Steady Whitfield takes home 6th calf roping title

Monday, Dec. 16, 2002 | 9:13 a.m.

Halfway through the 44th Wrangler National Finals Rodeo, the calves weren't cooperating with calf roper Fred Whitfield.

So he settled into a consistent mode in which he would turn in solid, if unspectacular, times. That strategy, and confidence, gave Whitfield his sixth calf roping world championship Sunday.

"I never doubted myself," Whitfield said. "I knew I needed to draw some calves that would let Fred Whitfield go do his thing. I prepared myself for situations like this my whole life. I've been in situations like this before.

"I know what pressure is, and I know how to handle it. That's not being cocky, that's just confidence. In this game, you have to have confidence. I mean, there's a good camaraderie out here, but nobody can lift you up like yourself."

Blair Burk, next-to-last in Sunday's 10th and final round, had been in a tight race with Whitfield, who went last. Burk roped his steer in a timely enough fashion, but the steer squirted through the rope and Burk turned in a title-squashing 31.1 seconds.

A patient Whitfield then did his business in 8.9 seconds. He split fifth- and sixth-place go-round money, $2,929 apiece, with Brent Lewis, which boosted his NFR loot to about $50,000. Roping his 10 calves in 88.8 seconds gave Whitfield the average lead, too, for another $35,705.

In 2002, Whitfield made $237,637, breaking the previous yearly calf-roping earnings record of $222,794 that Cody Ohl set in 1998.

"Blair had a little bad luck when he ran his calf through, which, basically, left the door wide open for me," Whitfield said. "All I had to do was go make a good run. Had I had to tie a calf fast today, I could have done it.

"I got a $400 lead on him at the Cow Palace (in San Francisco), then never lost the lead here. That says a lot for Fred Whitfield. I just battled all week long and put the finishing touches on it today."

The veteran of 19 NFRs, who rode Scamper to those 10 titles, won her first on Cruiser.

"Being here before helped, just knowing I had to go out and make solid runs every time was my plan coming in," James said. "I just felt like I needed to be consistent. When you basically have to go out and just get around the barrels, it's almost too easy.

"I just had to go out and make the same kind of runs I've made all week, and that made it easy."

Jake Barnes and Clay Cooper, both of who made nearly $94,000 this season, previously held the consecutive crown streak of five.

"You never get another chance at it," Williams said.

The top of Sunday's go-round chart, though, were low in the overall money standings, so Williams/Skelton knew they didn't have to push themselves. The finished their roping in 13.2 seconds, and added some more prestige to their careers.

"I knew it, but my little buddy (Skelton) here didn't believe me," Williams said of their strategy. "From now on, he's not allowed to ask me any questions."

Mote won Sunday's go-round with an 88, giving him $13,922 and elevating his NFR take to $63,849. His season earnings of $174,376 gave him the world title over Jeter ($160,038).

Last year, Mote, of Redmond, Ore., missed a golden shot at a championship in his first NFR when he got bucked off a horse in the 10th round.

Neither holds those marks, though, because saddle bronc world champ Glen O'Neill tallied 825 points over the week and made $236,030 this season.