STAY CONNECTED:
Clay Tom Hurt Aims to Add U.S. Junior Steer Wrestling Championship to His Collection
By Jennifer Fierro
Since he made his debut at the first U.S. Junior Steer Wrestling Championship last year, Clay Tom Hurt of Dilley has added a title to his resume – 2022 Texas High School Rodeo Association State Champion.
That makes him one to watch at this year’s U.S. Junior Steer Wrestling Championship and Leon Bauerle Cowboy Reunion, which is Sunday, Oct. 9, at the Charley Taylor Arena, 3053 U.S. 281 in Marble Falls, and is hosted by the Gunner Thames Memorial Foundation. It will give the contestants all 18 years old on Jan. 1 the opportunity to determine who is the best Junior Steer Wrestler in the country.
Gates open at 1 p.m with festivities starting at 2 p.m. and steer wrestling beginning at 3 p.m.
Admission is $10 per vehicle at the gate with 100 percent of the proceeds going to the Gunner Thames Memorial Foundation. The $10 is a donation and spectators who can not donate won't be turned away.
Though he “didn’t do well” at last year’s U.S. Junior Steer Wrestling Championship, Hurt said he liked every aspect.
“I truly enjoyed the atmosphere they put on,” he said. “They are people who really care about steer wrestling.”
Then he began listing what stood out beginning with the other attraction to the event.
“I enjoyed the steers they brought in,” he said. “It leveled the playing field for everybody. On every single (competitor), they had a backstory about you. They knew my grandpa from way back when.”
The grandson of Bill Rob Miller and the son of Travis Hurt, Clay Tom is making a name for himself as one of the most complete up-and-coming steer wrestlers in the country. He said he has plenty of his dad in him.
“I know I’m a lot like my dad,” he said. “I’m stubborn about it – to be the best I can be. He always instilled in me to work hard and do whatever it takes.”
That was apparent in how he won the Texas state championship in steer wrestling in June. He took a tumble but still turned the steer while keeping his back level and gritted his teeth for the win.
Clay Tom Hurt and Little Montana “Bronc” winning the 2022 Texas High School State Championship. Photos courtesy of Jamie Hurt.
Clay Tom has been steer wrestling for four-and-half years and says it’s as natural to him as breathing.
“There’s no other feeling like steer wrestling,” he said. “I love every bit of it. It’s fun – there’s nothing better than that. There’s no greater rush than steer wrestling. It’s the coolest thing in the world, and it makes you feel amazing.”
He is a freshman on the South Plains Community College rodeo team where he’s studying kinesiology. He plans to continue steer wrestling with a long term goal of becoming a physical therapist.
“I haven’t gone to a college rodeo yet, but so far I love it,” he said. “I love being on a team to push each other. There’s always someone here. People are here to help you any time. They’re very passionate about what they do.”
In addition to winning the state championship, Clay Tom also captured the Region 8 championship and aims to keep adding to his belt buckle collection. That includes giving it his all at the U.S. Junior Steer Wrestling Championship.
“I did some things I wanted to do,” he said. “It makes you feel great to be a part of something that has been passed and loved. It’s an honor to compete in an event with a bunch of guys who are talented in the exact same way.”
The Cowboy Channel, an American television network, will air the U.S. Junior Steer Wrestling Championship sometime before the National Finals Rodeo. The network carries Western and rodeo sports and is in more than 42 million cable and satellite homes. It is headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas.
Money Raised from the U.S. Jr Steer Wrestling Championship to go to The Gunner Thames Foundation's Crisis Fund
By Jennifer Fierro
Few would have blamed the Thames family for simply saying thank you to the numerous people who helped them when Gunner Thames unexpectedly passed Sept. 9, 2011 from a head injury in a steer wrestling event.
Instead his father, John, made a vow during a benefit outloud to one of his other sons during a benefit for Gunner, who asked “how will we ever pay it back?”
“We’ll find a way,” his dad said. “We’ll pay it back 10 fold.”
A decade later, The Gunner Thames Foundation based in Hays County has done just that by raising money through what Gunner loved – rodeo.
That’s one reason why The Gunner Thames Foundation is the host of this year’s U.S. Junior Steer Wrestling Championship and Leon Bauerle Cowboy Reunion, which is Oct. 9 at the Charley Taylor Arena, 3053 U.S. 281 in Marble Falls. This event allows young men 19 years old the opportunity to determine who is the best Junior Steer Wrestler in the nation.
Gates open at 1 p.m with festivities starting at 2 p.m. and steer wrestling beginning at 3 p.m.
