John Douch advanced early and finished fast at the San Diego Rodeo, winning three consecutive rounds to secure the title and a $29,250 payday.
Douch opened the week with an 8.0-second run in Round 1 to place third and earn $1,500, giving him a security blanket heading into the second round.
“I just made a solid run and tried to win first through fourth to win money and advance,” Douch said. “Before I even ran my second calf, I wanted to get ahead. I didn’t want to have to play catch-up later.”
He turned it on in Round 2, winning the round with a 6.8 to collect $3,500 and position himself No. 1 on the leaderboard heading into the eight-man round.
“I got to run some good calves,” Douch said. “My horse worked good and made some good runs. Everything was lining up how I wanted it to.”
The eight-man semifinal brought a stronger draw, but Douch stayed committed to the same approach. He stopped the clock in 7.9 seconds to win the round and add another $3,500.
“In the eight-man round, I ran a little stronger calf than what I’d been running,” Douch said. “I just wanted to go make a good run and let my horse do his job.”
Pressure-Filled Final Round
By the time the field was narrowed to four, the pressure was clear. Tyler Calhoun and Joe Braden laid down fast runs ahead of him, leaving Douch needing to be aggressive in the final round.
By the time the field was narrowed to four, the pressure was on. Tyler Calhoun and Joel Harris laid down fast runs ahead of him, leafing Douch needing to be aggressive in the final round.
“They put the pressure on me, that’s for sure,” Douch said. “Tyler went 7-flat and Joel went 7.2, so I knew I had to go fast.”
Douch answered with a 6.91-second run in the finals to win the round and take home $20,000, giving him three straight round wins to close out the week.
All four runs came aboard Peponchek Royalspade, aka Tomcat, Douch’s consistent black gelding that loves setups like San Diego.
“He’s pretty easy to turn calves around on,” Douch said. “In a fast setup, that’s where he’s the best. He doesn’t have the biggest stop and he’s not the biggest horse, but when he doesn’t have to see much and you’re running good calves, he gives you an advantage.”
Douch credited the cattle for allowing ropers to stay aggressive throughout the week.
“Being in California, they want good calves,” Douch said. “Nothing that’s going to hit the end of the rope too hard. Logan Bird and his dad did a great job with the cattle all week.”
Momentum Heading Into Fort Worth
The San Diego win carries momentum for Douch heading into the ProRodeo winter run.
“It gave me a lot of confidence,” Douch said. “Even though we’ll run stronger calves this winter, it helped. I’m headed to Fort Worth next, and I’m looking forward to that.”
Douch also pointed to the growing presence of open invitational rodeos as a positive direction for the sport.
“It’s pretty cool to rope in baseball fields and football stadiums for that kind of money,” Douch said. “They [rodeo fans] want to see the best of the best go head-to-head until you can see who can go the fastest.”