Shad Mayfield’s beginning and end of the Reno, Nevada, rodeo were very different from one another. In his debut tie-down roping run, the native of Clovis, New Mexico, did not perform well.
With a time of 10.1 seconds, he almost missed qualifying for the next round. The current top of the PRCA All-Around and Tie-Down Roping World Standings was understandably upset by the outcome and reacted forcefully.
“My first calf was awful. After that, I overcame that calf to run two pretty nice ones,” Mayfield remarked. “And you just have to take advantage of it and make the most of it when you can, which is what I did when they ran really good calves in there.”
That also helped a lot because I enjoy the pressure of listening to Bob Tallman and Wayne Brooks, the rodeo announcers, and the sheer energy of the crowd.”
With timings of 7.6 seconds and 7.5 seconds, respectively, Mayfield recovered to win the short-go in Reno as well as the second round. His three-head total of 25.2 seconds was enough than enough to keep him ahead of the runners-up, Cole Clemons and Shane Hanchey, who both finished with 27.2 seconds.
Mayfield won his second consecutive Reno championship, earning a whopping $17,724 in total revenue from the competition. With almost $162,600 in tie-down profits thus far this season, Mayfield is over $60,000 ahead of the next closest rival.
While his monster regular season continues to roll, Mayfield isn’t letting up.
The victory in Reno the previous year provided momentum for Mayfield’s July run that included victories at the Cheney (Wash.) Rodeo and the Killdeer (N.D.) Mountain Roundup, as well as big payouts at the Greeley (Colo.) Stampede, the St. Paul (Ore.) Rodeo, and the Central Wyoming Fair & PRCA Rodeo in Casper, all within a two-week period.
Mayfield anticipates a similar pattern over the next two to three weeks as the calendar turns to July once more and Cowboy Christmas officially begins the following week. “To start it off that way is huge.
We have a ton of rodeos coming up, which just sort of gives you the confidence and good vibes for Cowboy Christmas and everything else,” Mayfield remarked. “Having a wonderful Cowboy Christmas last year kind of helped, and perhaps it will help this year as well.
However, it essentially only helps you adopt the perspective that everything is falling into place since you’ve already won. All you have to do is step out and fight.”
Other winners at the $749,691 rodeo were all-around cowboy Wacey Schalla ($7,579, bareback riding and bull riding); bareback rider R.C. Landingham 257 points on three head); steer wrestlers Dalton Massey and Tucker Allen (13.9 seconds on three head); team ropers Andrew Ward/Kollin VonAhn (16.1 seconds on three head); saddle bronc rider Ryder Wright (259.5 points on three head); breakaway roper Taylor Munsell (8.0 seconds on three head); barrel racer Hailey Kinsel (51.54 seconds on three runs); and bull rider Tristen Hutchings (181 points on two head).
