RENO, NEV. – Absence makes the heart grow fonder and that definitely is the case when it comes to the 2021 BFI Reno Championships! It has been a long two years away from the Reno-Sparks Livestock Event Center and it was great to see the first steer run down the arena under the new lights and over the fresh sand.
The week kicked off June 19 with the Hooey Jr BFI 10.5 roping. The horses were a little fresh when they cracked the Priefert at 9 am and announcer Ferron Lucerro had some fun with the youth competitors, reminding them to maybe take a few extra laps in the warm-up arena before they nodded their heads. At the conclusion of 107 teams in the first round, a few ropers hit the dirt, some great runs were made, and it was definitely apparent that the kids had come with both pistols cocked.
The first round was won by Aaron Champneys and Conor Ward with a time of 7.11 and from there it only got tougher. With two full rounds in the 10.5, everybody had a chance at two day-monies. The teams tightened it up significantly in round two. A 5.43 by Cael Stratton andand Paden Prior took home round two honors.
The team that came out on top were a 14 and 16 year old from Roosevelt, Utah. Daxtyn Feild and Howdy Jackson put four runs together in 34.71 seconds to seal the first Championship title of the week and claim $15,000, Gist Silversmiths buckles, Resistol Hats, Hooey backpacks, Heel-O-Matic Sliders, Yeti lunch boxes, and bragging rights for the next year!
“We just had to do our job and go catch,” said Feild. “These ropings fall apart so we knew that if we just stayed consistent it would pay off.”
The team ropes together in Utah and has big time rodeo family ties such as 5-time World Champion bareback rider Kaycee Feild and NFR Team Roper and Tie-down roper, Rhen Richard.
“It definitely helps to be around guys that know how to win at the top level. The mental side of it is so important. Just like today, we knew all we had to do was stop the clock to get a good check. I told myself to ride good position and don’t take a bad throw.” said heeler Howdy Jackson.
The Hooey Jr BFI 10.5 kicked off the Wrangler BFI Week Reno Championships and had 107 teams. Each team got two full rounds and then it was progressive. The roping paid out over $46,000 to the youth competitors that came to rope from all over the country with Utah, Idaho, California, Oregon, and Nevada all getting represented in the winner’s circle.
Hooey Jr #10.5
Round 1 FT: 1. Aaron Champneys and Conor Ward, 7.11, $1,800. 2 (tie). Tayler Felton and Daunte Ceresola; Kyndall Green and Eli Green, 7.62, $450.
Round 2 FT: 1. Cael Stratton and Paden Prior, 5.43, $1,800. 2. Parker Douglas Jones and Gavin Lopez, 5.87, $900.
FT Short Go: 1. Devon McDaniel and Birch Eiguren, 7.91, $900. 2. Ally McDaniel and Noah Williams, 8.21, $600.
Average: 1. Daxtyn Feild and Howdy Jackson, 34.71 on four, $15,000. 2. Devon McDaniel and Birch Eiguren, 35.71, $10,000. 3. Ryan Bettencourt and Trey White, 34.83, $7,000. 4. Ally McDaniel and Noah Williams, 38.48, $5,000. 5. Ally McDaniel and Birch Eiguren, 44.89, $3,000. 6. Brayden Grashuis and Brody Grashuis, 56.38, $1,200. 7. Sam Kofoed and Lucas Cruz, 24.83 on three, $1,100.

Utah cowboys Daxtyn Feild and Howdy Jackson put $15K in their pockets and won Gist buckles for their win of the Hooey Jr #10.5 Roping in Reno. Corky Ullman of Ullman/Peterson Events and Brooke Pollack representing Hooey present the winners their many awards. – Andersen C Bar C Photo

Cash Duty & Jaylen Eldridge Win Hooey Jr BFI Open

RENO, NEV. (June 19) – If you think you can hang with the big boys on the big stage, then the Hooey Jr BFI Open roping is definitely the place to test your mettle.
“We set this roping up exactly like The Feist.” tells BFI owner Daren Peterson. “The goal here is to let these talented kids feel the same pressures in the same exact setup as the BFI. This just prepares them for when they make the jump and enter on Monday.”
The Priefert boxes were set at 16ft 10 inches deep and Lee Legasey ran the rope barrier off of an electric eye that was set at the same length as the box. Thus making the setup “Same As.” Add strong cattle into the mix and the Hooey Jr BFI literally turns into the regular BFI just a couple of days early.
The Hooey Jr Open is a five header that is progressive after three. A total of 35 teams entered and by the time the short round rolled around, only a handful had captured the first four. Cash Duty showed up to the roping from Weimar, Texas and only had one partner up until game day. He ended up heading one and heeling one and his decision definitely paid off. Cash won the first round heading for Idaho’s Jalyn Eldridge. He then came back to win the second round, heeling for James Arviso.
Cash and Jaylyn’s day stayed solid as a rock after their first round win. The team ended up high-call and came into the short round with a commanding lead over the second high-back team. They had a fourteen second cushion but didn’t let that phase them as they put together another great run of 7.99. Their total on five head was an impressive 37.01 which averages out to 7.4 seconds on each steer. These guys were definitely prepared to compete at the big dance (Reno Open) on June 21.
“It is so nice to be able to get some runs down before we rope on Monday,” said Duty. “Of course the win is great, but it also calms the nerves a little because we have already been behind the setup and scoring is so important at the BFI.”
The champions received $11,000 for their average win along with all the prizes from Hooey, Yeti, Gist, Heel-O-Matic, and Resistol. Cash headed for veteran heeler Boogie Ray (team 14) during the BFI Reno Championships on Monday while his partner Jalyn heeled for Jared Parker (team 33).
Round 1 Fast Time: Cash Duty and Jaylen Eldridge, 6.80, $2,000.
Round 2 FT: James Arviso and Cash Duty, 6.09, $2,000.
Round 3 FT: Jace Thorstenson and John Hisel, 5.94, $2,000.
Fast Time Short Go: Eli Green and Chase Helton, 7.45, $1,200.
Average: 1. Cash Duty and Jaylen Eldridge, 37.01 on 5, $11,000. 2. Cason Richey and Nicky Northcott, 43.16 $8,000. 3. Trent Lee Wood and Nicky Northcott, 45.97, $5,000. 4. Josey Ray Funk and Garrett K. Jepson, 47.75, $2,400.

Cash Duty and Jaylen Eldridge smoked five steers in 37.01 to win the Hooey Jr. BFI Open Roping. Presenting their awards is roping producer, Corky Ullman and Cactus Ropes General Manager, Barry Berg. – Andersen C Bar C Photo