowd’s delight.
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Buddy Hawkins
Drew Horner
Complete results from the 2014 Bob Feist Invitational:
First Round: 1. Riley Minor and Brady Minor, 6.26 seconds, $4,000; 2. Clay Tryan and Jade Corkill, 6.60, $3,000; 3. Nick Sartain and Rich Skelton, 6.69, $2,000; 4. Derrick Begay and Will Woodfin, 6.78, $1,000.
Second Round: 1. Tom Richards and Monty Joe Petska, 5.01 seconds, $8,000; 2. Chad Masters and Clay O’Brien Cooper, 5.16, $6,000; 3. Drew Horner and Buddy Hawkins, 6.53, $4,000; 4. Luke Brown and Kollin VonAhn; and Derrek Hee and Dalton Pearce, 6.54 each, $1,000 each team.
Third Round: 1. Erich Rogers and Cory Petska, 5.64, $8,000; 2. Nathan McWhorter and Cole Davison, 6.01, $6,000; 3. Nick Sartain and Rich Skelton, 6.04, $4,000; 4. Jake Cooper and Tyler McKnight, 6.67, $2,000.
Fourth Round: 1. Derrick Begay and Will Woodfin, 4.61, $8,000; 2. Manny Egusquiza Jr. and Brad Culpepper, 5.11, $6,000; 3. Chase Wiley and Arles Pearce, 5.61, $4,000; 4. Derrek Hee and Dalton Pearce, 5.95, $2,000.
Fifth Round: 1. Cale Markham and Chase Tryan, 5.5 seconds, $8,000; 2. Brandon Beers and Jim Ross Cooper, 5.51, $6,000; 3. Chad Masters and Clay O’Brien Cooper, 5.66, $4,000; 4. Landon McClaugherty and Caleb Twisselman, 5.71, $2,000.
Short Round: 1. Tyler Waters and Cody Doescher, 6.31 seconds, $4,000; 2. Jake Cooper and Tyler McKnight, 6.54, $3,000; 3. Luke Brown and Kollin VonAhn, 6.58, $2,000; 4. Aaron Tsinigine and Ryan Motes, 7.61, $1,000.
Average: 1. Drew Horner and Buddy Hawkins, 45.2 seconds on six steers, $158,500; 2. Aaron Tsinigine and Ryan Motes, 46.22, $84,000; 3. Clay Smith and Jake Smith, 46.79, $51,000; 4. Daniel Green and Nate Preuit, 48.43, $33,000; 5. J.D. Yates and Trey Yates, 50.63, $21,000; 6. Luke Brown and Kollin VonAhn, 52.42, $16,000; 7. Tyler Waters and Cody Doescher, 54.24, $14,000; 8. Jake Cooper and Tyler McKnight, 56.18, $11,000; 9. Tyler Schnaufer and Cole Cooper, 58.64, $9,000; 10. Travis Bounds and Wade Kreutzer, 59.96, $7,000; 11. Adam Rose and Billie Jack Saebens, 71.81, $7,000; 12. Matthew Pineda and Brett Broadhead, 42.38 seconds on five steers, $5,000; 13. Jake Barnes and Junior Nogueira, 43.77, $5,000; 14. Chance Savage and Wesley Johnson, 51.40, $5,000. 15. Casey Gattis and Jaytin McRight, 53.82, $5,000.
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About the BFI: The Bob Feist Invitational, founded by Bob Feist in 1977 to showcase and reward the premier ropers of the sport, is owned today by Ullman-Peterson Events. Annually it invites the top 100 teams in the industry to the Livestock Events Center in Reno, Nev., where they compete in six rounds for a cash-and-awards package worth $810,000 in 2014.
