Proctor, Graves lead Guymon roping race as Etbauer posts fastest run
Proctor and Graves took the Guymon aggregate lead, while Etbauer’s 3.6-second steer run kept him in the money and raised the stakes on the final day.
Three seasoned Oklahoma cowboys turned Guymon’s second performance into a chase for cash, standings and another shot at local history. Between Colemon Proctor, Travis Graves and Trell Etbauer, the trio brought 25 National Finals Rodeo qualifications, four Linderman Awards and three Guymon championship belts into Texas County, and by the end of the day each man still had something to win.
Proctor and Graves were in front in the team roping aggregate with a three-run time of 21.1 seconds, and they had already banked $1,074 in the event. Proctor said he wanted to grab the average lead and maybe add a round check, a goal that fit the way the pair had already started stacking checks after a difficult winter. Proctor also picked up $1,114 in steer roping, which put him on top of the all-around race and gave him a chance at a third all-around title in Guymon.
That kind of money matters in a rodeo that has become one of the biggest paydays on the circuit. Guymon Pioneer Days paid out more than $385,000 in 2024, making it the richest rodeo in Oklahoma and a top-30 regular-season stop for the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association. The event’s pull is rooted in the early 1930s, when Guymon leaders were trying to bring visitors to a Dust Bowl town and give residents a reason to celebrate through hard times. Today, the rodeo is in the ProRodeo Hall of Fame and still carries the weight of Texas County’s biggest event.
Etbauer answered with the fastest run of the rodeo so far, a 3.6-second steer ride that bulldogged him into the round lead. He said he had to go for the round to have any chance of leaving Guymon with money, and credited getting a fast horse and a good start. The run put him in position for a payday of nearly $2,400 if the result held.
The setting only sharpened the stakes. Oklahoma tourism calls Guymon the Saddle Bronc Capital of the World, and says Pioneer Days is the fifth-largest outdoor rodeo in the nation. The 2026 celebration runs April 26 through May 3, with a parade, carnival, craft show, 5K, rodeo queen crowning, trail ride, golf tournament and mutton bustin’ alongside the rodeo. For veterans like Proctor, Graves and Etbauer, Guymon was not a routine stop. It was a place where one good run could still change a season.
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