Speed Williams Archives - Bob Feist Invitational

Let’s Hear it for Five Living Legends With BFI Threepeats on Their Roping Resumes

Here comes the 46th annual BFI, and this year’s unprecedented 100% payback has the Western world buzzing. The anchor event of BFI Week 2023, which will run March 29 through April 4 at the world-famous Lazy E Arena in Guthrie, Oklahoma, will be held April 1. Five cowboys—Clay Tryan, Kory Koontz, Speed Williams, Rich Skelton and Charles Pogue—have won the BFI battle three times. Four of the five, including the big three on the all-time BFI earnings list—Tryan at $259,361, Koontz at $241,514 and Skelton with $221,406—are entered up again this year. What does it take to come out king of the BFI mountain? Who better to answer all the questions than the masters themselves. 

Clay Tryan

Clay Tryan and Walt Woodard won the 2008 BFI with 47.83 on six. That’s Clay on Thumper.
BFI Photo – Kirt Steinke

Three-time World Champion Team Roper Clay Tryan won the 2005 BFI with Patrick Smith; the 2008 BFI with Walt Woodard; and the 2012 BFI with Travis Graves. Tryan is a 20-time Wrangler National Finals Rodeo header with well over $3 million in career earnings. 

What sets the BFI apart from all other ropings?

The BFI is to team roping what The Masters is to golf. This is the roping that started the big wave of team ropings back in the day. The BFI was the original big roping.

What does it take to win the BFI?

You’ve always had to have a good head horse and a good day of roping to win the BFI. But I think it’s different now, because more people are jackpot-ready. It wasn’t like that when I first started going. BFI day is a long one, and it’s hard to stay focused. 

Why are you one of the Big Five who’s managed a BFI threepeat?

I don’t know. That’s a tough question. Guys who are good at jackpotting have had a lot of success at the BFI, and great head horses are a common denominator. Speed had Bob. Charles had Scooter. I had Thumper and Dew. Those horses would be some of the best going right now, too—maybe the best. 

Who are you roping with at this year’s BFI, and what do you like best about your team at this roping?

I’m roping with Jade (Corkill). Jade’s just the portrait of how you should heel. When you watch him, that’s how it should look. That’s a good feeling to have on your team, no matter where you’re entered. 

Kory Koontz

Kory Koontz won his second straight BFI in 1996 behind Matt Tyler. They were 47.63 on six.
BFI Photo – Larry Fulgham

Kory Koontz is a 22-time NFR heeler. He won his three BFIs with Rube Woolsey in 1995, Matt Tyler in 1996 and Manny Egusquiza in 2021. 

What sets the BFI apart from all other ropings?

I believe the BFI is the best test of everything that team roping is. You have to score good as a header. The steers are big and strong, and run hard. The header has to do a good job of shaping them up, and the heeler has to do a good job of getting them caught all day long. It’s six steers and enter once, so you have to make every steer count. The money you can win at the BFI sets it apart also.

What does it take to win the BFI?

For me, it takes being prepared mentally to not worry about what the rest of the field is doing. I want to just rope my steers one for one. You start early in the morning, and don’t get done until late in the evening. So I look at the BFI as playing a game. It’s about staying focused and doing my job, plain and simple. I want to be ready, take the right shot at the right time and execute. 

Why are you one of the Big Five who’s managed a BFI threepeat?

I don’t really know the answer to that, other than I’ve never had any fear of the big ropings. I kind of feel like I’ve thrived at doing well at the big ones. I’m not sure why that is, but it’s an awesome opportunity and I love the big ropings. As a kid, I played high call at the BFI. The BFI’s always been my favorite.

Who are you roping with at this year’s BFI, and what do you like best about your team at this roping?

I’m roping with a young kid from Texas, Peyton Walters. I’ve roped with him at a few jackpots, and we’ve always done well. I’m going to rope with Peyton, and ride my cousin Tripp Townsend’s blue-roan horse. 

Speed Williams

The only team to win the BFI three times is Speed Williams and Rich Skelton, who struck in 1998, 2001 and 2002. 
BFI Photo – Larry Fulgham

Speed Williams and Rich Skelton won a record eight-straight world team roping titles together from 1997-2004. They also won three BFIs during their reign of team roping terror, in 1998, 2001 and ’02. Williams is a 15-time NFR header. 

