July 18-27, 2025

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Eight seconds adds up for bull rider Garrett Smith at Cheyenne Rodeo

By Susan Kanode

CHEYENNE, Wyo. — An eight-second bull ride was critical for Garrett Smith at the Cheyenne Frontier Days Rodeo on Friday.

Smith, from Rexburg, Idaho, scored 87 points on Rafter G Rodeo’s bull named J Lazy who was anything but lazy in Frontier Park. The bull earned 42 of those points while Smith’s riding style and ability earned the remaining 45. That score put Smith in a tie with Ty Wallace from Collbran, Colo., who rode his first bull here last Monday. They each got $5,166 for their efforts.

That money is critical for both of them as they are trying to qualify for the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo (NFR). Wallace is currently in 14th place with $49,968 in season earnings. Smith is 18th with $42,856. Wallace has ridden two bulls and is tied for third place in the overall standings here. Smith will ride again tomorrow and hopes to add another score by his name.

There were only three bull riders that had qualified rides on Friday. So far through seven performances there are just eight bull riders that have ridden two, so regardless of what happens tomorrow, Smith is nearly assured a spot in Sunday’s championship finals based on his 87 from Friday.

If he adds more money to his checking account here, then remains among the top 15 in the world standings, he will head to Las Vegas next December to compete at his first NFR. He just missed last year finishing in 22nd place.

“My year has been full of ups and downs,” Smith said. “Cheyenne is a rodeo that everyone wants to win. Last year I competed in the steer wrestling here too, but this year I get to just concentrate on the bull riding. I love this rodeo.”

The saddle bronc riding was exciting on Friday as well with two lead changes in the first round. Reigning world champion Jacobs Crawley, from Boerne, Texas, was the first to move to the top of the leaderboard after scoring 86 points on Three Hills Rodeo’s Mr. Haney.

Heith DeMoss rode later in the rodeo and, when the horse he was on didn’t perform, he got on another one right before the final bull riding event of the rodeo. The second horse he rode was Pow Wow Nights owned by United Pro Rodeo and this time he fared much better. DeMoss, who lives in Heflin, La., scored 86.5 points to take the lead away from Crawley.

That netted the seven-time NFR qualifier $4,889. He is currently 7th in the world. If he has another great ride tomorrow, DeMoss could overtake Zeke Thurston’s lead in the overall standings. Thurston, from Big Valley, Alberta, rode here last Monday and Tuesday and has the overall lead with 171 points.

The eighth performance will see the completion of the second round of competition and determine all of the championship finals qualifiers. It begins at 12:15 on Saturday.

Bareback Riding: (first round) 1, Orin Larsen, Inglis, Manitoba, 87 points on Sankey Pro Rodeo’s Black Tie, $5,518. 2, (tie) Tyler Nelson, Victor, Idaho, and Wyatt Denny, Minden, Nev., 84, $3,678 each. 4, George R Gillespie IV, Hamilton, Mont., and Grant Denny, Minden, Nev., 83, $1,655. 6, J.R. Vezain, Cowley, Wyo., 82.5, $920. 7, Richmond Champion, The Woodlands, Texas, 81.5, $736. 8, (tie) Shane O’Connell, Rapid City, S.D., and Chad Rutherford, Lake Charles, La., 80.5, $276 each. (second round) 1, Aus, 84.5 points on Summit Pro Rodeo’s Blind Date. 2, Colin Adams, Deloraine, Manitoba, 83, 3, Larsen, 82, 82. 4, Grant Denny, 81. 5, Frank Morton, Wright, Kan., and Jessy Davis, Power, Mont., 79. 7, (tie) Cody Kiser, Carson City, Nev., Casey Breuer, Mandan, N.D., Clayton Biglow, Clements, Calif., and Justin Pollmiller, Weatherford, Okla., 78. (total on two) 1, Larsen, 169. 2, Grant Denny, 164. 3, Aus, 162.5. 4, Wyatt Denny, 160. 5, Champion, 158.5. 6, Adams, 157. 7, (tie) Rutherford and J.R. Vezain, Cowley, Wyo., 155.5. 8, Wyatt Bloom, Bend Ore., 154. 8, Jessy Davis, Power, Mont., 153.

