Local cowboys heading to rodeo’s ‘Super Bowl’ in Las Vegas
Christmas isn’t until Dec. 25, but for three local rodeo cowboys, it’s coming much sooner.
Sallisaw cowboy Chance Howard and Muldrow rodeo cowboy brothers Tilden and Toren Gates, who also wrestle with the Sallisaw Takedown Club, qualified for what is known as “The Super Bowl” of rodeos next month in Las Vegas.
Howard will be one of the steer wrestling competitors at the 2025 National Finals Rodeo (NFR), which will begin Thursday and run until Dec. 13.
Howard, who has been a rodeo cowboy professionally for about 13 years, was thrilled to finally qualify for the big one.
“It was exciting,” Howard said. “It’s been something I’ve been working toward my whole life. I finally got it accomplished. It’s exciting.”
For Howard, just to be at the NFR with the best of the best is a dream come true.
“It’s what everybody wants to qualify for,” Howard said. “They call it ‘The Super Bowl’ of rodeo. It’s the biggest rodeo you can qualify for. I’m looking forward to it. This is something I’ve been trying to go to for a long time now. I’m finally getting to go.”
Up to now, the Calgary Stampede Rodeo had been the biggest rodeo in which Howard competed.
“It’s the second-largest rodeo,” Howard said. “I’ve been to just about every other PRCA event, I’ve been able to go to. This was the first year I got to go to Calgary.”
Howard is hoping his experience this year at the Calgary Stampede will help him come next month’s NFR.
“It’s going to help,” Howard said. “It just gives you confidence that you can go do your job when you need to.”
For the Gates brothers, they will be in the 2025 Junior NFR, which will begin Thursday and end Dec. 8.
At first, it only looked as if Tilden was going to be the lone Gates competitor, and he was happy about that — until his brother also got lucky and earned a spot as well.
“My brother and I were riding against each other,” Tilden Gates said. “When I found out, I was excited for myself, but I also had that feeling he could not have made it. Being there were not enough contestants to go to the Junior National Finals Rodeo, the secondplace guy, who was my brother, got a chance to go, so I was very excited that he’s getting to go.”
Toren had no intentions of giving up on getting a spot to the Junior NFR.
“What went through my mind is to never get down on yourself,” Toren Gates said. “When you work for something and try hard to be the best, just keep trying. There’s always a way that you can do it. The Lord helped me get through all of it, along with my mom (Ashlie), dad (Tel) and my brother supporting through all of this, and it was just really amazing (to make it). I’m looking forward to this.” Not only will the Gates brothers compete in saddle bronc riding against the best of the best, but they will be competing against themselves.
“I would love to get first, but if he got first I’d be happy for him as well,” Tilden Gates said.
“There’s no wager really,” Toren Gates said. “Whoever does best will do best. We’re just going to support each other through it.”
Neither brother thought this opportunity would come around — let alone in just three years of competing.
“I didn’t think something like this would come this early in my life,” Tilden Gates said. “I didn’t expect it. I didn’t expect a lot of things that have happened to me to have happened. I’m glad I’m doing it this early. It’s going to be a good experience, and there’s always room to get better. This will be the largest event I will have ever been. I’m looking forward to this.”
“Honestly, this is probably one of the biggest things that has ever happened to me, being able to make it to this rodeo,” Toren Gates said. “This is a big step in my career. I always thought I could be the best and have a chance at it. You just have to keep trying and do your best every time. Every time you get behind those bucking chutes, you have to stride to ride that horse. You just have to keep working to be your best all the time.”
All three local rodeo cowboys hope when it’s all over, they will be wearing rodeo’s version of the Vince Lombardi Trophy, the prize that goes to the National Football League team that wins the Super Bowl, for rodeo — the big gold buckle.
“I don’t really know (what feelings will be felt),” Howard said. “There probably wouldn’t be any words for that. It’s the goal. At the end of the year, everyone is chasing that gold buckle.”
““I would be very excited for myself,” Tilden Gates said. “I would feel like I would have accomplished what one of my overall goals is in saddle bronc riding. Knowing what I’ve done and everybody that has supported me through everything has done a good job in doing so, it’s helped confidence wise.”
“I would feel really excited,” Toren Gates said. “I feel like I would have accomplished something really big in my life. Winning that gold buckle is a really big accomplishment. If I were to win it, I would be really proud of myself. I would want to thank everyone who has gotten me to that place — the Lord, my family and the sponsors who have helped me. Kaitlynn Hayes Wood with Rocky Mountain Mini Broncs has been huge in me and my brother’s career. I would really want to thank all of them for allowing me to have this chance and to push me to be my best.”
However, should the gold buckle not come their way, each local rodeo cowboy has some other things they would like to achieve next month.
“I just want to go compete against other guys as this will be the cream of the crop,” Howard said. “Everybody always wants to win the average or the gold buckle. Those are the two main goals. Just to go compete with the top 15 guys in the world is also just a goal.”
“If there’s not first, there’s second,” Tilden Gates said. “I would like to get at least top three. That’s my goal, but No. 1, of course, is first. There are some other good guys who will be against us there.”
“I would like to win one go-round,” Toren Gates said. “There’s three gorounds, and I would like to win at least one of those go-rounds. To get first in one of them would be great. The goal is to always get first, but you need those short-term goals to reach your big goal. My goal would be to win at least one go-round. Hopefully, that will lead to a first-place win. We’ll just have to find out.”
Besides Kaitlynn Hayes Wood, her brother, rodeo cowboy Keenan Hayes, also has been instrumental in the progression of the Gates brothers’ careers. Keenan Hayes was the 2023 Rookie of the Year and was the 2024 runner-up in the world in bareback riding.
