Christine Jones has been team roping cows for decades but never had the pleasure of trading her cowboy hat for a provincial crown.
That possibility became reality Sunday at the B.C. Team Roping Association finals in Quesnel when Jones and her roping partner Gary Spiers of Arras (south of Dawson Creek) snagged the big prize.
They topped 421 other ropers in the four-day No. 9 level event, each taking home a new trophy saddle and an even split of the $5,500 cash prize.
"If it's your day, you just hope you have one of those days when it's a big event like that," said Jones, 39. "We had a good start and just was roping them very well, my horse (Tigger) has been working well, he's just at that prime age, 14, where they hit good maturity level. He's been seasoned enough so not much has an impact on him."
Under the BCTRA finals format, each team has to rope its first steer to have a chance to snare a second one. If they make it to the third round (having roped two cows), they get a chance at a third and final steer.
Jones, the header, and Spiers, the heeler, had the fifth-quickest time after roping two head of cattle, which meant there were just four other teams following behind them in the third round. But their cumulative time of about 23 seconds stood up as the fastest overall in the No. 9 category.
In team roping, each competitor is assigned a rating on a scale of 1-9, based on level of ability, and the two numbers combined determine which level each team can enter.
A No. 1 is a beginner, a No. 5 is an average roper and any roper ranked seven or above is considered a professional. National Finals Rodeo or Canadian Finals Rodeo competitors are rated as No. 9 ropers. The open category is for riders on any ability.
"We had a really strong cumulative time, so the other teams had to be really quick, which kind of puts the pressure on because you want to win, so you're trying to hurry it as much as you can," said Jones, who lives on her family's property in Pineview.
"The times vary in every situation, it depends how fast the cows are, how big the arena is and that's a pretty good time on three head, especially in a big facility with the cattle we were competing on, and that is why nobody beat us.
"There was a $3,000 added (prize payout) and everybody pays to get into it as well, so there was quite of bit of prize money because it was the provincial finals and that's why they got so many people, over 400 teams."
Spiers, a friend of the Jones's Prince George family, placed in the top-six in the No. 9 finals Sunday on two other teams, finishing third and sixth.
Jones's sister, Sandy Suter, 36, and Bailey Blackstock of Chilliwack finished fourth overall out of 198 entries in the open event at the BCTRA finals and she and Vanderhoof cowboy Cody Sayles were third in the No. 11 category, an event which drew 384 entries.
Back in June, Jones and her husband Darin finished second overall behind her sister Sandy Suter and her roping partner Chance Paradis of Cranbrook at the World Series of Team Roping qualifier in Fort St. John. That set their entry in the world's richest team roping event. The World Series of Team Roping is set for Dec. 12 in Las Vegas and ropers will be competing for a top prize in the No. 9 category, estimated at $300,000. Suter and Paradis split a $9,600 payday in the June qualifier.
"We're just having really good year, it's all in the timing," said Jones.
Ness Lake will host its annual Little Britches Rodeo on Aug. 22-23.