Steer Wrestling: (first round) 1, Billy Bugenig, Ferndale, Calif., 5.9 seconds, $6,249. 2, Will Stovall, Roberts, Mont., 7.1, $5434. 3, Blake Knowles, Heppner, Ore., 7.7, $4,619. 4, Gary Gilbert, New Underwood, S.D., 7.8, $3,804. 5, Dakota Eldridge, Elko, Nev., 8.0, $2,989. 6, Riley Krassin, Lander, Wyo., 8.2, $2,174. 7, Dean Gorsuch, Gering, Neb., 8.5, $1,359. 8, Tooter Silver, Quitman, Ark., $543. (second round) 1, Dru Melvin, Hebron, Neb., 8.2. 2, J.D. Struxness, Appleton, Minn., 8.7. 3, Cody Kroul, Solon, Iowa, 9.6. 4, Jason Lahr, Stephenville, Texas, 10.2. 5, (tie) Olin Hannum, Malad, Idaho, and Riley Butler, Blackfoot, Idaho, 10.3. 7, Dean Finnerty, Wheatland, Wyo., 10.5. 8, Aaron Vosler, Cheyenne, Wyo. (total on two) 1, Bugenig, 17.2. 2, Struxness, 17.6. 3, Gilbert, 19.4. 4, Gorsuch, 11.1. 5, Dirk Tavenner, Rigby, Idaho, 20.2. 6, Rowdy Parrott, Mamou, La., 22.3. 7, Sean Santucci, Prineville, Ore, 22.5. 8, (tie) Eldridge, and Chason Floyd, Buffalo, S.D., 22.6.

Tie-Down Roping: (first round) 1, Timber Moore, Aubrey, Texas, 10.1 seconds, $6,488. 2, Chase Williams, Stephenville, Texas, 10.3, $5,641. 3, Billy Hamilton, Stigler, Okla., 11.0, $4,795. 4, (tie) Boe Brown, Valentine, Neb.; Clint Cooper, Decatur, Texas; and Tyler Thiel, Belle Fourche, S.D., 11.1, $3,103 each. 7, Jayce Johnson, Hempstead, Texas, 11.3, $1,410. 8, Matt Shiozawa, Chubbock, Idaho, 11.4, $564. (second round) 1, Bryson Sechrist, Apache, Okla., 10.3. 2, Marty Yates, Stephenville, Texas, 11.0. 3, Josh Peek, Pueblo, Colo., 11.1. 4, Matt Shiozawa, Chubbock, Idaho, 11.4. 5, Marcos Costa, Childress, Texas, 11.9. 6, Stephen McLauchlin, Rockwall, Texas, 12.2. 7, Blake Ash, Aurora, Mo., 29.7. 8, Kyle Lucas, Carstairs, Alberta, 12.6. (total on two) 1, Shiozawa, 22.8. 2, Clint Cooper, Decatur, Texas, 24.9. 3, Lucas, 25.2. 4, Reese Reimer, Stinnett, Texas, 25.7. 5, Josh Jennings, Glendale, Utah, 26.1. 6, Quay Howard, Canyon, Texas, 26.3. 7, (tie) Trell Etbauer, Goodwell, Okla., and Brice Ingo, Boone, Colo., 26.4.

