The WRANGLER Horse and Rodeo News is an equine and rodeo publication with circulation in Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota, Utah and Idaho.
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6 The Wrangler, Horse and Rodeo News • June 20 - July 4, 2018 The Peace Garden State was graced by the top team ropers in the industry this past weekend as 4 Bears Casino and Lodge in New Town, ND hosted the first annual World Class Invita onal Roping. The largest open team roping held outside Texas or Nevada, the World Class Invita onal Roping had over $200,000 in prize money, $88,000 of that in added money. With a purse like that, and very reasonable entry fees, it was no surprise that the arena-dirt of 4 Bears saw the talents of top PRCA ropers such as Trevor Brazile, Jade Corkill, Clay Tryan and several other very talented and respectable ropers. In addi on to the open, there was also a pro- am and numbered roping's from a #7 all the way to a #14. The weekend was geared towards accommoda ng every numbered roper with back numbers given to every contestant and Gist Gold Buckles give to the winners of each roping. With many iconic open roping's coming to an end over the last year, including the historic George Strait Team Roping Classic, New Town's Shane Johnson approached 11x NFR header Travis Tryan about an idea that he couldn't seem to get out of his head. "My son Jace ropes, and I rope, and roping is a very important part of our life," explained Johnson. "When I heard that last year was going to be the final year for the Strait, I got to thinking that we needed to con nue to keep giving these open ropers a place to go rope for good money." With the mindset of 'striking while the iron is hot', Johnson was anxious to see what Tryan thought of his proposal. As Johnson suspected, Tryan wanted to jump on board and be a part of such an event. "It was Shane's idea from the start, and together we partnered on the opportunity to bring something big to the world of team roping," Tryan added. "He (Shane) did a lot of the leg work to get it going and to make it success, and it has been a wonderful opportunity to be a part of. I am very excited about the future of this event." With 112 teams entered in the open, the compe on was fierce and wicked as the almost- sold out crowd got an up close and personal taste of the ac on. Fees for the open were $550 a man, and with the amount of money and prizes added, it gave ropers a chance to win a life-changing amount of hard cash. "Where can you compete against 112 teams for $550 entry fees and for it to pay $200,000 in total prize money. I think that something needs to be said about that, and I think that the ropers were incredibly sa sfied and thankful for the format that we ins lled," said Tryan. The stock for the open was supplied by Monty Carson out of Grassy Bu e, and the rest of the stock for the weekend was supplied by Wrangler Team Roping Championships out of Billings, Montana and Kevin Kosel out of Mobridge, South Dakota. "The ca le were great; the ground was great, and the setup was awesome. Several people approached me about how they have been a ending the Wrangler Na onal Finals Rodeo in Vegas for years, and the ac on and excitement they witnessed at 4 Bears was some of the best they have ever seen, and the closest they have ever been to the ac on," Johnson said. Ropers Cody Snow and Wesley Thorp were issued the life-size checks of $30,000 each a er they clenched the victory in the Open. In addi on to that cold hard cash, Snow and Thorp also won a Gist Gold Buckle for their incredible efforts. (Complete results on page 4 & 5) With spectacular feedback, both Johnson and Tryan are op mis c about the future of this roping, and already have several ideas for next year about how they can incorporate every member of the family into the weekend. "Now that people know about it and see the results and the payout, I imagine we will con nue to grow year a er year. That is our goal anyhow," Tryan noted. "We want to make it bigger and be er every year and we want it to be World Class Invita onal Roping a Success 1st Annual an event for the en re family." Both Tryan and Johnson are abundantly thankful for 4 Bears Casino and Lodge for stepping up to the plate, and not only hos ng the event, but doing everything they could to make it a success. In addi on, both would like to extend a huge thank-you to the Three Affiliated Tribes (Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara Na on), Four Bears Segment, WPX Energy, Korral Supply and Fast Back Ropes for their support and sponsorship. 1st Annual World Class Invitational Roping a Success