Gail Allen wasn’t going to rope at the NTR National Finals VI, even though he had earned a discounted qualification position with Canadian, Vince Flynn, at West Wickenburg. He had been to Arizona and roped for a few weeks before returning home to his ranch outside of La Junta, Colorado, for calving season. After “moping” around for a couple of days his wife, Millie, and son-in-law, Austin Kuhn, told him to go on back. It’s thanks to Kuhn, who has stepped up on the ranch, that Allen gets to spend the time that he does in the Team Roping Capital of the World.

“They said I was no good to them there,” Allen, who runs about 420 cow-calf pairs on the main ranch and another 200-300 dispersed in the region, said. He and Millie loaded back up and he told Flynn he’d be there.

The trip paid off when the duo roped their four steers in 38.96 seconds to take home $18,300 in cash plus prizes. Allen’s fancy Scott Thomas trophy saddle was the first he had won in his 66 years and it will remain in the living room where he can keep a close eye on it. This summer he won a second saddle when he placed fifth in the #8.5 Saddle Up at the NTR Western Frontier in Cheyenne, Wyoming, with Merrill Bond.

Prior to moving to the grass-land ranch in La Junta in 2004, the Allens did mostly dry land wheat farming in Genoa, Colorado, while hauling their five daughters to rodeos and horse shows. In the mid-80s they started putting on rodeo bible camps which in turn led to many lifelong friends, including their winter host, and Allen’s roping coach for the last 15 years, Dale Woodard. Soon after relocating to Southeastern Colorado they started a cowboy ministry that is still going strong today. Valley Cowboy Church meets on Tuesday evenings and you can follow them 24-7 on Facebook.

Allen was riding a 2011 model gelding to his NTR Finale win.

Registered, Four Red Tip, “Grady” originally came off the Haythorn Ranch in Nebraska. He had a couple of owners before he found himself under Allen’s guidance as a 4-year-old.

“We do everything on him,” Allen said. “We use them all on the ranch to keep them thinking about something besides team roping.”

A semi-retired truck driver, Flynn, calls Alberta, Canada, home and he classifies himself, and his horse, too, as a header first, even though been heeling on 10-year-old “Chimmi” the last few years—and quite successfully to boot.

This summer Flynn had a knee replacement that was healing well and while he won’t let that keep him from heading south, there may be some other factors to consider. At press time he was looking forward to when they would be releasing new information regarding land travel across the US-Canadian border. His winter plans were pending based on that decision. His hope is to return to his newly purchased place in Wittman around Christmas time.

“We just got a new place there,” Flynn said. “We were able to use some of the money we won to do some things there that we otherwise wouldn’t have been able to do.”

Flynn and his wife, Anne, both enjoy roping and are optimistic.

However, if COVID-19 restrictions keep them from hauling horses across the border, and they have to resort to flying, Allen has a backup plan.

“I’ll bring him a horse,” Allen said. “Especially if he keeps heeling steers like he has been!”