Burger continues to win at Cinch Shootout Rodeo in Cheyenne

By Susan Kanode

Photo: Mary Burger emerged as the top barrel racer at the Cinch Shootout Rodeo at Cheyenne Frontier Days on Friday. She and her horse Moe stopped the clock in 17.114 seconds in the final round to earn $10,000

 

CHEYENNE, Wyo. — Mary Burger and her buckskin gelding are a duo that is hard to beat in any arena and that was certainly evident at Frontier Park on Friday at the Cinch Shootout Rodeo.

The teamwork between the four-legged animal and the talented barrel racer is something to watch and fans got to see that twice at the opening rodeo of Cheyenne Frontier Days. They were one of eight selected contestants and in the first round had the fastest run of the day at 17.047 seconds.

The top three advanced to the final round where she and Mo again dominated with a 17.114 second run. That was good for a $10,000 cash prize. Burger is quick to give credit to her horse that she got when he was a two-year-old. While Mo be the reason that she is doing so well, he is only part of the equation.

Burger trained the horse and brought him along to the point that he could take the grueling road and different ground conditions and arena set ups found at rodeos. He is now seven years old, just a short 60 years younger than his jockey. They are dominating the Women’s Professional Rodeo Association and are favorites to earn a world championship in December.

Cody DeMoss from Heflin, La., is in the record books here for winning the saddle bronc riding championship three times. He now has another notch to add to his belt. DeMoss had an outstanding ride on Burch Rodeo’s Iron Maiden in the finals for 85.5 points. That earned him the championship and like all of the event winners on Saturday, he got a $10,000 check and he did it aboard a borrowed saddle.

“Things just hadn’t been going like I think they should,” DeMoss said. “My saddle wasn’t feeling like I wanted it to, so I borrowed Brad Rudolph’s. It felt really good today and now I might have to see if I can buy it off of him.”

Each contestant was part of a team sponsored by local businesses. The teams had a bareback rider, steer wrestler, saddle bronc rider, barrel racer and bull rider. Points were awarded for how well competitors did and added together. At the end of the competition, the winning team had Burger as their barrel racer, saddle bronc rider Wyatt Casper, steer wrestler J.D. Struxness and bull rider Pistol Robinson as well as bareback rider Casey Breuer.

Breuer, from Mandan, N.D., also finished in first place.  Casper, from Balko, Okla., and Struxness from Appleton, Minn., finished in second. They competed for Holly Frontier and earned a $5,000 check for the Boys & Girls Club of Cheyenne.

The second place team was from Cheyenne Regional Medical Center which included steer wrestling champion Luke Branquinho from Los Alamos, Calif. They earned $2,500 for the CRMC Foundation. Third and final place went to the Little America Hotels and Resort team, which included DeMoss. Their charity, Safehouse, got a $1,500 check.

The first performance of Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association and Women’s Professional Rodeo Association starts at 12:15 p.m., Saturday.

CHEYENNE, Wyo. —The following are results from the Cinch Shootout Rodeo at Cheyenne Frontier Days, Friday, July 22, 2016. Contestant followed by hometown and sponsor.

Bareback Riding: (first round) 1, Jessy Davis, Power, Mont., 86 points on Burch Rodeo’s Pinball Girl. 2, Grant Denny, Minden, Nev., 83.5. 3, Casey Breuer, Mandan, N.D., 83. 4, Tyler Scales, Severance, Colo., 82.5. 5, J.R. Vezain, Cowley, Wyo., 79.5. 6, (tie) Mac Erickson, Sundance, Wyo., and Kenny Haworth, Orofino, Calif., 78 each. 8, Chase Erickson, Helena, Mont., 76.  (final round)  1, Breuer, 89 points on Burch Rodeo’s Clownin’ Around, $10,000. 2, Denny, 87, $3,000. 3, Davis, 85.5, $2,000.

Steer Wrestling: (first round) 1, Luke branquinho, Los Alamos, Calif., 6.35 seconds. 2, Tyler Pearson, Louisville, Miss., 6.53. 3, J.D. Sturxness, Appleton, Minn., 6.74. 4, Nick Guy, Sparta, Wisc., 7.04. 4, Trell Etbauer, Goodwell, Okla., 7.47. 6, Jon Ragatz, Cassville, Wisc., 9.01. 7, Kyle Irwin, Robertsdale, Ala., 13.38. 8, Hunter Cure, Holliday, Texas, no time. (final round) 1, Branquinho, 10.02, $10,000. 2, Struxness, 14.96, $3,000. 3, Pearson, 15.76, $2,000.

Saddle Bronc Riding: (first round)  1, Cody DeMoss, Heflin, La., 86 points on Burch Rodeo’s Angel Sings. 2, Wyatt Casper, Balko, Okla., 85. 3, Bradley Harter, Loranger, La., 83.5. 4, Wade Sundell, Coleman, Okla., 81.5. 5, (tie) Cort Scheer, Elsmere, Neb., and Chad Ferley, Oelrichs, S.D., 81 each. 7, Sam Spreadborough, Snyder, Texas, 79. 8, J.J. Elshere, Hereford, S.D., no score. (final round) 1, DeMoss, 85.5 points on Burch Rodeo’s Iron Maiden, $10,000. 2, Casper, 84.5, $3,000. 3, Harter, 82, $2,000.

Women’s Barrel Race: (first round)  1, Mary Burger, Pauls Valley, Okla., 17.047. 2, Kristi Steffes, Vale, S.D., 17.339. 3, Mackenzie Scott, Estes Park, Colo., 17.390. 4, Meghan Johnson, Deming, N.M., 17.821. 5, Christy Loflin-Hefley, Stonington, Colo., 18.631. 6, Mary Walker, Ennis, Texas, 22.309. 7, Kim Schulze, Elbert, Colo., 22.471. 8, Jessica Dunbar, Del Rio, Texas, no time. (final round) 1, Burger, 17.114, $10,000. 2, Scott, 17.254, $3,000. 3, Steffes, 17.443, $2,000.

Bull Riding: (first round) No qualified rides (final round)* 1, Brett Stall, Detroit Lakes, Minn., 87 points on Burch Rodeo’s Smoking Good, $10.000. 2, (tie) Cody Rostockyj, Lorena, Texas, and Eli Vastbinder, Statesville, N.C., no score, $2,500 each.

*Final round qualifiers advanced based on time they rode.