Sisters Act: The Ward and Hawkins Connection
Their first year together saw them win the 2020 RAM National Circuit Finals — Ward’s second at that time — after first claiming the Prairie Circuit Finals. That inaugural NFR ended with the team fifth in the world standings with $160,180 earned and $98,308 taken home from Las Vegas.
2021 was a special year.
Heading into Round 9 at the Thomas & Mack, Ward and Hawkins had a shot at breaking the then-average record of 59.1 seconds on 10 head, previously set by Jake Barnes and Clay Cooper in 1994. When the dust settled, the team stopped the clock at 54.7 seconds on 10 steers — a new record and the 2021 NFR average championship.
“Buddy said, ‘I think we can go out there, catch 10 cows, win the average and set the record,’” Ward said after the win. “I said, ‘I agree. Let’s go out there and catch 10 of them.’ We’re a catching team, but we can go fast when things line out right.”
The win added $115,811 to their Las Vegas haul after placing in four rounds.
Ward & Hawkins Rewrite Jake & Clay’s NFR Average Record
In 2022, Ward and Hawkins were at it again. Before qualifying for their third NFR, they grabbed wins in Greeley, Colorado; Nampa, Idaho; Clovis, California; and Tremonton, Utah. At the 2022 NFR, they finished fourth in the world and placed in four rounds, taking home $102,104 in earnings. They also added a win at The American Rodeo to their résumé.
And AGAIN: Ward and Hawkins Continue Reign with American Rodeo Win
“When we started roping together, whether we were naïve or not, we believed that we were going to be a good team,” Ward said after The American win. “I couldn’t name these ropings we’d win before we did, but I believed we’d have success. I believed we’d click good and catch a lot of cows. It’s kind of boring, really. That’s what we thought, and I think just having confidence in ourselves brought us wins we’re not even deserving of having.”
Their victory at the 2023 RAM Prairie Circuit Finals in Duncan, Oklahoma, put a bow on their dominant run. After another successful 2023 NFR — where they finished fourth in the average — the two closed their four-year partnership.
Andrew Ward and Buddy Hawkins Claim Final Prairie Circuit Titles Together in 2023
Ward teamed up with 2015 world champion Kollin VonAhn for the 2024 season and continued his NFR streak. That year, they picked up wins in Reno, Nevada, and Kennewick, Washington, and wrapped their season by placing in five NFR rounds and winning Round 10 at the 2024 NFR.
Andrew Ward, Kollin VonAhn Win First Reno Rodeo Titles, Climb 2024 World Standings with $17K Payday
Now heading to his sixth NFR, Ward has teamed with fellow NFR average champion Jake Long on the heel side. The pair have stacked major 2025 wins at Greeley, Pecos, Hermiston, Calgary and Mandan, building momentum through the summer. Ward enters Las Vegas seventh in the world standings with $149,489 earned so far.
Ward and Jake Long went into Round 10 of the 2025 NFR with the slimmest mathematical chance of the four teams still alive for the world title. They drew a steer that had already paid $69,491 in two earlier rounds, went 3.9, and then waited in the alley while the last teams roped. When Kolton Schmidt and Jonathan Torres no-timed, Ward and Long had won the average with 44.0 on nine head, and the gold buckles came with it. Ward won the world with $373,838.
“That is an incredible thing to not know, and then have the lady tell us,” Ward said. Of his partner, he added, “I was very proud of Jake. He was like an old vet. He would not come out of the process of what we said we were going to come do. And it’s hard to do that for 10 nights here.”
Ward won it on RLJ Cashnczechtafame, “Henry,” after Biscuit started abscessing before the Finals. “I finished with Kollin (VonAhn) last year on Henry and we won a hundred thousand…and it felt like easy roping,” Ward said. “He’s very big strong, but he’s very quick.”
Andrew Ward, Jake Long are Long-Due PRCA World Champions in 2025
The champs stayed together in 2026 and finished second at the Cinch Playoffs Governor’s Cup in Sioux Falls for $26,000 a man in the final week of the season. Ward finished the regular season No. 6 with $147,846, headed to his seventh straight NFR, this time as the defending world champion.
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