Tryan and Dunning strike again for $70K in Hooey Jr. Open BFI

When Tyler Tryan rode into the box at high callback in the Hooey Jr. BFI on March 28, his little brother Braylon was winning the roping. Braylon, at barely 18, is already a 9.5 heeler (their dad Clay Tryan is the richest BFI roper in history). 

Tyler had been rooting for Braylon, because he’d already missed for him that day. But the door was wide open for Tyler and Denton Dunning to win that $70,000 again as the high-teamers – they’d each won the past two Jr. BFIs with other partners. 

“The Jr. BFI is the king of all junior ropings,” said Dunning, who still remembers how thrilled he was at 14 to win the Jr. BFI 10.5 with Gavin Hershberger. “You’ve got to rope good to win it; it’s tough and they set it up hard. They make you earn it here.” 

In the short round, Belden Cox unfortunately lost his rope at third callback and then legged up at second callback, which gave Tryan and Dunning a nine-second layup. Tryan was safe at the line and got the neck, and Dunning came tight in 7.98 for the win. Denton Parish not only won second in the roping with Braylon, but also third with Nicky Northcott to take $35,500 of his own back to Texas.

Tyler and Denton are both 20, so this was their last time competing in the Jr. BFI. Last year, they landed in the PRCA’s top 20 rodeoing together and nearly made the $1 million bonus round at The American. But it’s easy to see why the Lazy E is Dunning’s favorite arena – in 2024 when he and Ketch Kelton won the Jr. BFI, they also placed third in the BFI and cashed checks worth $26,500 and $38,000 per man that week, respectively.

This year, Dunning said all five steers “were pretty good to heel” en route to his $35,000 Jr. BFI payday.

“Tyler does a great job of heading; he rides an amazing horse and goes at ’em,” said Dunning, who rode his bay horse Tammy in the first two rounds and got on his good black, Bubba, for the final three. “Tyler makes it where I don’t have to do anything too crazy.”

As for Tryan, he said he just tries to go do his job because he knows his reaching style means it’ll be pretty fast.

“I don’t try to overdo anything,” he said. “Denton throws really fast, so if we get them all caught, we usually win something really good.”

Tryan was riding 10-year-old Cowboys Famous Guy (“Butters”) that he bought from Kaleb Driggers a few years ago. The yellow grandson of Frenchmans Guy and Dash Ta Fame is a big part of Tryan’s arsenal, which includes three other really good horses plus one of his dad’s and a couple of practice horses. 

“I think Butters is one of the fastest horses in the world – in the team roping world, for sure,” he said. “When they’re that that fast and easy to rope on, it makes my job that much easier.”

Earlier in the roping, Tryan had missed for Northcott, with whom he won last year’s Jr. BFI. But fans will never forget what happened during their final shot. In Round Three, Nicky was planning a crossfire to win $3,500. So, Tryan got on his buckskin horse “Dan” and smoked the barrier as he let fly with every single coil in his left hand. The crossfire worked and their blistering 4.20-second run behind the 18-foot score was the fastest ever clocked in the nine years of the Hooey Jr. BFI. 

“I try to go at ’em as hard as I can,” said Tryan, who will start entering rodeos with Northcott in May. “If it works, I win first and if it don’t, I try again the next time. Everyone is so good now – Clay Smith, Driggers, Dustin – that you’ve got to just keep going at ’em. It’s the way heading is going to be.”