What sets the BFI apart from all other ropings?

There were just a few ropings a year that really could set up your year, and the BFI was right before the summer run. It was a huge boost to get a win at the BFI. But the history of the BFI—the long score and big steers that run—is about showcasing what your head horse could do. 

What does it take to win the BFI?

You’ve got to be very disciplined. You’ve got to score. You really can’t draw one of the steers that takes you out of the roping. You don’t have to draw great, but with that many good teams entered, there are always steers in there you have to stay away from. With the degree of difficulty at the BFI, last year had to be one of the most awesome short rounds I’ve witnessed. It was pretty impressive. 

Why are you one of the Big Five who’s managed a BFI threepeat?

I had a great horse. Bob and I should have had a lot more victories there. The BFI is a place where you just have to back in there, be disciplined and use your horse. Bob was a great one for those conditions. 

Who are you roping with at this year’s BFI, and what do you like best about your team at this roping?

I’m roping with my son, Gabe, and am riding a bay Reliance Ranches horse they call Charlie that Gary McKinney sent me that’s really fast. If I get him under control, I’m going to be excited about it. We’ve been to three ropings, and made the short round every time. This horse is a work in progress, but I haven’t been on one with this much speed in a long time. He used to be a racehorse. 

Rich Skelton

Williams and Skelton won the 2001 BFI aboard Bob and Roany in 45.72 seconds.
BFI Photo – Kirt Steinke

In addition to those eight gold buckles and three BFI buckles he won behind Williams, Skelton has roped at 22 NFRs and one National Finals Steer Roping. 

What sets the BFI apart from all other ropings?

The BFI was always a very special roping to me. When I was a kid growing up in Texas, I couldn’t wait to get the Ropers Sports News to see the BFI pictures. The longer score, stronger steers and just entering one time set the BFI apart. You’ve got to have good horses, and there’s just so much heritage behind this roping. The BFI and the Chowchilla Stampede were out in California, and were the first big ropings I ever heard of. 

What does it take to win the BFI?

It takes a really nice head horse that scores, can run and get ahold of the steers. You have to be consistent, and make six similar runs. You have to draw good to win the BFI. But the better your header hits the barrier, the better you seem to draw. You also need a heel horse that doesn’t take your throw away, and that lets you throw when each steer is ready to heel. Horsepower’s tremendous at the BFI. 

Why are you one of the Big Five who’s managed a BFI threepeat?

All the stars lined up. I’ve roped behind really nice head horses at the BFI over the years, and had really nice heel horses that fit that situation. You can’t beat yourself at the BFI, so you have to know when to take a chance and when to just catch. I won second with Tee (Woolman), too, and he always had nice horses for that situation. Never underestimate the value of horsepower at the BFI.

Who are you roping with at this year’s BFI, and what do you like best about your team at this roping?

I’m roping with Clayton Van Aken this year, and he’s a really good horseman. He goes to a lot of the rope-horse futurities, and has nice horses, scores great and ropes horns really good. 

Charles Pogue

Charles Pogue and Britt Bockius went back-to-back at the BFI in 1999 and 2000, with Pogue aboard the legendary Scooter. 
BFI Photo – Larry Fulgham

Charles Pogue is a 15-time NFR header who won the 1991 BFI with Steve Northcott, and the 1999 and 2000 ropings with Britt Bockius. Pogue won the 10-head NFR average in 1988 heading for Rickey Green, and the 2000 NFR with Bockius. 

What sets the BFI apart from all other ropings?

The BFI was one roping you always heard about as a kid growing up, and hoped you’d one day get to the level to get to go compete at it. The BFI was the most popular, prestigious roping. It was the big one in my mind growing up, and when I was learning to rope, I hoped I’d be good enough one day to win the BFI. 

What does it take to win the BFI?

They let ’em out there pretty far, so both guys have to be mounted on good horses to win the BFI. To put six runs together at the BFI, you need horses that can really run and work good at high speed. 

Why are you one of the Big Five who’s managed a BFI threepeat?

