Marty Yates is not going to win the NFR average in tie-down roping, but the gold buckle is still within reach after a ninth-round win.
He won the round with a 7.0-second run, bringing his winnings to $197,200 good enough for third in the world standings.
“I’m feeling really good. I had a few bobbles throughout the week, but it’s nice to get back on a good foot and hopefully finish strong (Saturday) night.”
Yates did not record a time in the seventh or eighth round, which made this round-win so much more important.
“The first one was kind of unfortunate, I had a calf get up and that shouldn’t have happened. Everything was going as planned and then I got a jerk down, and that set me back. But to be able to get the ball rolling again for the ninth round, being the go-round winner is feeling really good.”
While his goal is a gold buckle, he knows not to take the opportunity to compete at the NFR for granted.
“If $26,000 doesn’t get you motivated, then I don’t know what will. It’s awesome to be able to compete in front of the best fans in the world. We want everyone to win, but we also want to win first ourselves.”
NFR World Standings (NFR money in parentheses)
1. Shane Hanchey - $209,927 ($107,730)
2. Riley Pruitt - $203,599 ($104,064)
3. Marty Yates - $197,200 ($95,844)
4. Ty Harris - $186,764 ($89,115)
5. Tyler Milligan - $186,307 ($88,833)