Oklahoma team roper VonAhn achieves return to form

Kollin VonAhn is no stranger to the demands, or the successes, of being a PRCA competitor.

His career, which started in 2006, features milestones many dream of — five previous qualifications to the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo, three NFR average titles and two team roping world championships (2009 and 2015).

But all of that occurred before 2016. And since then, the sport has seen drastic shifts, something the Blanchard, Oklahoma, native recently came to realize more clearly.

“I think I won $50,000 (last year), but it was kind of an eye-opener for me of how rodeo had changed,” VonAhn said. “About 2015, it would take mid-$60,000 to make the NFR. Fast-forward, now it’s taking over $100,000. Well, that’s a big difference. It dawned on me that you’ve got to have big opportunities on big stages if you think you’re just going to make the Finals.”

VonAhn’s sixth appearance in Las Vegas, this time with partner Andrew Ward, was a firsthand lesson in how the sport has changed, specifically the impact one weekend can have on a cowboy’s place in the standings.

Coming into the final week of the regular season, VonAhn was 21st in the team roping’s heeler world standings, while Ward was sitting 12th in the world among team roping headers. The duo won the CINCH Playoff Series Championship in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, each securing $30,000 in earnings. In one weekend, the pair vaulted into the top 10 of their respective standings, locking up a trip together to the Thomas &Mack Center.

“I’ve had the NFR made before the last rodeo every year that I’ve made it. I’ve never felt that kind of extra tension at the last rodeo,” Ward said with a laugh. “That was a great feeling to have accomplished that. And you can’t do that without having kind of put yourself in a dangerous spot like we did.”

Ward has been a regular in Las Vegas lately, qualifying for five straight NFRs. VonAhn’s résumé is less linear.

After winning the 2015 world title with former partner Luke Brown, VonAhn’s priorities shifted. He partnered with longtime friend Brandon Webb for professional and roping opportunities. It’s a period of his life VonAhn says he wouldn’t trade for anything. Family came first, then business. Roping often took a back seat to other obligations.

Between 2016 and 2022, VonAhn appeared just twice in the top 50 of the PRCA world standings, clearing $30,000 in annual earnings just two times during that span.

Last year, Webb had to step away from competing for personal reasons. VonAhn decided that he was going to start focusing on competing in the PRCA again. Partnering with Jake Clay in 2023, he got back into the game. It was an eye-opening experience that set the stage for the last week of the 2024 schedule with Ward.

“I put a lot of eggs in that basket,” VonAhn said about the Governor’s Cup. “That’s the nice thing about this deal, nobody calls you when it doesn’t work out and everybody thinks your plan is perfect when it does. I look smart today, but it could have very easily just went the other way too.”

Through eight rounds, VonAhn and Ward have $61,618 apiece in Wrangler NFR earnings. The duo took third in Rounds 3 and 8, totaling $40,028 apiece, and tied for fourth in Round 5 for $11,410 apiece. Both also got the $10,000 bonus awarded to all NFR qualifiers.

Ward is ninth in the season-long header world standings ($178,095), while VonAhn is 10th in the heeler world standings ($166,896).

In 2015, VonAhn left Las Vegas with his second gold buckle.

After a near decade absence from the NFR, he returns to the event with a different perspective. The journey to this point has been winding but also rewarding — and VonAhn isn’t taking any of it for granted.

“Probably the older I get, the more grateful I am for the way things turn out. It’s a great deal, great opportunity. If it goes good, great. If it goes bad, great. I’m going to enjoy the experience of it,” VonAhn said.

“There’s another part of me too — I’m used to being the underdog, and I don’t need another gold buckle for myself. But (that’s not) to say I’m not going to go out there and try to win it. And I would love to win it with Andy. I’m one of those guys that believes in miracles too, so I think anything could happen.”