Admission is $10 per vehicle at the gate with 100 percent of the proceeds going to the Gunner Thames Foundation. The $10 is a donation and spectators who can not donate won't be turned away.
John Thames said the admission money will go to the foundation’s crisis fund that is used to help those facing unexpected financial hardships that include medical expenses, unforeseen tragedies such as house fires and the like, and other setbacks.
“One hundred percent off the Junior Steer Wrestling Championship will go into our crisis fund,” he said, adding that tens of thousands of dollars have been distributed from the fund already. “The crisis fund will always give all over. I would say 50 percent of our funds have gone outside of Hays County. The money made off this will go to our crisis fund to help families in need.”
But the foundation helps people in other ways, too, while also honoring Gunner, John said.
In addition to the crisis fund, the foundation also gives scholarships to deserving youth rodeo athletes “to further their education” whether that’s in pursuit of a four-year degree, trade school or other type of higher education and to support FFA and 4H children by purchasing their livestock and show projects.
Gunner was known as a Cowboy’s Cowboy because of his love of working with all species of livestock, showing animals, hunting and fishing. He also loved spending time with children, especially at rodeos. So helping those involved in FFA and 4H and rodeo families is a reflection of how Gunner helped others, too.
“We started the foundation to give back to our community,” John said as he thought back to the moments following Gunner’s passing. “Just the outpouring of support and love from our community – from our rodeo community and our rodeo family – we wanted in some way to give back.”
Shortly after the benefit for the Thames family, John welcomed some buddies to his home and they brainstormed. That’s when the foundation was born. Since then more than $1 million has been distributed with much of the money coming from its Gunner Thames Memorial Rodeo held during Labor Day weekend in Wimberley.
“That’s our main draw,” John said.
As for the foundation’s involvement in the U.S. Junior Steer Wrestling Championship, John said the foundation’s board of directors unanimously said yes to hosting.
“We thought it would be a great fit,” he said. “We get together to help each other out. We have a great group of steer wrestlers coming to Marble Falls.”
In addition to being talented and hard-working contestants, the steer wrestlers also exemplify the best of being a Cowboy as polite young men willing to help others, John pointed out.
Much like his own son, who was an avid steer wrestler. Standing 6 feet 4 inches and weighing 140 pounds when he was 15 years old, his dad noted Gunner “was a little bit too large to be a bareback rider.” John, a former bareback rider himself, would know. But his son was perfect for bulldogging and was making a reputation that caught the attention of other competitors, former steer wrestlers and fans and carrying on the Thames name proudly.
So when Gunner died, the Thames family was covered in so many ways that John lost count.
“It’s all about the friendships you form over the years,” he said. “I got support from my family and unbelievable support from the rodeo family.”
Sponsors to Draft Top Four Remaining Contestants of the U.S. Jr Steer Wrestling Championship
By Jennifer Fierro
Contestants competing in the U.S. Junior Steer Wrestling Championship aren’t the only ones vying for a share of the $12,500 that will be handed out in prize money – they’re also trying to get drafted.
That’s because four of the sponsors – Chevrolet Buick Marble Falls, Collier Materials Inc., G. Gray Services and Topper Real Estate – will participate in a draft of the four remaining steer wrestlers who qualify for the match tournament.
The event, hosted by The Gunner Thames Foundation, is Sunday, Oct. 9, at the Charley Taylor Arena, 3053 U.S. 281 in Marble Falls. It will give the contestants all 18 years old on Jan. 1 the opportunity to determine who is the best Junior Steer Wrestler in the country.
Gates open at 1 p.m with festivities starting at 2 p.m. and steer wrestling beginning at 3 p.m.
Admission is $10 per vehicle at the gate with 100 percent of the proceeds going to the Gunner Thames Foundation. The $10 is a donation and spectators who can not donate won't be turned away.
To become the U.S. Junior Steer Wrestling Champion contestants must be consistent throughout the event.
The champion competes in a three-round qualifier and a four-man match tournament. The qualifier has $3,000 added money with a $1,000 bonus to the average winner. The four contestants with the most money won in the three-round qualifier advance to the match play tournament. The top money winner faces the fourth-place money winner, while the second- and third-place money winners play each other in the semifinals. The winners of the semifinals then meet in the final to determine the champion.
“The sponsors will watch the three rounds and they’ll see the winners,” said steering committee member Todd Fox. “The sponsors are going to draw for positions and then draft their man based on what they have seen during the qualifier.”
When the champion is determined, he’ll win $5,000 and the Reagon Walker Buckle, created to honor the late Reagon Walker, who is one of the most decorated Texas High School rodeo athletes in history who died in an auto accident in 2011. One year later, Reagon was inducted into the Texas Rodeo Cowboy Hall of Fame. His parents, Byron and Mary, who also are Hall of Famers, are donating the Reagon Walker Award Buckle.
