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Steamboat Springs — Houston Ray Hutto stormed out of the starting gate on his horse, quickly lassoed and pulled his prey, a scrambling calf, to a screeching halt, his rope yanking taut around the horn of his saddle.

He was off the mount and flying toward the steer in a flash, the whole operation so smooth compared to some of the other competitors that fans didn't have to ask what separated a National Finals Rodeo regular like Hutto from the average cowboy that charges into the Brent Romick Rodeo Arena spotlight during a Steamboat Springs Pro Rodeo summer weekend.

"I got right out on him," Hutto said afterward.

Of course he did. This was a pro, a two-time College National Finals tie-down champion, a three-time NFR qualifier, a cowboy who won $50,000 in one swoop at the Houston Rodeo in 2007 and who has pocketed nearly $600,000 in the sport during his career.

However, in an equally blinding flash, none of that seemed to matter. Hutto caught up to the beast and tried to flip it and tie it up, applying the tie-down roping coup d'etat. But the steer pulled away, and Hutto's horse pulled the other way, dragging the helpless animal away from a stunned cowboy.

By the time the horse finally stopped and the cowboy could finish the job, he was out of the money.

"Terrible," Hutto said afterward. "I could have flipped him faster."

The Steamboat Springs Pro Rodeo Series has seen its share of well-known cowboys and cowgirls charge out of the gate, but on Friday night, fans at Steamboat's weekly summer staple were treated to cowboy celebrity.

Hutto and Ricky Canton, both acclaimed tie-down ropers, were among a handful of NFR-experienced riders in Steamboat for the weekend.

Canton had a little better luck. His calf cut hard across his horse and scrambled nearly halfway across the arena before Canton's lasso halted his progress. With a quick and tidy tie down, Canton logged the fastest time of the night.

The 15-time NFR-qualifier said his time of 10.8 seconds wouldn't cut it.

"My horse didn't move over behind the calf, and I got a bad go to her," Canton said. "Usually you want it square. I should have tied that calf in some time like in the short 9s, not 10.8."

It still was enough to grab him $465 for a third-place finish. Two cowboys from Saturday's performance logged better times.

Canton and Hutto said it was their first time to Steamboat, although they weren't passing through to ride the Alpine Slide.

Instead, they were in the midst of Cowboy Christmas, the weeks surrounding Fourth of July that are filled with rodeos.

Both added Steamboat into a crowded mix of appearances in hopes of qualifying for the Heartland Tour finals. They have to ride in 30 Heartland rodeos to qualify for the finals of that tour.

"This is a great time of year. You can get frustrated pretty quick, but you load up and have another chance the next day," Canton said. "In the winter, you might run two calves in a month. It's hard to stay on top of your game, but when you're roping every day, it's easy to stay on top."

He said waiting in the chute at a smaller venue like Steamboat didn't change his outlook.

"This was a nice, descent-sized rodeo for this area. It had good competition, but I don't look at it like that," he said. "It's always me against the calf."

In all, nearly $20,000 was awarded through the weekend at the rodeo. The Steamboat Springs Pro Rodeo Series returns for its third weekend at 7 p.m. Friday. A fireworks show will follow the Friday and Saturday performances.