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| Mid Atlantic Championships Good Evening Ranch - Canvas, WV August 11-12, 2007 |
By Ben Clements
The City of Summersville, West Virginia is the County Seat of Nicholas County and is located in central West Virginia.
Summersville is one of the premier tourist attractions in the state. It is the home of West Virginia’s largest lake. With over
2,800 acres of water and 60 miles of shoreline, Summersville Lake provides recreational adventure for everyone from
weekend vacationers to outdoor extremists. Enthusiasts enjoy swimming, fishing, scuba diving, hiking, mountain biking, rock
climbing and some of the best whitewater rafting in the East. Other attractions include dining, golfing, Carnifex Ferry State
Park and annual Gospel and Bluegrass Festivals. Summersville serves approximately 3,200 residents. Right next door to
Summersville is Canvas, the home of the Good Evening Ranch and the home of the Mid Atlantic Championships. The event
took place August 11-12, 2007 and was produced by Jx2 Productions. Ropers from 20 different states attend the annual
event and enjoyed the spirit of team roping.
One such team roping enthusiast and competitor that especially enjoyed the event was Mary Ann Brown from Keedysville,
Maryland. Brown took home $2826, a USTRC National Finals Shoot Out, three USTRC Regional Finals Shoot Outs, a
USTRC Gold Plus National Shoot Out, a trophy Gist buckle, and two trophy saddle pads.
“West Virginia was finally good to me and I had some luck,” said Brown with a laugh. “We love going to this roping because it
is closer to home than some of the other events and it is just a really good roping. John Johnson does a lot of extra things
to make the roping really roper friendly and fun.”
Brown and her husband Kenny took first place in the incentive average of the #13 Division with a time of 25.33 seconds on
three steers. They then finished the course with a time of 8.40 seconds on their fourth steer to win the main average as
well.
“Kenny and I rope together a lot. That is why we rope, to spend time together,” elaborated Brown. “It is a family outing for us
and the USTRC ropings are the best to go to. Kenny and I have been roping for years and we go to a lot of events so we
can get Shoot Outs to compete at the USTRC National Finals. USTRC ropings are something we really look forward to
going to.”
Brown then partnered with Justin Yost to win the incentive average of the #12 Division. They also went on to rope four
steers in 32.84 seconds to win second in the main average.
“Justin and I don’t rope together that much, but he is very talented and ropes well,” said Brown. “It all came together for us
and we were fortunate to place.”
Brown and her husband again put things together in the #12 Gold Plus as they roped four steers in 38.94 seconds to win
third in the main average. The win gave them a Shoot Out to compete in the Gold Plus Shoot Out at the National Finals of
Team Roping.
“People from all over were at the roping,” said Brown. “It was really good to see that many people attend this roping. Judy
Dawes was the secretary and she makes things run so smooth and is very accommodating. It was just a good roping.”
Brown teamed up with Dale Martin and Tyler Waters in the #11 Division. Brown and Waters won the overall fast time of the
roping and Brown and Martin placed fourth in the average.
“This was the first time for Dale and I to rope together. Corey Honeycutt helped us to partner up and it worked out for us,”
added Brown. “ I rope with Tyler a lot and we usually do pretty good.”
The event was a great USTRC event and everyone enjoyed the wonderful experience in Canvas, West Virginia. It was a
great weekend for team roping.
“The steers were really good and the arena is pretty short. John Johnson made sure the steers fit the arena and because
they did, it made the roping fun,” said Brown. “The roping is held at a very unique venue. They have a lot of exotic animals
and my horse wasn’t sure about some of them. They also have a great steakhouse on-site. It was just a fun roping and one
that everyone should go to.”