NATIONAL FINALS STEER ROPING

Less Than 2 Bucks

Scott Snedecor caught fire at the 2005 National Finals Steer Roping and burned 18-time World Champion Steer Roper Guy Allen by a mere $1.67 for this year's gold buckle. It was the closest title race ever in any single event in the history of the PRCA. Snedecor (Uvalde, Texas), who entered his fifth consecutive NFSR $16,148 behind Allen, won a round, placed in six others and won the average with a total time of 123.4 seconds on 10-head en route to his first world title at the 47th annual NFSR. This year's event featured a $130,000 payoff and ran Nov. 18-20 at the Amarillo National Center in Amarillo, Texas. The $21,850 Snedecor banked in Amarillo added up with his regular-season earnings to $69,318.77 compared to Allen's $69,380.10. While Snedecor placed in the money in seven out of 10 rounds, Allen only placed in three rounds. In the first round, Allen finished third with a run of 11.8 seconds, with Snedecor one-tenth of a second off Allen's time with an 11.9 for fourth place. The final day of competition featured four rounds, and it would be a fight to the end with Snedecor and Allen. Snedecor came out firing, placing fourth in the seventh, eighth and ninth rounds with times of 10.8, 13.6 and 12.6 seconds, respectively. Riding into the final round, Snedecor knew he needed the average win. He also knew there was one more roper to go after him, and that was Allen, who had failed to place in the money on Sunday afternoon. Snedecor needed not only first in the average, but to finish one spot ahead of Allen if he placed in the round. Allen came up with a no time in the final round and although Snedecor didn't place in the money in the 10th round, his average win gave him the victory....

Uvalde cowboy claims gold - barely

A good horse: $20,000-25,000. A good horse trailer: $70,000. A good rope: $30. The final difference in the 2005 National Finals Steer Roping: $1.67. Uvalde's Scott Snedecor won the gold buckle on Sunday with a margin a little less than most people have in their ashtrays, coming from behind to win against 18-time world champion Guy Allen in the Amarillo National Center. "Coming in, I thought I had a shot, but trying to chase Guy Allen, I wouldn't call it a good shot," Snedecor said. "Somehow everything fell right for me. I didn't change anything I'd done all year long, and it worked." Snedecor entered the finals trailing Allen by $16,000 and needing an almost perfect weekend to catch Allen. That was precisely what Snedecor produced, winning the average and $11,400 as one of three cowboys to rope all 10 steers during the three days in front of a big crowd, which included a large and loud section of Snedecor supporters. Brazile won the Colby Goodwin Memorial tie-down match, defeating Cody Ohl in the finals on four attempts with a total time of 39.5 seconds to 41.3 for Ohl....