Guthrie, Oklahoma’s Lazy E Arena is hallowed ground for those who love the Western way of life, and no event captures that more than the legendary CINCH Timed Event Championships, held March 3 through 5, 2017
The 25-head bout features the world’s best 20 all-around cowboys, battling it out over five rounds on the red dirt in heading, heeling, tie-down roping, steer wrestling, and steer roping for a $200,000 purse with $100,000 going to the champion. Just 12 cowboys have captured the Timed Event title in the event’s storied 32-year history, forming the most elite band of brothers in rodeo. Icons like California’s Leo Camarillo and Texas’ Trevor Brazile have their names enshrined in plaques in the Lazy E’s Roper’s Cantina, marking their victories and Timed Event records. Brazile himself has won $776,500 at the Timed Event, including an unmatched seven titles.
“I love this event,” Brazile says. “It’s been so good here for so long. The Lazy E ensures the talent keeps coming back to Guthrie for the fans. There’s so much great young talent.”
One of rodeo’s Generation Next, Paul David Tierney, claimed his second CINCH Timed Events Championship in 2016 in a duel with Brazile that came down to their last steer. For Tierney, competing at the Timed Event each March is a family tradition. His father, Paul Tierney, competed there every year from 1985 until retiring in 2014, and his brother Jess, a National Finals steer roper, is always in contention for Timed Event gold as well.
“The Timed Event is not for the faint-hearted,” says four-time champion Paul Tierney. “It’s not an event you can just ease through. There’s nothing average about it. It’s a test of all-around ability. I’ve always told my boys, ‘Play on your strong points and control your weaknesses.'”
The 2017 edition of the CINCH Timed Event Championship will feature returning champions in Brazile in Tierney, as well as young guns like NFR headers Clay Smith and Erich Rogers looking to join the elite fraternity.
Passing on the cowboy tradition to the next generation, this year the Lazy E will also host the Junior Ironman, with cowboys age 15 to 20 going head-to-head in heading, heeling, tie-down roping and steer wrestling for $20,000 in prize money. Held each morning before the CINCH Timed Event performances, the Jr. Ironman will be a 12-head battle of the 10 best cowboys in the junior ranks.
Nowhere else in all of rodeo can you get as up-close-and-personal with the true cowboys of the sport, and this year watch the best young talent in the junior rodeo ranks. The Lazy E the first weekend in March? There’s nowhere else the cowboy world should be.
Get your tickets for the 2017 CINCH Timed Event Championship here.