The champion also will be photographed with his sponsor.
Topper Real Estate is looking to repeat as the winning sponsor. In 2021 the real estate company drafted Clay Clayman from Missouri, who won the U.S. championship in Wimberley when he defeated Benny Boyd Auto Group’s man, Jack Kahla, from Jasper, Texas in the finals.
“You want the sponsors more involved so they have somebody to cheer for,” Fox said. “You see somebody during the event and you’re drawn to him. You pull for your guy.”
Fox noted that’s exactly what happened last year with Clayman. His performances in the opening rounds showed his talent and ability.
2021 U.S. Junior Steer Wrestling Champion Clay Clayman (middle, holding the red, white and blue cap) with the members of the Topper Real Estate Team that sponsored the champion: Phil Clayman (left), Tommy Puryear, Byron Walker, Clayman, Ote Berry, Rodney Topper and Jack Clayman.
“It was obvious,” he said. “There are three elements to steer wrestling: you have to score, give the steer the right amount of head start and catch the steer, and you have to throw the steer down flat. This event brings all three elements into play, the degree of difficulty is much higher than rodeos with one run. The young man that does all three things the best that day will be the champion. Our goal is to provide the best contest we can to identify not only the best competitor but also the best Cowboy."
And it’s easy for people to root for these young men, he pointed out, because of their commitment to improving every day. Once spectators see these contestants, they become lifelong fans and enjoy following them as they move from competing for junior championships to world titles.
“These boys are juniors and seniors in high school and freshmen in college,” Fox said. “The sponsors will bring as many people as they can. I hope everyone comes out to watch. The matches are so much fun. It’s like going to the horse races – you just never know what's going to happen until it’s over. The more people there, the more fun we will have.”
Traden Anderson has Unfinished Business at the U.S. Jr Steer Wrestling Championship and Leon Bauerle Cowboy Reunion
By Jennifer Fierro
“I won a round then I messed up and broke a barrier,” he said. “Hopefully we’ll come back with good intentions.”
Anderson, who is the 2021 National High School Champion Steer Wrestler and two-time Oklahoma High School Rodeo Association state champion, is one of the many top young steer wrestlers in the country who will compete for the title of U.S. Junior Steer Wrestling Champion at the Charley Taylor Arena in Marble Falls, Texas Sunday, Oct. 9, where $12,500 in prizes will be handed out.
The champion competes in a three-round qualifier and a four-man match tournament. The qualifier has $3,000 added money with a $1,000 bonus to the average winner. The four contestants with the most money won in the three-round qualifier advance to the match play tournament. The top money winner faces the fourth-place money winner, while the second- and third-place money winners play each other in the semifinals. The winners of the semifinals then meet in the final to determine the champion.
The champion wins $5,000 and the Reagon Walker Buckle, created to honor the late Reagon Walker, who is one of the most decorated Texas High School rodeo athletes in history who died in an auto accident in 2011. One year later, Reagon was inducted into the Texas Rodeo Cowboy Hall of Fame. His parents, Hall of Famers Byron and Mary Walker, are donating the Reagon Walker Award Buckle.
The Reserve Champion wins $2,500. The contestant with the fastest time of the day in the qualifying rounds or matches receives a $1,000 bonus.
Anderson, who hails from Hanna, Okla., likes the way the champion is determined because of the number of rounds that must be won.
“It’s great money, a great event for young steer wrestlers who are starting out,” he said. “The steers were phenomenal (last year). You have to be consistent. You have to throw every steer down with a clean barrier. It determines who the best man is in the sport. There’s always one winner and one loser, and that’s the way it goes.”
Traden Anderson is looking to add the U.S. Junior Steer Wrestling Championship to his already big list of titles that include the 2021 National High School Champion Steer Wrestler and two-time Oklahoma High School Rodeo Association state champion.
Anderson, 19, has been steer wrestling for three years and has a built-in hazer: his dad Josh.
“He’s got more money won,” Traden said. “My career is really starting to get going. It’s brought us closer. We’re going up and down the road and we’re side by side. I look at him as my best friend. There’s nobody in this world who does as much for me. He’s retired. He hazes for me and helps me as much as he can.”
The more the younger Anderson steer wrestles, the more he enjoys it.
“The amount of adrenaline I get from getting on a steer and throwing him,” he said. “It feels like a lifestyle. You have to try to keep on going and keep the lifestyle alive. This is my life.”
