With great horses and an ironclad mindset, Kincade Henry secured the tie-down championship at the 2024 Greeley Stampede with an average of 26.6 seconds on three head, rounding up a total of $11,889.

To get there, Henry started with a time of 7.7 seconds aboard Tyler Popescul’s gelding, Lincoln, cashing out $4,402. He laid down a time of 9.0-seconds in Round 2 and a 9.9-second run in the final round, riding his tried-and-true gelding Mario. The nearly 12K payday is sure to set his Fourth of July run on fire.

Rough going

The past few weeks have been less than ideal for Henry, but he has made the most out of mounting out, and he is finally seeing the payoff.

Henry’s newest a-string horse “Harry” was stung at Prineville, Oregon.

“I was just going to give him some time off and save him for Calgary,” Henry said. “Since the time that I roped at Reno, I’ve mounted out at every single rodeo. I’ve been riding different horses everywhere. I’ve ridden Tyler Milligan‘s horse, Newt, along with Tyler Popescul’s sorrel gelding, Lincoln, quite a bit. Then my parents met me with Mario, and he’s going to stay with me for the rest of the Fourth run.”

Knowing he drew a great calf and had a great horse under him, the plan was simple heading into his first run at Greeley.

“I knew I was still over a week away from running my second one so I went at it like a one-header,” Henry said. “I had a phenomenal calf and the horse worked perfectly.”

Round 1 set the tone and with two solid runs to follow, Henry quickly turned around his Fourth of July run.

“Up until July 2nd, I wasn’t having a good Fourth,” Henry said. “There were a couple of places I was so close to winning, and I knew if I stuck with it, it would line out. Yesterday at Cody, Wyoming, I rode Tyler Milligan’s horse Newt again, and I went 7.9 seconds to lead it, and then I went to Greeley. It showed me one day can change everything because as of yesterday morning my Fourth was going terrible and then, as of tonight, I finally got it rolling.”

The win does not change the game plan for Henry from here on out. It is all about knocking down the next run at every rodeo and doing his job. But the game changer for Henry this year? His mental game.

“I’ve learned from every year—both the first 2 years where I didn’t make the finals, and the years I made the finals,” Henry said. “The biggest thing is confidence… So, I feel like if I can keep my confidence high I’m going to win enough. That’s just the mindset you have to have. If I make my run enough times, I’m going to finish in the top 15. If you hit the barrier, rope the neck, and ride a good horse, they’re going to pay you eventually.”

For Henry, there isn’t any room to not be 100% confident in your horsepower.

“If your horse is sitting on the trailer, and you don’t have full confidence in him, and there’s another horse there that you think you can win on, ask the guy if you can get on them,” Henry explained.  

As Cowboy Christmas is rounding out, there is still a lot of money to be won in the next few days. Keep an eye out for Henry and his traveling partner Shane Hanchey in Basin City, Washington, tonight for their Thursday performance.

2024 Greeley Stampede Tie-Down Results

First round: 1. Kincade Henry, 7.7 seconds, $4,402; 2. Quade Hiatt, 8.2, $3,828; 3. Hagen Houck, 8.3, $3,254; 4. Shane Hanchey, 8.4, $2,680; 5. Marcos Costa, 8.7, $2,105; 6. Ty Harris, 8.8, $1,531; 7. Shad Mayfield, 8.9, $957; 8. (tie) Richard Newton and Riley Mason Webb, 9.3, $191 each.

Second round: 1. Tanner Green, 7.4 seconds, $4,402; 2. Chance Oftedahl, 7.6, $3,828; 3. (tie) Cole Clemons and Marty Yates, 7.8, $2,967 each; 5. (tie) Bryce Derrer and Haven Meged, 7.9, $1,818 each; 7. (tie) Britt Bedke and Zack Jongbloed, 8.1, $670 each. Finals: 1. Jake Pratt, 8.3 seconds, $1,196; 2. Ty Harris, 9.0, $1,040; 3. Kincade Henry, 9.9, $884; 4. Shane Hanchey, 10.0, $728; 5. Clint Graves, 10.9, $572; 6. Joel Harris, 11.3, $416; 7. Dylan Hancock, 12.3, $260; 8. Hagen Houck, 13.6, $104.

Average: 1. Kincade Henry, 26.6 seconds on three head, $6,603; 2. (tie) Jake Pratt and Ty Harris, 27.2, $5,312 each; 4. Shane Hanchey, 29.6, $4,020; 5. Dylan Hancock, 30.9, $3,158; 6. Clint Graves, 31.1, $2,297; 7. Hagen Houck, 32.0, $1,436; 8. Joel Harris, 32.5, $574.