Clay Tryan and Walt Woodard
Come Out Kings at the
31^st annual BFI in Reno

RENO, Nev. — Good things come to those who wait. Just ask Walt Woodard. With the help of 2005 World Champion and BFI Titlist Clay Tryan at the head end, reigning World Champion Heeler Woodard won his first BFI title in 31 tries. Tryan, who won BFI ’05 with Patrick Smith, and Woodard roped six steers in 47.83 seconds to top the 31^st annual Bob Feist Invitational Team Roping Classic and leave the Reno Livestock Events Center loaded with a record $166,000-plus in cash and prizes. The BFI champs’ prize package included Running P saddles and breast collars, Gist buckles, B&W Trailer Hitches, Schneider three-piece buckles and Justin full-quill ostrich boots. The BFI, Cactus Ropes, Team Equine LLC and Wrangler again awarded the winning team a $10,000 cash bonus. New this year, 1 Bar 3 presented a $5,000 cash bonus and a Kensington luggage collection to the winners.

The 2008 BFI paid out a record-shattering $700,000-plus in cash and prizes. Roper Apparel & Footwear and Fast Back Ropes sponsored Tryan’s entry fees, and Woodard’s fees were paid by Toyota of Glendora, Calif. Entry fees remained $5,000 per team, and in keeping with BFI tradition only three percent was held out in administrative fees. Nearly 90 percent of the ropers had their entry fees sponsored in 2008.

“Bob Feist has been an innovator in getting the big ropings going,” said Tryan, 29, who’s sponsors include Roper Apparel, Fast Back Ropes, Pro Equine, and Jackson Land and Cattle. “The atmosphere is so exciting here, and it means so much to just compete here after being a little kid watching my dad (NFR heeler Dennis) rope here back in the day. There’s so much satisfaction in winning this, because it’s such a prestigious event.”

Woodard’s wife, Darlene, drove to the BFI office in Lodi, Calif., last Wednesday to buy her husband a BFI tape, so he could “get in the mood.” Woodard’s always been a student of the game, and he wanted to get in the BFI groove before he got to Reno. “Just taking in all the sights and sounds of the BFI sitting there watching it at home made me nervous,” smiled Woodard, whose sponsor partners include Pete and Gaye Miller with Toyota of Glendora, Rattler Ropes, Riata Leather, NRS and Silver Lining Equine Herbs.

Woodard remembers his late father, Sheldon, coming out of the grandstands to work the catchpen at the first-ever BFI held in 1977 in Chowchilla, Calif. Sheldon Woodard died last January. “Winning this roping is life changing,” said Walt Woodard, whose son, Travis, won it all here with Mikey Fletcher in 2003. “This is a special win for all of us in this sport. How many of these fans have been up there rooting for me all the way? Their hair has turned gray waiting for this. We all won today.

“This was my best chance at winning this roping. I’m giving up these first-string guys after this year, so this was my shot. What’s amazing about this place is that you don’t win it when you’re supposed to, and you do win it when you’re not. We went into the short round two seconds behind Speed Williams and Allen Bach, then they had 15 seconds in penalties on their last steer. I’d have bet my house that that wouldn’t have happened.”

Walt said his BFI saddle will sit alongside the one Travis won “for all time. Winning this roping is a huge honor for our family.” This is Walt’s farewell full-time rodeo season. He’ll return to teaching aspiring ropers full time in 2009. Teaching has been Walt’s passion for more than three decades now. The Woodard Training Center is under construction in Stephenville, Texas. Travis will be the resident pro, and Walt will assist his son.

Woodard was the only “BFI 31 Club” member who’d not yet won the BFI. The other living legends who’ve never missed this great event in 31 years include Bach, who won the 1979 BFI with Brian Burrows; Denny Watkins, who won it with David Motes in 1981; and Mike Beers, who won the 1987 BFI with Dee Pickett.

“I’ve seen so much great new talent come in over the years,” BFI Producer Feist said. “These kids can reach so far and do some amazing things. They’ve grown up watching their idols rope on BFI tapes, and their heroes are still here and they’re still competitive. I commend the four guys who’ve been here for 31 years. They’re all still winning. To put six runs together at this roping is a real feat, and it typically takes some experience. We saw that here today.”

Tryan rode his 16-year-old black horse Thumper, and Woodard won it all aboard his 15-year-old Little Gray.

“My career has changed dramatically since I started riding this horse,” said Tryan, who’s also won his world title, the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo average championship and the USTRC Open in addition to the 2005 BFI crown on Thumper. “All my major career highlights have been on him.”

“I rode my sorrel horse Dudley at the Finals last year, so Little Gray didn’t get in on the world championship,” said Woodard, who also won the world in 1981. “Little Gray and I were the reserve champs the year before that. So this is neat for him. I rode them both this week, and Little Gray outworked Dudley. Little Gray is my short-score horse, so these aren’t really his conditions. I saddled them both this morning, but I rode Little Gray because he’s such a winner. He does the same thing every run and never costs me.”