Anderson knew the moment he first tried steer wrestling that he found his event. It happened during a visit to the Duvall Steer Wrestling Jackpot – the Bulldogging Capital of the World – at Checotah, Oklahoma, the place insiders say is for the toughest steer wrestlers to compete against each other. Anderson met Riley Duvall, grandson of legendary steer wrestler and teacher Bill Duval, a 2018 inductee into the Rodeo Hall of Fame. Riley Duvall chiseled his name in the record books as a two-time defending national high school steer wrestling champion and three-time Oklahoma state champion.
“From the first day on that first time I jumped a steer, they had me,” Anderson said. “From the moment I caught my first steer and threw him, I knew I could always be better than I was, that I was doing something every day to get better.”
And he hasn’t stopped working since that day three years earlier. Now he is a member of the Southeastern Oklahoma State University Rodeo team, accepting a full scholarship to steer wrestle for the Savage Storm.
“We bulldog every single day,” he said.
Though he is an undecided major, there’s no questioning his commitment to steer wrestling. He noted the rodeo team goes to National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association rodeos and even when he’s not bull dogging, he’s at the arena training horses.
“It’s just one of my gigs,” he said. “I have a relationship with animals and horses that draws me closer. Steer wrestling is my path in life.”
'The Voice,' Top Officials to Call The U.S. Jr Steer Wrestling Championship
By Jennifer Fierro
The best young bulldoggers aren’t the only ones coming to Marble Falls for the U.S. Junior Steer Wrestling Championship and Leon Bauerle Cowboy Reunion Sunday, Oct. 9.
So are the industry’s most recognizable voices and faces.
The U.S. Junior Steer Wrestling Championship and Leon Bauerle Cowboy Reunion, hosted by The Gunner Thames Memorial Foundation, is at the Charley Taylor Arena, 3053 U.S. 281 in Marble Falls, and allows young men 19 years old the opportunity to determine who is the best Junior Steer Wrestler in the nation.
Gates open at 1 p.m with festivities starting at 2 p.m. and steer wrestling beginning at 3 p.m.
Admission is $10 per vehicle at the gate with 100 percent of the proceeds going to the Gunner Thames Foundation. The $10 is a donation and spectators who choose not to donate won't be turned away.
Sitting in the arena to call the action are
Randy Schmutz, “The Voice” of The American rodeo at AT&T Stadium in Arlington. The American rodeo is the richest single-day rodeo in the world and the premier bull riding event.
Randy Schmutz, “the voice” of The American rodeo, is calling the action of the U.S. Junior Steer Wrestling Championship.
Butch Kirby, the 1978 World Champion Bull Rider who was inducted into Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame in 2020. He qualified for the National Finals Rodeo eight times. After he retired from bull riding, he became a pro official for the PRCA for 27 years. He also has been a Wrangler National Finals Rodeo official for 30 years. He is married to Marble Falls High School graduate Jo Cox.
Matt Reeves, the 2019 Wrangler NFR steer wrestling champion, who is married to Marble Falls High School graduate Savanah Koenig. Reeves is a PRCA official.
Matt Reeves and his wife Savanah, a Marble Falls High School graduate.
The U.S. Junior Steer Wrestling Championship is drawing the top junior steer wrestlers from states known for producing great rodeo athletes. These contestants are state champion steer wrestlers who compete on various circuits and at the top rodeos around the country.
When the U.S. Junior Steer Wrestling Championship steering committee examined the elements of a tremendous rodeo, the members knew immediately having great officials and announcers to match the talents of the contestants was the priority, committee member Todd Fox said. It was a no-brainer to ask these men to be a part of it, he added.
2019 Wrangler National Finals Rodeo steer wrestling champion Matt Reeves is an official at the U.S. Junior Steer Wrestling Championship.
“This is a world-class event,” he said. “This is an opportunity to promote these kids. So when they start appearing on the Cowboy Channel, people will recognize them. This is how it should be done.”
He noted it didn’t take long for the trio to say yes.
“Randy and Butch are excited to come do it,” Fox said. “We tried to get the best we could.”
CLAY CLAYMAN
By Jennifer Fierro
Clay Clayman is enjoying a terrific 2022 that most cowboys his age dream of..
In March, the 19-year-old won the Junior Ironman at the historic Lazy E Arena in Guthrie, Oklahoma where he rewrote the record books in several events that include calf roping, heeling and steer wrestling. By the time the rodeo ended, Clayman earned $21,500.
Clayman was able to compete in the Junior Ironman because he won the World Championship Junior Rodeo Steer Wrestling title in December, months after capturing the first U.S. Junior Steer Wrestling Championship in Wimberley, Texas.
