Tuley wins first and third in 9.5 Over 40 for $153K

The drama of the actual Feist, which pitted a 20-year-old kid against a two-time world champ in the short round, had nothing on the 9.5 Over 40. The final day of Wrangler BFI Week saw roping producer Kelly Tuley of tiny Red Oak, Texas, heel his way to first and third in the 9.5 Over 40 to earn $152,500 cash all for himself plus a Cactus saddle, Gist buckle, Best Ever pad, Resistol hat and new pair of Justin boots.

“I am very blessed,” said Tuley of his richest roping win, ever. “I am one very lucky human being, period.”

True enough, Tuley had already won $400 off a buddy flipping quarters that morning. Aside from 2009 when Jade Corkill went 1-2 to earn $152,193 at the George Strait, this almost never happens – especially against upwards of 400 teams.

He’d left home just after 2 a.m. to make it to Guthrie to rope, because he’d been producing a jackpot until almost midnight in nearby May Pearl. Tuley hired a local guy to drive him north so he could sleep, and promised the guy he’d give him 5 percent of anything he won over $50,000.

Then, the 4.5 heeler with the big personality not only came back to the short round third on a 29.27 with Michael Riggins of San Augustine, Texas, but also second on a 29.22 with Jeff Sanders of Blum, Texas.

“I’d watch that leaderboard, and seeing my name up there twice was amazing,” said Tuley, 53. “I thought, ‘This is unbelievable. Everywhere I walked in the Lazy E, I was like, ‘Oh my God. Oh my God. Oh my God.’”

Then, with the music cranking and announcers revealing he had the opportunity to take home $165,000 cash, Tuley backed in for his first chance.

“I just did what I always do; walked over there and got focused and didn’t listen to Reed [Flake],” he said. “I walked in that box and tuned him out. I just wanted to go out there and do my job.”

Riggins and Tuley made a great run to go to the lead. As soon as the flag dropped, knowing he’d bagged no less than $57,500, Tuley bailed off his mare, Black Betty – rope still dangling from his saddle – and began doing The Worm in the arena dirt.

Meanwhile, Sanders, 51, just watched along with the entire Lazy E audience, wondering if Tuley would have enough gas left in his tank to get back on and rope the next one. Both of Sanders’ other partners had missed his first steer. Not only that, but he’d had to cajole Tuley into entering BFI Week with him. When they ran into each other in February, Tuley had told him he already had enough runs.

“Jeff just said, ‘You’re not cutting me,’ and told me he’d mail the entry and I could pay him back when I could,” recalled Tuley.

Sanders spun him a quick steer and it took all 32 feet of Tuley’s rope, but he got it pinched off on double hocks for them to go to the lead.

“I missed my slack,” said Tuley, who gave a shout-out to his Cactus rope. “I was grabbing everything I possibly could and I finally got it.”

Now winning first and second, he jumped off Black Betty a second time and dropped down to do The Worm. Once again, the mare never moved – just stood still and waited for Tuley instead of lapping the arena and delaying the roping. Mike White had sold her to Tuley, knowing she would fit him.

“I bought her sight unseen and was just kind of getting by on her,” said Tuley. “But recently I found her little hole and then I found the click – and turned it into $153,000.”

The black mare is just a touch lazy in the corner, he said, and once he learned to keep hustling her, he was golden. In fact, White predicted Tuley would win on her in Guthrie. Now, Tuley can pay off the loan he took out to buy her.

Unlike Black Betty, Sanders was prepared for Tuley’s big leap. He just figured it might be after their callback or even after they won the roping.

“For him to do that and then come back and lock straight back in and do it again?” said Sanders. “That takes a lot of mental focus. I’ve seen him jump off and do The Worm for years. A couple weeks ago I told him, ‘Look, when we win, don’t expect me to get off and do something or they’ll have to call CareFlight and be landing helicopters all over the Lazy E.”

By the time the high team back clocked a 10.66 to win second in the roping, Tuley had gone from dancing in the dirt to shedding tears.

“I lost my dad in June,” he said. “I had gone over in the corner and said a little prayer and asked God to be with me and to take care of my daddy. Dad was riding shotgun today, I promise.”

Tuley had started hosting truck ropings where Booger Barter left off in 2001, and loves to tell people about the day in 2013 when he gave away 11 trucks in one roping. He’s also been a truck driver and owned a trucking business, but more lately works for Farm Bureau insurance and loves being a disk jockey – he was the DJ at 45 weddings last year.

“These steers were strong, but were some of the best I’ve seen in a while,” said Tuley, who counted 107 text messages on his phone after the win. “And I’m around; I put ropings on all the time.”

The strong steers were nothing for Sanders, who was riding 10-year-old Houdini, a super-fast Riata Buckle-eligible gelding by A Streak Of Fling out of a Frenchmans Guy mare that he bought through Martin Lucero.

“I predominantly heel,” said Sanders, who’s a school superintendent a year from retiring after three decades in education. “But that horse has changed the game so much for me.”

He actually just picked up Houdini three weeks earlier from Cory Kidd, who rode him for a few months while Sanders recovered from a pulled groin. He could feel the difference in his horse, and said he knew his partner was in the zone and would likely catch that last one.

“I was thinking to myself, ‘Just get out and catch the steer,” Sanders said. “I try not to get too high or too low at moments like that. It’s best to stay level and call it just another run. But you don’t get to see that very much, what we all got to witness there that day. At one of the top two or three ropings in the world, for someone to be set up to go 1-2?”

Sanders and Tuley had both been to Reno years ago for the Businessman’s roping with the BFI, and appreciate having BFI Week in Guthrie now.  

“I said this way before I won today, but that roping is the most bang for your buck anywhere in the country,” said Sanders. “In Las Vegas, they also pay out life-changing money, but it’s so congested. Guthrie is centrally located; it’s closer and just a lot more user-friendly, as far as the stalls and the open space and being able to get around. They do a great job.”