Saddle Bronc Riding: (first round) 1, Heith DeMoss, Heflin, La., 86.5 points on United Pro Rodeo’s Pow Wow Lights, $4,889. 2, Jacobs Crawley, Boerne, Texas, 86, $3,748. 3, Zeke Thurston, Big Valley, Alberta, 84, $2,771. 4, Hardy Braden, Welch, Okla., 83.5, $1,793. 5, (tie) Garet Aldridge, Huntsville, Texas; Cody DeMoss, Heflin, La.; Cody Wright, Milford, Utah, and Samuel Kelts, Millarville, Alberta, 82, $774 each.  (second round) 1, Thurston, 87 points on Salt River Rodeo’s Smoke Ring. 2, (tie) Jade Blackwell, Rapid City, S.D., and Dawson Jandreau, Kennebec, S.D., 84. 4, Ryder Wright, Milford, Utah, 83.5. 5, Charlie Kogianes, Provo, Utah, 83. 5, Jesse Wright, Milford, Utah, 82.5. 6, (tie) CoBurn Bradshaw, Beaver, Utah, and Cody DeMoss, 81. 8, Brady Nicholes, Hoytsville, Utah, 80.5. (total on two) 1, Thurston, 171. 2, Cody DeMoss, 163. 3, Kelts, 161. 4, (tie) Ryder Wright and Cody Wright, 160.5. 6, Tyrell J. Smith, Great Falls, Mont., 160. 7, Bradshaw, 159. 8, Ben Londo, San Luis Obispo, Calif., 157.5.

Rookie Saddle Bronc Riding: (first round) 1, Leon Fountain, Socorro, N.M., and Colt Gordon, Comanche, Okla., 80 points, $1,081 each. 3, Telden McLain, Tuscarora, Nev., 75, $671. 4, Rhett Fox, Redig, S.D., 73, $447. 5, (tie) McKoy Hugh Christiansen, Emery, Utah, and Hawkins Boyce, Malad, Idaho, 70, $224 each. (second round) 1, Josh Davison, Miles City, Mont., 76.5 points. 2, Shayde Etbauer, Goodwell, Okla., 76. 3, Blaise Freeman, Snyder, Texas, 74.  5, Jeff Cover, Ashby, Neb., 65.5. 6, (tie) William Bagley, Baker, Mont., and Clay Stremler, 64. 7, Ross Griffin, Tularosa, N.M., 63. 8, McLain, 62. (total on two) 1. Freeman, 139. 2, McLain, 137. 3, Clay Stremler, Fallon, Nev., 132. 4, Christiansen, 129. 5, Griffin, 118. 6, Tanner Lockhart, Lewis, Colo., 114. (on one) 7, Fountain, 80. 8, Davison, 76.5.

Team Roping: (first round) 1, Tyler Wade, Terrell, Texas, and Dakota Kirchenschlager, Morgan Mill, Texas, 7.2, $6,338 each. 2, Aaron Macy, Post, Texas, and Bret Tonozzi, Loma, Colo., 9.1, $5,512 each. 3, (tie) Casey Adams, Ault, Colo., and Riley Pedro, Honolulu, Hawaii; Rowdy Rieken, Arp, Texas and Wesley Johnson, Log Cabin, La.; Erich Rogers, Round Rock, Ariz., and Cory Petska, Marana, Ariz.; Turner Harris and Ross Carson, Killdeer, N.D., and Joe Beaver, Huntsville, Texas, and McCoy Profili, Okeechobee, Fla., 9.3, $3,031 each. 8, Calvin Brevik, Durango, Colo., and Cullen Teller, Pierce, Colo., 9.4, $551 each. (second round) 1, J.B. Lord and Levi Lord, Sturgis, S.D., 8.2. 2, (tie) Pate Norell, Delta, Colo., and Joe Roderick, Loma, Colo., and Nathan McWhorter, Telephone, Texas, and Dustin Davis, Terrell, Texas, 9.0. 4, (tie) Adam Rose, Willard, Mo., and Walt Woodard, Stephenville, Texas, and Jason Thorstenson, Rapid City, S.D., and Paul Griemsman, Piedmont, S.D., 9.3. 6, Casey Tew, Billings, Mont., and John Robertson, Polson, Mont., 9.8. 7, Wade, and Kirchenschlager, 10.0. 8, (tie) Levi Simpson, Ponoka, Alberta, and Jeremy Buhler, Abbottsford, B.C., 10.2. (total on two) 1, Wade and Kirchenschlager, 17.2. 2, J.D. and Trey Yates, Pueblo, Colo., 18.5. 3, Tom Richards, Humboldt, Ariz., and Evan Arnold, Santa Margarita, Calif., 19.1. 4, (tie) Casey Tew, Billings, Mont., and John Robertson, Polson, Mont., and Kaleb Driggers, Albany, Ga., and Junior Nogueira, Scottsdale, Ariz., 19.6. 6, McWhorter and Davis, 19.7. 7, Brevik and Teller, 19.9. 9, Rose and Woodard, 20.0. 10, (tie) Joe Beaver, Huntsville, Texas, and McCoy Profili, Okeechobee, Fla., and Aaron Macy, Post, Texas, and Bret Tonozzi, Loma, Colo., 20.2.

