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SAN ANTONIO, TX (March 18, 2003) - In a Who’s Who of the world’s best team ropers, Turtle Powell, of Stephenville, Texas and Kirt Jones, of Piedmont, Oklahoma, competed against the most famous icons of the sport to win the 21st Annual George Strait Team Roping Classic held at the Rose Palace arena in San Antonio, Texas March 14 and 15.
Ropers came from all over the country to vie for over $300,000 in cash and prizes. A total of 642 teams turned out to rope during a marathon 15-hour two-header on Friday, March 14. In the end it took a combined time of 13.29 to make it as one of the top 50 teams to return for the finals on Saturday. George Strait, and his son, Bubba, ended their two rounds with a time of 15.88, just shy of making the top 50.
The 50 ropers making it to the Saturday roping had to rope three steers, with cash and prizes awarded through eighth place in the average. The team roping tandem of Powell and Jones recorded a time of 18.30 on three head, earning them each a check for $24,996, as well as a Chevy Silverado crew cab dually truck and a three-horse slant Bruton horse trailer. With a time of 19.92, the second place team of Shane Sproul, of Arley, Montana and John Phillip, of Washington, Texas, took home hand-tooled leather saddles and a cash purse of $15,831 each. Marshall Samples and Kinney Harrell roped their three steers in 21.27 second to earn $10,831 each. Charley Crawford and Jo Jo Lamont recorded a time of 22.67 on three head to take home $9,165 apiece.
Powell and Jones have been roping together since college, when Jones was at University of New Mexico and Powell at Tarleton State in Stephenville. They competed in the collegiate national finals, but this was the biggest win of their career.
“If you are going to win a big roping like this, it is usually going to happen with someone you have roped with quite a bit before, and that’s what happened for us,” Jones said. “Turtle and I have roped together quite a while and won a little here and there, but nothing like this.”
George Strait and his brother, Buddy, personally presented Powell and Jones with keys to their new truck and trailer at the end of the day on Saturday.
The GSTRC began 21 years ago as a small family roping in Kingsville, Texas before moving to San Antonio’s Rose Palace. “For the first two or three years, we’d say, ‘Well, should we do it again?’ And we always would. Now it’s huge with the help of our sponsors and the word of mouth from ropers,” says Buddy Strait. Those sponsors include Cavender Chevrolet of Boerne, Texas, Tractor Supply Company, HEB Food Stores, Brake Check, Wrangler, Cactus Ropes, Heel-O-Matic, Justin Boots, Resistol, U.S. Smokeless Tobacco and Classic Ropes.
Cactus Ropes is a long time sponsor of the GSTRC. Of the $208,000 awarded in cash, ropers using Cactus ropes claimed over half of that prize money. Jones used Cactus’ Rebel rope to capture the GSTRC Champion Heeler title and over $80,000 in cash and prizes.
“I started roping when I was a little kid,” says Jones, “and this is the kind of roping you dream about winning. You have all the best ropers in the world here and it’s tough to beat the best. Turtle and I happened to have a good weekend.”
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