What began as a "Just enter the first couple of weekends together" type of partnership for Trey Nowosad and Mark Fletcher blossomed into a remarkable season which lead to the 2024 Lakeland Rodeo Association team roping championship and aggregate win.
Nowosad, a 17-year-old Grade 12 student from Clandonald, AB, was initially set to rope with another partner for the season. However, when that partner was unable to go for the first couple of weekends, he teamed up with Wainwright's seasoned professional, Mark Fletcher, who 'had the itch' to rodeo but found himself partnerless. "I had called a couple of older guys that were closer to my age to see if they wanted to go but none did. Then Trey's partner decided not to go" Fletcher recalled. Despite a late start, the duo clicked quickly. They would win 2 of their first 5 rodeos together with a 6.3 in Wetaskiwin and a 6.5 in Meadow Lake. From that point on, they decided to stick it out together for the remainder of the season.
Embracing a "If you ain't first, you're last" type of style, Nowosad and Fletcher continued to make quick runs and collect solid pay cheques throughout the summer, securing three more first-place finishes in Tofield, Westlock, and Nowosad's 'hometowner' of Stoney Lake, which he deemed as "Pretty cool to get the win there."
When talking about their season Fletcher noted, "We were fast. We got a lot of firsts so that was good."
By the end of the season, Nowosad and Fletcher had accumulated $4,180 in earnings together, placing them within the Top 10 and earning a spot at the Finals held in St. Paul over Labor Day weekend.
Despite it being his first time competing at the Showdown, not once did Nowosad look like a rookie. On the first night he scored perfectly, reached out and spun one for Mark to catch two feet in a time of 5.6 seconds, earning 2nd place in the round. From there, Nowosad maintained his momentum, spinning every steer that week to be sub-6 seconds.
By the fourth performance, the pair found themselves leading the average, being one of only three teams to catch all of their first three steers. Just another qualified time would have solidified them as contenders for the championship come Sunday, but in typical Nowosad fashion he let it fly. In front of a sold-out Saturday night crowd he delivered a stellar head loop right out of the chutes allowing Fletcher to hustle around and catch two feet in a time of 5.1 seconds—the fastest time of the night. Reflecting on that run, Nowosad exclaimed, "The Round Win was definitely my favorite run. To be leading the average and just needing to catch but then go out and win the round in 5.1, that's my all-time favorite run ever. It was pretty fun."
This set the stage for Championship Sunday. With 70 points and a strong lead in the average (being the only team to catch all four steers at that point), the pair entered the final round with a serious chance of winning it all. "Everyone told me not to change anything. What I was doing had been working all week, so I just wanted to do it one more time," Nowosad shared about his mindset going into the 5th and final round.
Sunday's performance started off slowly and frankly remained that way, with all four of the top teams taking no times—including Nowosad and Fletcher, who came up empty on the heel side. Despite their miss, the misfortune to the other top contenders allowed the pair to secure the average win, earning 40 championship points and placing them 20 points ahead of reserve champions Caleb Fawcett and Rocky Ross.
"It was pretty cool to be roping with a veteran who has been there, done that, and competed at the CFR. I also thought it was pretty cool to get Mark his first win at the Lakeland Finals after so many appearances here," Nowosad reflected on the duo's successful season.
In return Mark praised his young gun partner, "He roped great. There's something about roping with those young guys, they have no fear and don't worry about the consequences. If they miss, they just are off to the next one."
Both Nowosad & Fletcher used 'old campaigner' equine partners throughout the season and to secure their championship. Nowosad was aboard an 18 year-old gelding he calls 'Brownie' in which has been his maint mount for the past 5 years since purchasing him from Derek Hadland. Fletcher's main steed, the palamino he calls 'Custer' is also 18 and has been his go-to mount for some time now.
As for his weapon of choice, Nowosad used the XS Triton head rope—a switch he made just one day before the Finals began. "I was kinda worried about switching it up a day before, but I guess it went pretty well," he chuckled.
The Fletcher family has notoriously been involved with the sport of team roping for many generations and in 1989, it was Mark's dad Gordie Fletcher who took home the LRA Team Roping title with cousin Arnold. "It's kind of funny. In 1989, I had been roping with my dad but then decided to go pro and him and Arnold paired up to win it. Denim (Mark's son) decided to go pro this year so I teamed up with Trey and we ended up winning it."
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