Barrel Racing: (second round) 1, Jana Bean, Fort Hancock, Texas, 17.16 seconds. 2, Kathy Korell-Rach, Loveland, Colo., 17.29. 3, Sherry Cervi, Marana, Ariz., 17.42. 4, Sabra O’Quinn, Ocala, Fla., 17.43. 5. Amber Leigh Moore, Salem, Ore., 17.45. 6, Tyra Kane, Dublin, Texas, 17.46. 7, Tillar Murray, Fort Worth, Texas, 17.58. 8, (tie) Kelly Kennedy-Joseph, Berthoud, Colo., and Romany Gordon, Kaufman, Texas, 17.60. (total on two) 1, Murray, 35.14. 2, Cervi, 35.31. 3, O’Quinn, 35.37. 4, Bean, 35.39. 5, Lisa Lockhart, Oelrichs, S.D., 35.43. 6, Stevi Hillman, Weatherford, Texas, 35.54.  7, Kane, 35.57. 8, Korell-Rach, 35.58.

Bull Riding: (first round) 1, Ty Wallace, Collbran, Colo., on Rocky Mountain Rodeo’s Captain Crunch, and Garrett Smith, Rexburg, Idaho, on Rafter G Rodeo’s J Lazy, 87 points, $5,166 each. 3, Trevor Reiste, Linden, Iowa, 86.5, $3.314. 4, (tie) Freeman Yoder, Zearing, Iowa, and Jeff Askey, Athens, Texas, 84.5, $1,754 each. 6, Shane Proctor, Grand Coulee, Wash., 84, $975. 7, Dallee Mason, Weiser, Idaho, 83, $780. 8, (tie) Justin Hendrix, Belton, Texas; Jeston Mead, Holcomb, Kan., and Eli Vastbinder, Statesville, N.C., 82.5, $195 each. (second round) 1, Roscoe Jarboe, New Plymouth, Idaho, 85 points on Dakota Rodeo’s Crossfire. 2, Eli Vastbinder, Statesville, N.C., 83.5. 3, Garrett Tribble, Bristow, Okla., 81. 4, (tie) Kurtis Turner, Washington, Utah, and Tyler Smith, Fruita, Colo., 80.5. 6, Scottie Knapp, Albuquerque, N.M., 80. 8, Rocky McDonald, Colonia Juarez, Mexico, 79.5. (total on two) 1, Vastbinder, 166. 2, Jarboe, 165. 3, (tie) Wallace and Hendrix, 160.5. 5, Yoder, 159.5. 6, Tyler Smith, 158.5. 7, Askey, 155.5. 8, Jordan Hansen, Oktooks, Alberta, 153.5.

Wild Horse Race: 1, Harwood Cowboy, $573. 2, Dylan Pierce, $430. 3, BMC Construction, $286. (overall money leaders) 1, Team Krak-A-Latch, $1002. 2, Jason Smith, $716. 3, (tie) John Long, Harwood Cowboy and Hansen Hauling, $573