After No. 6 IFYR finish, Sparks eyes world title
After a big finish in his first run at the International Finals Youth Rodeo and an appearance at the National High School Finals Rodeo, Hazen Sparks of Talihina is gearing up for a big season as an up-andcoming steer wrestler.
“This [year] is by far the best,” Sparks said. “I got a new horse. If it weren’t for him, I don’t think I would have had such a good run.”
Sparks, a Buffalo Valley High School student, finished sixth in the IFYR, which was July 10-15 at the Heart of Oklahoma Expo Center in Shawnee.
“I think next year, if I’m more experienced and run a little better, I think I could win the whole thing,” he said.
He held the same spot at the end of the second go-round before clocking a time of 6.2 seconds in the final on July 15.
“My approach [in the short round] was to just go out there and have my run and let the rest handle itself. I was just a few seconds away from winning, so if one of those guys stubbed their toe, I’d be right there. They didn’t. They bulldogged good and won the whole thing. I was pretty blessed to go out and win some money for my first year,” he said.
Sparks had a strong sense of the steer that he wrestled in second round.
“I knew I drew a pretty good steer. The guy before me had a pretty good run on it. He was 5.5 on it. I knew that steer could be a lot faster. I knew if I could be a four-something, I could climb up in the average and that would put me in the short go,” he said.
Bulldogging the steer in 4.1 seconds that round put him in a safe position.
In watching steers when other contestants go after them, Sparks keeps an eye on how the steers go out of the chute.
“I want to know if they’re going to run hard or if they’re going to stop and let off; and I really want to know when they catch, how much action they’re going to have to hit,” he said. “This steer ran pretty straight, so when I caught him, I just took his nubs and he took the fall pretty good. I thought that might win the round, but it got me third. My third steer ran a little to the left and didn’t really give me a good go. I got him on the ground, but just wasn’t fast enough.”
Sparks competed in steer wrestling at the NHSFR in Gillette, Wyo., last week, but did not place.
Sparks qualified for the NHSFR by placing third in the Oklahoma High School Finals Rodeo 2021-22 season points.
He entered the OHSRA finals fourth in points and won the average at the finals to gain third place and qualify for the NHSFR.
Sparks said it took a little time to get used to his new horse, Peso.
“He’s a bit of a step up for me,” Sparks said. “Once we started connecting and getting along better, we started winning and getting more money.”
That enabled Sparks to jump from 12th in the OHSRA steer wrestling standings to fourth.
Sparks said he is looking forward to making a strong start at the OHSRA opener Aug. 28-29 in Lawton and competing in Mike Bush Steer Wrestling in Stigler, among other events.
Sparks was one of two BV athletes who placed highly at IFYR, along with Zane Collins, who took runner-up in team roping with Nicholas Lovins of Canadian, Texas, in 20.8 seconds.