Roy Lee dominated the 2024 Great Lakes Circuit Finals in Louisville, Kentucky, held Nov. 14-16, with a 13-second lead to claim the average title, while Cody Huber’s consistency secured him second place in the average and his sixth year-end title.
Lee picked up two round wins at the Great Lakes Circuit Finals, securing the average win with a time of 26.6 seconds on three head and $10,258.
Huber grabbed a check in the second round of the finals, setting him up for a second-place finish in the average. In total, Huber won $5,493 en route to the year-end title.
Family Legacy
Huber, 31, was born into the sport of rodeo. Huber’s father, Bill, has a pair of NFR qualifications and is a legend in the ProRodeo circuit system. Bill holds 29 year-end titles, 22 of which are in the calf roping.
Unsurprisingly, Huber chose to follow in his father’s footsteps and has won nearly $300,000 in the PRCA. This year, Huber finished the season with $37,679, a whopping $11,844 ahead of Lee at No. 2.
“The circuit finals really didn’t go as planned,” Huber said. “I had a good lead going in and my goal was to try to win the average. I started on a new horse that I had just bought, and I didn’t think he left off my hand well enough, so I switched to my old horse and won second in the second round. I had to two-loop my third one, so I was 21 seconds, but I won second in the average.”
In the first round, Huber was aboard 18-year-old APHA gelding Stormy Delta Streak. In the second and third rounds, Huber switched to the main horse he rode through the season: 19-year-old bay gelding DB Royal Star Jet, aka “Rudy.”
Freedom Hall
There’s nothing quite like the bright lights of the Thomas & Mack during December—but the Great Lakes guys think Freedom Hall in Louisville is a close second.
“I don’t know what it’s like to run one at the NFR, but I know what it’s like to run ’em in Louisville,” Huber said. “There’s nothing more special than Saturday night in Freedom Hall; there’s so many people. I don’t want to be anywhere else other than Louisville in the third week of November.”
Lee agrees that there is no atmosphere quite like the Great Lakes Circuit Finals.
“If I never make the NFR, there’ll be nothing closer to it,” Lee said. “Joe Beaver is an eight-time world champion, and he said that’s the closest thing he’s experienced to the NFR.”
3X GLCF Average Champ
Lee, 27, left his fifth GLCF with his third average title. He won the second and third rounds en route to the average win and $10,258.
“I nailed the start on my first run,” Lee said. “I should have tied him in a short eight, but I flanked him a little high and missed my hooey. I ended up fifth in the round with a 9.7. In the second round, I had a calf that I really liked. They tied him in 10 in the first round, and he pushed when tied. I’m pretty good with cattle that are on the stronger end. I missed the barrier a little but didn’t panic. When I got it around his neck, I felt it in slow motion; everything was perfect. I was 8.6, halfway down the arena. It was probably my best run of the weekend.”
Lee went into the third round with a strong lead over Huber in the average. Lee was 8.4 seconds in the third round to secure the round and average win.
“Everyone there was the best in the circuit, but there were three of us who had a shot at winning the average,” Lee said. “I had a two-second lead over Austin (Madison) and a second lead over Cody . Both of those guys missed in the third round. The first thing that came to mind was that I just needed to tie him down. But that’s not how I rope. I didn’t need to do anything different. I just needed to nail the start and rope the calf. It’s $3,000 rounds, so you have to take full advantage of that.”
For most of the season, Lee struggled with soundness issues on his good horse, Pickle.
“I didn’t get to ride Pickle much this year,” Lee said. “I rode him at five or six rodeos in May, but I could tell he was hurting. When I left on June 28th, I didn’t take him. I took Mr. Cliff Morrison’s horse, T, and that’s all I’ve had to ride. T is great, but he got a little sore before Louisville. My dad told me I needed to get on Pickle, and he was right. This weekend would not have been possible without Cliff Morrison giving me a horse to ride when I didn’t have one.”
Making the switch back to Pickle paid off for Lee.
“Pickle is so fast across the line and lets me rope fast—it’s easy on him,” Lee said. “He’s so forgiving. He makes it easy in a setup like Louisville where the calves are loping off to the right.”
Added Money
Last year, the GLCF paid a total of $6,149 in each round and $9,220 in the average. This year, the total payout in the calf roping increased by over $1,000 in the rounds and average, making each round pay a total of $7,327 and $10,990 in the average.
“Wayne (Knutson, the Great Lakes Circuit Director) prides himself on wanting to be the highest-paying circuit finals,” Lee said. “The biggest check I’ve won in the PRCA was this year at the finals, and I only had to compete against 12 people to do it. Not many people can say that.”
Lee has big goals for the 2025 rodeo season and hopes the money won at the GLCF is just the start he needs.
“There’s always goals to do this or that,” Lee said. “It’d be nice to know that Louisville helped me make the NFR—that’s a goal. There are other goals, too, like getting in the top 30 or 40. But the main goal is to try and get inside the top 30 because that gets you into any rodeo you want next year.”
