CROSSFIRE CALLS
ON FEBRUARY 18, DURING THE SECOND ROUND OF THE SEMI-FINALS AT THE TELEVISED SAN ANTONIO RODEO, STEVEN AND JASON DUBY CAME TIGHT IN A NEAR-WORLD-RECORD 3.5 SECONDS TO WIN THE ROUND BY A HALF-SECOND AND EARN $10,000 PLUS ADVANCEMENT TO THE FINALS, WHERE A SIMILAR RUN WOULD NET THEM ANOTHER $30,000 AND A FIFTH-PLACE RANKING IN THE WORLD.
EXCEPT THEY DIDN’T.
The brothers from Oregon were flagged out for crossfire, despite the fact that everyone in San Antone and across the country via live TV believed they watched the steer take a complete hop in tow before he was roped.
“I asked Matt Sherwood to tell them I’m sorry,” flagger Chuck Hoss said of his mistake. “I’d like to fix it, but I can’t.”
Why is it such a tough call, and how does our industry make sure the right paychecks get into the right pockets? We picked the brains of some experts for insights.
Crossfiring caught attention in the early 1970s when a couple of kids beat the pros at a big jackpot doing it. It became illegal as the late Rickey Green got very good at catching doubles in the switch. PRCA directors like Dick Yates outlawed it in the 1980s to preserve the integrity of horsemanship and roping fundamentals.
Back then, only a few guys could even do it. Now, not only can all the pro heelers pull it off, but scores are shorter than ever, steers are tinier and handles are faster. Worse, crossfire calls are like pass
