Ohl Bests Whitfield In Match
At San Angelo Roping Fiesta

SAN ANGELO — Spectators who were drawn to the Saturday matched roping at last weekend’s San Angelo Roping Fiesta for the excellent weather were handsomely rewarded. Those who came for gut-wrenching suspense weren’t.

It’s almost an axiom that the weather will turn bad for the annual roping weekend — perhaps because there are more deer hunters praying for an opening-weekend cold snap than roping fans praying for the opposite — but this year’s weather broke all the rules. The temps were warm, the humidity was low, and there was just enough breeze to keep the dust from hanging in the air.

None of that helped match roping title defender Fred Whitfield, however. The Hockley, Texas cowboy has won convincingly in three of his five Angelo matches and captured the last three calf roping jackpots as well, but this year he seemed to carry a jinx in every pocket.

Whitfield gave up more than two and a half seconds to challenger Cody Ohl, Orchard, Texas, on his first calf and was almost four seconds down after the second, but an 11.92-second run on the third calf against 14.32 for Ohl brought him back to a 1.33-second deficit. Then things went to pot.

Whitfield missed his fourth calf not once but twice, rolling up a 30.06-second time on three loops. Ohl turned in a 10.17-second run — second fastest in the match — on calf number five to stretch his lead to 21.61 seconds, and Whitfield added 10 seconds at the barrier on number six to close the first half of the match with a deficit of 35.5 seconds.

Both ropers had difficulty with number seven, but Whitfield got the worst of it, and Ohl’s lead lengthened again. By the tenth calf, Ohl held a comfortable margin of more than 43 seconds, and Whitfield’s only real hope was that Ohl would be spirited away by black helicopters.

That didn’t happen. Whitfield went for broke on his last two calves, tying number 11 in 10.25 and the final one in the match’s fastest time of 10.16, but the event ended with Ohl almost 34 seconds ahead and a total of 161.44 seconds on 12 head. With the driest and fastest arena in years but no real pressure on the leader, it was the slowest winning time since Roy Cooper beat Clark Hankins in 1983’s mudbowl.

Saturday’s calf roping jackpot fell to Blair Burk, Durant, Okla., with a time of 29.87 seconds on three head. James, Zant, Harper, Texas, followed with 31.09, trailed closely by Johnny Emmons, Grandview, Texas, with 31.12, and Ricky Canton, Cleveland, Texas, 31.49.

Perennial steer roping great Guy Allen, Lovington, N.M., took Sunday’s steer roping average with a four-head time of 55.16 seconds. Todd Casebolt, Henrietta, captured second place with a 63.86-second total, followed by Trevor Brazile, Decatur, Texas, with 66.14, and DeLynn Jones, Hobbs, N.M., 67.18.

The winner in Sunday’s eight-head junior matched calf roping was Justin Hankins, Rocksprings, with a total time of 127.26 seconds against 143.54 for Casey Crow, Lovington, N.M. Hankins led most of the way and turned in a 9.35-second run on his second calf for the fastest time of the match.

Calf roping jackpot results, by goes:

First go: 1. Tony Reina, Wharton, Texas, 8.89; 2. Johnny Emmons, 8.94; 3. Blair Burk, Durant, Okla., 9.44; 4. Raymond Hollabaugh, Stamford, 9.93.

Second go: 1. Cody Ohl, 8.84 (fastest time of the day); 2. Blair Burk, 9.55; 3. Carter Edmondson, McCaulley, Texas, 9.58; 4. Ricky Canton, 9.62.

Short go: 1. James Zant, 10.40; 2. Blair Burk, 10.88; 3. Doug Clark, Wayne, Okla., 11.20; 4. Ricky Canton, 11.39.

Steer roping results, by goes:

First go: 1. J.P. Wickett, Muldrow, Okla., 12.34; 2. Rocky Patterson, Pratt, Kan., 13.07; 3. Arnold Felts, 13.27; 4. J.B. Whatley, Gardendale, 14.01.

Second go: 1. Jerry Cox, Cotulla, 11.99 (fastest time of the day); 2. Gary Armitage, Elida, N.M., 12.26; 3. Marty Jones, Hobbs, N.M., 12.80; 4. Guy Allen, 12.95.

Third go: 1. Jimmy Hodge, Lometa, Texas, 12.02; 2. Bill Pearson, Happy, Texas, 12.03; 3. Roy Cooper, Childress, 12.75; 4. J.P. Wickett, 13.22.

Short go: 1. Guy Allen, 12.37; 2. J. Paul Williams, Ponca City, Okla., 12.96; 3. DeLynn Jones, 13.50; 4. Trevor Brazile, 14.95.