On Mar. 10 inside Will Rogers Coliseum, pole bender Merrick Moyer and goat tyer Alli Autrey capitalized on the $100,000 bonus round at the Hooey Junior Patriot finals and split the bonus money, plus cashed in during their respective events.
Merrick Moyer is a WCRA standout competitor and the reigning National Junior High School Finals Rodeo barrel racing champion, and she jockeyed her way to a 20.540-second time to finish in the third-place finals position and earn $10,500.
Then, Moyer kicked off the $100,000 bonus round as the first runner of three pole benders to return. In order to put her name in the hat, she had to beat the 20.364-second time turned in by Worth Evans in the 15-man round. She posted an impressive 20.256-second time that made her the first contestant eligible for the $100,000 Hooey Junior Patriot bonus money. The eventual $50,000 she would split brought her total earnings to $60,500.
“My plan going in was to be smooth,” Moyer said. “I knew Tootsie would take care of herself if I focused on staying in straight lines through the poles—that’s when she can clock. She’s just such a tough mare, you can see how much grit and try she has.”
“Tootsie,” is registered JR Driftwood Pac, an 18-year-old mare owned by Taylor Algrim, has been Moyer’s longtime pole bending companion.
Moyer multiplied her opportunities at the Hooey Junior Patriot by nominating for the World Champions Junior Rodeo events through the WCRA. She’s been a longtime fan of the WCRA, WRWC and WCJR events through the years and praised the associations for their well-organized events, great ground and stellar payout. Click here to learn more, and keep up with WCJR/WCRA news at BarrelRacing.com.
Moyer sat in waiting as the other events rolled through, as each tried to beat out the fastest time posted in the preliminary finals round to add their name to the bonus list.
Meanwhile, Alli Autrey was riding the high from the blazing 6.40 that earned her the $10,000 first-place finish and preparing to challenge her own time to get in on the bonus. Her technique looked flawless as she put an exclamation point on her outstanding week in Fort Worth with a 6.33-second time that was worth the $50,000 check, bringing her total earnings in the finals to $60,000.
“(Hooey Junior Patriot) is something I put on the calendar every year,” Autrey said. “But this—it’s unreal. People don’t think of the goat tyers much. It’s always about the barrel racers or the breakaway ropers. But it’s starting to grow, and I’m so thankful for this.
Autrey’s partner in crime was the iconic buckskin pony, “Freak,” whose red eye blinders and explosive speed made him a fan-favorite all week in Fort Worth.
“My horse makes it fun for me,” Autrey said. “If I didn’t have him, I wouldn’t do it. He’s the one.”
Stay tuned for full event results and more from The Patriot barrel racing, pole bending and goat tying at BarrelRacing.com, and in the meantime head over to www.PatriotEvent.com for full results and more.
