In past years, the summer run has often not been kind to tie-down roper Marty Yates. He's usually relied on a strong winter showing to get him through to the fall.
For once, it appears those fortunes may be changing.
During his time at the Snake River Stampede in Nampa, Idaho, this weekend, the Stephenville, Texas, cowboy maintained a steady pace on his way to an aggregate time of 24.9 seconds over the three runs, allowing him to claim the average title.
“I drew really good over there. I had three really good calves and then that little horse I’m riding, he’s just easy to rope on,” Yates said. “It was a good little stop – the first stop of the summer.”
Yates overcame a bit of a slow start in the opening round as his time of 8.8 second was good enough to squeak into a tie for eighth-place. The pace picked up in the second go as he secured a fifth-place finish in 8.2 seconds, putting him in position for success in the finale.
On Saturday, Yates hit a mark no one else would come close to as his time of 7.9 seconds was a full 1.5 seconds better than runner-up John Douch and tied for the second-fastest run of the entire rodeo. His total of 24.9 seconds on three was well ahead of Marcos Costa’s second-place effort at 27.6 seconds.
Yates gives a lot of credit to his new equine partner, Snoop, a 6-year-old horse he purchased just this spring. Snoop was his ride during a runner-up finish in the average at San Angelo back in April and will likely be his primary mount the rest of the season.
“(Jason Schaffer) told me about him and I tried him on a couple of calves and he was awesome,” Yates said. “It’s going to be a fun summer, having him in the trailer.”
The outcome in Snake River was exactly what Yates needed to get momentum rolling once again. Since that second-place finish in San Angelo, Yates had earned just $5,685 over the last two months.
Between round money and the average, he left Nampa with $10,128 in his ledger, giving him more than $51,800 for the season. That puts him 14th in the PRCA World Standings and in position to earn an 11th trip to the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo this December.
“It’s very important to start the summer off on a good note. Most years for me, I’ve always had real big winters and then summers are kind of just slow and then in the fall things pick up,” Yates said. “But it’s nice to be able to come out here and get a win right off the bat and have something to build on.”