“It was a cool deal,” he said of the U.S. Junior Steer Wrestling Championship. “They put on such a great event. They invited 25 of us, and I don’t think anyone didn’t like it. I’m very sad that I aged out of it. There is no event for the youth like the U.S. Junior Steer Wrestling Championship.”
The 2022 U.S. Junior Steer Wrestling Championship and Leon Bauerle Cowboy Reunion is Sunday, Oct. 9, at the Charley Taylor Arena in Marble Falls, Texas.
What stood out to Clayman is the way the champion is crowned. Each competitor gets three qualifying rounds. The top four advance to the semifinals where the top money winner faces the fourth-best money winner while the second- and third-best money winners compete against each other. The winners from the semifinals face off in the final.
“You have to make 11 runs and the fastest time wins,” Clayman said. “There’s a little bit of chance and a lot of luck. If you finish in the top 1 through 4, you won’t luck your way into winning those. It’s going to go to whoever shows up and does the job that day. It is the premier steer wrestling event of the year for sure.”
Todd Fox, a 2003 Texas Rodeo Cowboy Hall of Fame inductee, is a member of the steering committee that organized the U.S. Junior Steer Wrestling Championship, which is hosted by the Gunner Thames Memorial Foundation. A former steer wrestler himself, Fox has several reasons he wanted to be a part of the committee.
The first is to showcase the talented juniors who are carrying on the greatness of steer wrestling. It also honors the work of the Gunner Thames Memorial Foundation and the Reagon Walker Foundation that were created to honor two rodeo competitors who tragically died. The foundations exist to help cowboys, their families and organizations devoted to carrying on the legacy of the American cowboy. And finally, this event pays homage to legendary steer wrestler Leon Bauerle, who recently died and left instructions not to have a funeral. So Fox decided to create an event that Bauerle would love where competitors and their families had the feeling of a backyard barbecue that allowed the young men to do what they do best.
Clayman, aged 19, has been steer wrestling since he was 13, six years after he began team roping. While he acknowledges the danger in steer wrestling “might be a little greater in our sport,” it is part of the Clayman family.
He is the next generation of Claymans to rodeo, following in the footsteps of his grandfather, his dad, John Clayman, and his uncles. The Claymans radiate the cowboy way of life. Since his birth, Clay has lived on his family’s quarter horse ranch and has worked there. He is involved with training and breaking colts and rodeoing. If quarter horses are the family business, steer wrestling is the family event.
“I always wanted to be a bulldogger,” Clay said. “Since I couldn’t steer wrestle (at a younger age), I started roping. It’s a family deal that runs in the blood. It all started with my great-grandfather. My grandpa was bulldogger. I’m the fifth generation to grow up on the ranch we live on.”
Uncle Phil might be the most accomplished family bulldogger, but Clay is nipping at his heels. Phil qualified for the finals 14 of the 16 years he was a professional and won the Great Lakes Circuit three times.
Needless to say, Clay has great mentors who give him quality coaching faster than any steer he can wrestle.
“All of my family are teachers and coaches,” he said. “One of my cousins is starting to get into rodeoing. He’s starting to rope a little more but nothing competitive. I’m the only one out of my siblings. I’m the only one doing it on the pro level. I wouldn’t want to do anything else. It’s what I’ve always wanted to do.”
The schedule is grueling for these competitors. In the first week of the season, Clay competed in eight rodeos in seven days and pointed to a truth.
“You can’t win any money if you’re not entered,” he said. “We have to feed our horses. The only way for us to make money is if we’re competing.”
While he is proud to have won the U.S. Junior Steer Wrestling Championship, Clay also teamed with Cooper Freeman to capture the championship for team roping average at the 2021 National High School Finals. He tied for third in the All-Around Cowboy competition and finished sixth in steer wrestling average. He also qualified to compete for the Great Lakes Circuit Finals in team roping.
“You only have four years to do that,” he said of the National High School Finals. “That was, for sure, memorable.”
He pointed out there’s still much to be accomplished in 2022 beginning with the Finals of the Great Lakes Circuit that includes the states of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio and Wisconsin. The Finals are in Louisville, Kentucky.
“This season isn’t over,” he said. “There’s still the Great Lakes Circuit Finals. I want to go back to get (the steer wrestling championship) accomplished.”
Jennifer Fierro
All articles are written by the brilliant journalist, Jennifer Fierro of Marble Falls, TX.
We are so grateful for all of the hard work Jennifer has dedicated to creating exposure for the U.S. Jr Steer Wrestling Championship. Without the work of Jennifer, our event would not have the following and excitement that it has today.
Thank you Jennifer!
