CHEYENNE, Wyo. – Slade Wood spent much of the early portion of the ProRodeo season making team roping runs at events across the country. But as the end of the summer schedule approached, the Stephenville, Texas cowboy made a decision to return to steer roping. It’s a choice that has paid dividends quickly. During the month of July, Wood amassed nearly $17,000 in winnings, including a huge payday at Cheyenne Frontier Days near the end of the month. “I haven’t been entered at the trippings this year as much. This is my tenth rodeo to go to, and I needed it,” Wood said after his win in Cheyenne. “I was telling everyone, I needed to have a good week if I wanted to look at making the (steer roping) finals again this year. God answered right there with that.”What Wood accomplished over July has made an instinct impact on the steer roping leaderboard with two months of action still to play out. Wood picked up round money during two runs at the Sheridan WYO Rodeo early in the month, then qualified for the finals at CFD. He was the first man out during the short go, finishing in 12.3 seconds to set the tone. That result remained atop the leaderboard over the next 11 competitors. Taylor Santos, the No. 2 ranked steer roper in the world, came the closest to unseating Wood but only got to 13.2 seconds. Scott Snedecor, the defending CFD champ and a four-time World Champion, was the last man out, but failed to record a time. The win was a personal milestone for Wood as he’s been a longtime visitor to Cheyenne. In 2006 and 2007, his father, Neal, won back-to-back steer roping titles at CFD. During those days, Wood was just a kid watching from the stands, oftentimes practicing his roping behind Chute 9. Now, he’s a champion like his father. “Since I was a little kid, I wanted to win this rodeo. It was my favorite rodeo growing up,” Wood said. “That’s also been another reason that I wanted to win – because (my dad’s) won it. I just feel like I can be right there with him now. I’ve got to get it another time though.”That $11,280 payout was the most significant boost in his return to steer roping. He closed July with a little more than $1,400 in round money from the Wild Bill Hickok Rodeo in Abilene, Kan., carrying him into the top 20 of the PRCA World Steer Wrestling Standings. As of Monday, Wood had $31,761 in steer roping earnings, putting him at No. 16 in the rankings, one spot away from being a NFSR qualifier. What’s most important over the next two months is to keep building momentum and secure his place at the NFSR later this year. He’s close to the top 15, putting him on track for his fifth NFSR qualification in the last six years. And while there's still a long way to go, recent success was a good place to start.“I’ve been team roping a little bit this year and kind of focusing on that. I took a step away from that the past three weeks I guess and started entering the trippings again,” Wood said. “Sheridan and Cheyenne were the first two that I got entered in since May. I won a little bit at Sheridan and got the biggest win of my career in steer roping here (in Cheyenne).”Add us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow