Consistency pays off for Tohatchi steer wrestler

Posted by Quentin Jodie | May 31, 2018 | Rodeo |

Navajo Times | Donovan Quintero
Coyote Canyon, N.M., bulldogger Rooster Yazzie smiles Sunday after competing in the high school steer wrestling competition. In a close finish, Yazzie claimed this year’s steer wrestling title for the New Mexico High School Rodeo Association.

CHURCH ROCK, N.M.

At last year’s state finals for the New Mexico High School Rodeo Association, Rooster Yazzie ran into bad luck.

The Coyote Canyon, New Mexico, steer wrestler had one steer get away during the three-day event. Fast-forward 12 months. Yazzie found the consistency he needed to emerge as the state champion after finishing second the past two seasons.

“I just wanted to catch them and put them down the best I can,” Yazzie said on Sunday afternoon at Red Rock Park after winning the average race with an aggregate of 19.16 seconds on three head.

Going into the state finals, Yazzie held the No. 3 spot but with a first place finish in the second round and a pair of second place finishes in two other rounds the Tohatchi High graduate accumulated 38 points and finished the year-end standings with 148.

“I didn’t want to put pressure on myself because the title could have been won by somebody else,” he said, while noting that the state crown came down to the final round with Crownpoint junior Matthew Jodie and Coronado junior Adriano Duran trailing a few points back.

Jodie, who placed second in the average race with a 20.53 aggregate, finished the state finals with 36 points, pushing his year-end total to 145 points for a second place finish in the standings.

“It was a competitive year,” said Jodie, who earned two qualifications for nationals. “We all pushed each other and I think that made us better.”