Cody Ohl Wins $10,000 Legends Match Against Fred Whitfield

With 14 world titles between them, there’s no doubt that Cody Ohl and Fred Whitfield are two of the most accomplished tie-down ropers in ProRodeo history. Over the weekend, the duo faced off in the Legends Match at the South Texas Showdown in Uvalde, TX. With $10,000 on the line, the matchup added another chapter to a rivalry that helped define tie-down roping through the late 1990s and 2000s.

Whitfield, an eight-time world champion and 2004 ProRodeo Hall of Fame inductee, earned seven of his world titles in tie-down roping in 1991, 1995, 1996, 1999, 2000, 2002, and 2005. He also claimed the all-around world championship in 1999. He became the third cowboy in history to surpass the $2 million mark in career earnings; and became only the second African-American cowboy in PRCA history to win a world title and the first to win an all-around title.

Ohl captured five tie-down roping world titles in 1997, 1998, 2001, 2003 and 2006, along with the all-around title in 2001. One of the most memorable moments from the NFR came from Ohl in 2001. In the ninth round, he missed his calf on the first loop. A second loop caught the calf by the hind legs. As Ohl dismounted, he twisted his knee, tearing two major ligaments. He managed to crawl to the calf, cut the rope, stand and flank the calf, and finish the tie with a time of 40.3 seconds. However, he had amassed enough money earlier in the week to secure both the tie-down title and the All-Around title.

Whitfield, an eight-time world champion, held the early advantage in the roping. After the first five calves, he had a 67.5-second aggregate, compared with Ohl’s 82.9. That gave Whitfield a 15.4-second lead heading into the second half of the match.

Ohl began his major comeback on the sixth calf. He stopped the clock in 11.9 seconds while Whitfield recorded a 14.2. Ohl followed with an 11.3-second run on his seventh calf, and Whitfield recorded a 28.5. After seven head, Ohl had narrowed the gap to a mere four seconds with a 106.1-second aggregate against Whitfield’s 110.2.

Ohl only continued to gain ground through the final three calves. He recorded a 10.9 on his eighth calf, a 14.8 on his ninth, and an 11.1 on his final calf to finish the match with a winning 142.9-second aggregate. Whitfield posted times of 12.4, 16.6, and 13.1 on his final three calves, bringing his final average time to 152.3 seconds.

While Ohl took home the $10,000 this year, this rivalry is far from over – they announced the duo will go head-to-head again next year, and they’re upping the ante to $20,000 to the winner in 2027. We look forward to watching two of the greats compete again next year!