Shane Erickson calls it “the highlight of my career, a dream come true, and an all-time high.”

But he is nowhere near finished.

The Terrebonne cowboy won the all-around, the team-roping title and total prize money of $25,502 at the National Circuit Finals Rodeo in Oklahoma City on April 6.

Now he will make a push to qualify for the National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas in December.

“That’s a pretty big win for anybody,” said Erickson, reached by phone last week at his winter home in Wittman, Ariz., of his National Circuit Finals performance. “It’s not surprising. I win a lot in the Northwest, I just don’t travel as much as everybody does, to make the NFR. I stay close to home lots of times. It’s not that I can’t make it, I’ve just never tried.”

Now he plans to.

Erickson, 33, who moved to Terrebonne 10 years ago and lives there eight months out of the year, is entered in an NFR-qualifying rodeo nearly every weekend from now until July. He said he needs about $70,000 in earnings to qualify for the NFR. The money he earned in Oklahoma City does not count toward that total because the National Circuit Finals is not an NFR-qualifying event.

“I’m going to try for a while,” Erickson said. “I’m gonna go till after the Fourth of July, and see how things go. If things are going good, I’m gonna keep trying. You’ve got to get your name down in those bigger rodeos, so you have a chance of making $10,000 at once.”

Over his career, Erickson has competed mostly on the Columbia River Circuit, which consists mainly of weekend warriors taking part in rodeos throughout Oregon and Washington. But Erickson said he makes most of his living through rodeo, helping support his wife, Jennifer, and their 6-year-old son, Scout. He owns a small trucking company — with one truck.

“I do make money with it, but when I rodeo and rope, it won’t be running,” Erickson said of his trucking business. “When I’m rodeoin’, I’m making a living ropin’. I make a lot of my money ropin’.”

He certainly made a lot in Oklahoma City, where his earnings set a new record for the National Circuit Finals. He made nearly $3,000 more than the previous record of $22,598, set by J.W. Harris, of Mullin, Texas, in the 2009 bull riding competition.

Erickson also earned third-place money in the tie-down roping while impressing fans and announcers with his skill and professionalism in both events. That did not change Erickson’s humble demeanor, however.

“I had the best heeler in the world,” said Erickson, a header in the team-roping event, “so I just had to do my job.”

Jade Corkill, of Fallon, Nev., and the reigning world champion heeler, was competing at the NCFR for the first time. It was also the first time he had roped with Erickson, who was making his sixth NCFR appearance.

“Shane ropes really good, so I didn’t have to change anything,” Corkill said. “We improved each round — we had our best time in the semifinals (5.0 seconds) — and got to go last in the final round, which is a big advantage, especially when two guys missed (roping their steer) in front of us.”

Erickson grew up in the small western Washington town of Yelm. His father, Mike Erickson, competed in amateur rodeos and got his son into junior rodeos when Shane was 8 years old. By the time he was 15, Shane was beating men twice his age in calf roping.

He said many good ropers start young.

“For me, it was natural,” Erickson explained. “I grew up with a rope in my hand, and everything came natural.”

So, will young Scout soon have a rope in his hands?

“He’s already got one,” Erickson said.

He added that Jennifer and Scout travel to nearly every rodeo with him. The family will certainly be traveling a lot over the next few months, as Erickson make his push for Las Vegas.

“I’m gonna tell ya, from almost now until the end of September we’ll be somewhere,” Erickson said. “If you’re trying to make the finals, you’re somewhere usually every week.”