The 2023 Ariat World Series of Team Roping took place at The South Point in Las Vegas basically during the WNFR. It lasted nine days, and with over 3,000 entries, it paid out over $15M in nine different categories.
Team roping has a number system which rates the contestants; in short, the lower your number, the better roper you are – similar to a golf handicap. Each division is the total of both ropers’ numbers, and the lower the number, the bigger the prize money.
Several Canadians cashed in at the WSTR, but the biggest cheques to come to Canada were won by a pair of team roping legends that hadn’t roped together for several years.
In 2002 header Murray Linthicum of Glentworth, Sask, and heeler Rocky Dallyn of Nanton, Alta, won Gold Medals in the tandem event at the Salt Lake City Olympics.
Both cowboys have also won Canadian titles, but in recent years, they’ve scaled back their travels — but not their talents.
In Vegas, they reunited to compete in the Fay Ranches Finale #13.5. The pair turned in a time of 31.12 seconds to win second in the four-head average for a payoff of $170,000 USD. In addition, Rocky placed lower down with Koby Ziemmer of Mayerthorpe in the #14.5 and in a qualifier with Ponoka’s Paul Bonnett for a very profitable week in Sin City.
All told, the Canadians racked up over $680,000 USD at WSTR in Las Vegas. To read the full results, visit https://wstroping.com/
To watch the video of Rocky and Murray roping, visit https://fb.watch/plgD7kJDEo/
Special thanks to “Around the Saddle Horn” for this video.