SAN DIEGO – Temecula cowboy Dallas Owen won the Team Roping at the May 24-25 Valley Center Stampede Rodeo.
Owen was the header during the May 25 run. Atwater cowboy Cody Cowden was the heeler. They had a time of 6.5 seconds.
“Valley Center is the closest thing to a hometown rodeo,” Owen said. “It’s kind of cool for me to win it.”
Owen, who is now 25, graduated from Temecula Valley High School in 2016. He played baseball for the Golden Bears and also competed in the California High School Rodeo Association, which does not have specific school chapters. He joined the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association when he was 18, and that year he placed fourth in the 1999 Valley Center Stampede Rodeo. The following week he shared first place in the Santa Maria Elks Rodeo for his first PRCA win. His first outright PRCA win was at the August 2022 Sonoma County Wine Country Rodeo when Winchester’s Wade Hooker was his heeler.
On May 17 Owen competed in the May 17-19 Rowell Ranch Rodeo in Hayward. He partnered with heeler Brent Lockett, who lives in the Tulare County town of Ivanhoe, and their time of 5.8 seconds placed fourth.
Cowden and his partner placed sixth at the Rowell Ranch Rodeo. Cowell then traveled to Southern California for the Valley Center Stampede Rodeo.
“We both needed a partner at that rodeo,” Owen said. “It just worked out. We were both down here.”
Chase Helton of Merced and Spencer Mitchell of Orange Cove led the Team Roping with a time of 8.2 seconds before Owen and Cowden made their run. “The steer was probably the least favorite to draw, but the horse was good and I had a pretty good partner,” Owen said.
Owen ropes on Dennis, an eight-year-old quarter horse.
“It was just a good ride,” Owen said.
Helton and Mitchell ended the rodeo in second place. Gabe Ramirez of Temecula and Randy Harris of Riverside had the third-place time of 14.2 seconds.
Joe Naiman can be reached by email at jnaiman@reedermedia.com.
