After one full round of competition at the International Finals Youth Rodeo (IFYR), the Oklahoma team of Jim Watkins and Bode Gatlin edged out an Arizona team to take the lead in the team roping.
Bode Gatlin (15) of Meeker and Jim Watkins (17) of Bristow threw down a time of 6.0 to top the leaderboard.
“We got a good one down,” said Gatlin. “Now we just need to get another good run knocked out to make the short round.”
Watkins and Meeker live 45 minutes apart and practice about every other week but are on the road almost every weekend to a roping somewhere.
“It was pretty exciting,” Watkins said about the win. “We just need two more good runs.”
The Oklahoma team has been roping together for a little over a year.
“Bode is just a goofball,” relayed Watkins who is the header of the team.
“He is always laughing and making everything we do fun. Even if we miss, we talk about it and then laugh it off.”
“Jim doesn’t wake up very easy,” joked Gatlin. “And if we have to get up at 6:30 AM to practice, he has to set alarms from 5:00 to 6:30!”
All joking aside, this young team has their sights set high for their second run in round two Wednesday evening. “We love the excitement of rodeo and hanging out with all our friends and family,” they said. “We are going to give it our best shot.”