BFI Champs Tryan and Woodard bested the 100-team field that this year represented 23 states, Canada and Mexico. They were 8.32, 9.15, 8.1, 7.09, 7.71 and 7.46 seconds on their respective steers to barely edge BFI reservists Brandon Beers and Arky Rogers by four hundredths of a second. Beers of Powell Butte, Ore. (who’s Mike’s son), and Rogers of Lake City, Fla., earned $101,060 in addition to Coats Saddles, Bill Hill Sales Inc. custom bits, and Skyline Gold and Silversmiths buckles donated by All American Trailers, Steer Geer, Tough Enough Equine and Wells Fargo Bank.

The third-place team was again awarded Scott Thomas saddles by Cactus Saddlery in addition to many other awards. Tee Woolman, who won the 1980 BFI with Leo “The Lion” Camarillo, and Rich Skelton, who won the 1998, 2001 and 2002 BFIs with his fellow eight-time World Champion Team Roper Speed Williams, had a $61,110 day. Wrangler Jeans and Shirts pumped $6,500 in bonus bucks into the Wrangler Round in addition to BFI short-round money. Wrangler also annually outfits BFI contestants and staff. Colby Schneeman and Tommy Zuniga, who went into the 15-team Wrangler Round in the 15^th position, won the round in 5.99 seconds and climbed all the way to sixth in the average.

The owners of the Best BFI Head and Heel Horses received Lazy “L” Saddles and Bill Hill Sales Inc. custom bits. BFI officials selected Riley Minor’s 14-year-old buckskin horse Cadillac the Best BFI Head Horse in 2008, and Travis Graves’s bay bomber Superstar, also 14, the 2008 Best BFI Heel Horse. “I bought this horse a year ago in March from Bill Spratt,” Minor said. “Bill told me I needed him. It didn’t go so great at first, but I guess he was right. I won the Mike Boothe roping on him not long after I got him, and he’s won a lot of money for me this year. This horse has really helped my career. Experience helps too, but he’s made a really big difference in my roping.

 “A horse really has to be able to run here, because the start’s way out there. He has to be honest, too, because if he’s not it’s going to be hard to win. You can sneak by on an average horse at a rodeo, but not at this roping.”

 Graves has owned Superstar since he was 3, and has always appreciated the horse’s speed and honesty. “The horse is everything here, because the steers run so hard and are wild,” Graves said. “It feels so good to ride a horse you have confidence in and know you can win on.”

 Classic Ropes and All American Trailers awarded Daniel Green and Todd Hampton a $2,000 bonus for being the team that finished just out of the average chips in seventh place. Coleman Proctor and Jake Long pulled off a blazing 4.46-second run in round four to set a new BFI Fast Time record and pick up the $2,000 Fast Time bonus sponsored by Justin Boots, Priefert, Silver Legacy and Coors Original. Blaine Linaweaver and Richard Durham also broke the previous 4.86-second record set by Shane Durbin and Hollis Harris in 2004 with a 4.80-second run in round four, as did Keven Daniel and Cory Petska with a 4.74-second run in round five. Champion’s Choice buckles were again awarded in every round.

The BFI is “Open to the World,” and held in conjunction with the “Wildest, Richest Rodeo in the West,” the million-dollar Reno Rodeo, which this year runs June 20-28. Announcers Bob Tallman, Reed Flake and Ross Wagner called the BFI action, and Harry Rose and Philip Murrah flagged the roping. Steve Branco and Danny Martinez served as the line judges. Flying T Cattle Company of Carrisa Plains, Calif., provided the cattle, which were run over an 18-foot score and out of a 19-foot box. Rodeo royalty assisting BFI Producer Bob Feist in the awards presentations included Miss Reno Rodeo Megan Lucke and Miss Rodeo Nevada Anna Bavor.

The Silver Legacy Resort Casino is the official headquarters of the BFI. Other major sponsors of the 2008 BFI included Wrangler, Justin Boots, Dodge Rodeo, Priefert Ranch Equipment, Cactus Ropes, Champion’s Choice Buckles, Coors Original, Purina Mills, Running P Ropes and Saddles, Classic Ropes, U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Co., Coats Saddlery, Team Equine LLC, B&W Trailer Hitches, Cactus Saddlery, Mark Elston of Wachovia Securities and Ropers Sports News. The BFI welcomed Lazy “L” Saddles, All American Trailers and 1 Bar 3 Productions as major sponsors in 2008.

Complete BFI 2008 results are posted online at bobfeistinvitational.com. In-depth coverage of this year’s BFI will appear in the July issue of Ropers Sports News and will be featured on The Roping Show on RFD-TV. BFI ’08 DVDs can be ordered through Rodeo Video by calling 800-331-1269. BFI photos can be ordered by calling Kirt Steinke at 208-739-2416.