I won all three BFIs on Scooter, so that obviously helped a lot. The BFI was the style of roping I based my run on at the time. You turned it up a little at the rodeos, but for the most part trying to make a high-tempo run consistently was the goal and the game plan. Riding a great horse and getting to rope with good guys took a lot of pressure off of me. 

When did you last rope at the BFI, and why’d you quit entering? 

My last BFI was about three years ago. It’s hard to go win at that roping if you’re not going and competing at a high level all the time. If you’re realistic with yourself, if you’re not dialed in and you don’t have the right horse and partner, your odds for success at the BFI are pretty slim.

46th BFI Roster Set

The star-studded cast entered in the 46th annual Bob Feist Invitational on April 1 in Guthrie, Oklahoma, includes the only four humans who’ve won the BFI three times. High-money leader Clay Tryan, Hall-of-Famers Speed Williams and Rich Skelton (roping with other partners), and 2021 champ Kory Koontz will each be part of 125 teams gunning for a first-place cash prize that reached $150,000 last year.

Tryan, also a three-time world champion, will try to add to the $259,361 BFI dollars he’s banked with his gold-buckle partner Jade Corkill – who has never won the BFI. And Koontz brings a new partner in Peyton Walters, who won the 2020 Yeti Jr. Open at the USTRC Finals. Meanwhile, BFI heavyweight Skelton will be stopping the clock for Clayton Van Aken, who has won go-rounds and placed in past BFI averages. Other BFI heavy-hitters Cory Petska, Buddy Hawkins and Luke Brown will try it on this time with Clint Summers, Andrew Ward and Hunter Koch, respectively.

The veterans will appreciate this as the first year an Open roping pays back 100 percent of their entry fees. The rookies are just glad to be on the roster – including the youngest-ever heeler to achieve a 9.5 handicap. In fact, this year’s first-timers are some of the most talented teenagers in the history of team roping.

Read More: BFI to Pay Back One Hundred Percent

Is this an April Fool’s Joke? Not hardly. For the first time in history, the Bob Feist Invitational on April 1 will pay back 100 percent of the pot to ropers.

Defending national high school champion James Arviso, 19, is partnered with 16-year-old Nicky Northcott, whose dad Steve won the BFI in 1991 with Charles Pogue and again in ’93 with Matt Tyler. Arviso – Derrick Begay’s nephew – is not only the defending Jr. BFI champ but placed second at the 2022 BFI with Josh Patton to split $100,000. Zack Woods, 24, and Michael Calmelat – the 14-year-old No. 9.5 – are former Jr. NFR champions bringing Daniel Reed and Pedro Egurrola, respectively, while 17-year-old Denton Dunning was picked up by world champion Aaron Tsinigine for the BFI.

Meanwhile, defending BFI champs Jake Clay and Billie Jack Saebens will be tough to beat with their new partners, each world champs. Clay will head for Kollin VonAhn, while Saebens will heel for Matt Sherwood. Most notably, draw No. 56 will be Williams, who returns to “The Feist” for the second time with his 16-year-old son, Gabe, after 13 years away.

Legendary Hall-of-Famer and former BFI champ Trevor Brazile, who retired from full-time competition, will head for Joseph Harrison this year. Fan-favorite Begay drug his old Arizona friend Colter Todd off the Arizona ranch to try their luck, while former BFI champ and world champ Walt Woodard will team with Quinn Kesler. Plus, world champion header Colby Lovell is partnering with former NFR heeler Dakota Kirchenschlager, who retired from rodeo.

The public will be hard-pressed to choose a prospective winner at the annual Cowboy Auction and Dinner, scheduled for 6 p.m. at the Chicken Shack in Arcadia, Oklahoma, on Friday night, March 31. The BFI anchors Wrangler BFI Week, which last year paid out $2.92 million in cash and prizes, and runs March 29 through April 4.

Read More: 2023 The Feist Draw

Tickets for the BFI can be purchased on site at the Lazy E Arena, by phone at 405-282-RIDE or online at ticketmaster.com. A special roper rate is available at the Hampton Inn and Suites of Guthrie, by calling (405) 293-9595.