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July 18-27, 2025
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CHEYENNE, Wyo. (July 23, 2022) –Former world champion Tyson Durfey has been competing at Cheyenne Frontier Days (CFD) for 20 years, but until he won Semifinals 2 on Saturday, he had never qualified for Championship Sunday.
A sellout crowd watched the roper from Brock, Texas, win the tie-down roping with a time of 10.7 seconds. Durfey has competed in the tie-down roping at 14 National Finals Rodeo’s (NFR) and is instantly visible in any arena where he always wears a bright pink shirt to promote breast cancer awareness. The father of three has one of the largest social media followings in pro rodeo. He recently admitted to his followers that he still gets goosebumps when he backs into the roping box at the “Daddy of ‘em All.”
Only 12 in each rodeo contest event qualify for Sunday’s Championship Finals. In Semifinals 2 on Saturday the top 6 in each event advanced, joining those who moved on from Semifinals 1 on Friday.
Jacek Frost of Browns Valley, California, was riding bareback horses at the National High School Finals Rodeo this past Saturday. Fast-forward a week and the 18-year-old high school reserve champion was competing, and winning, against some of pro rodeo’s best. He scored 85.5 points on Stace Smith Pro Rodeo’s horse Neurotic Toddy to tie for first place in Semifinals 2 with Utah’s Dean Thompson. Thompson is another young gun who competes in multiple events in college rodeo for Western Texas College. He rode Sankey Pro Rodeo & Phenom Genetics’ horse Mustard to advance to Championship Sunday. The third bareback rider to share the leaderboard in Semifinals 2 was Caleb Bennett of Corvallis, Montana. Bennett, who has made eight trips to the National Finals Rodeo (NFR) and is ranked eighth this season, rode another Sankey horse named Outlaw Tunes.
Alli Masters of Leon, Iowa, caught her calf in 4.2 seconds to win the breakaway roping. She competed at the College National Finals Rodeo last month for Southwestern Oklahoma State University. Masters was two-tenths of a second faster than Bradi Good of Abilene, Texas. Good is making her second consecutive trip to Championship Sunday with hopes she can win a CFD championship like her dad Shay Good did in steer roping.
Jennifer Canik of Iowa, Louisiana, had the most unusual run of Semifinals 2 in roping. The left-handed cowgirl caught her calf quickly, but the slack in her rope went above her horse’s head, spooking him into bucking. She had just let go of the rope and set back in the saddle when she was thrown and landed hard on her back. A long two seconds passed before she waved her hat to the crowd, stood and took a bow. Despite all that, her time of 5.2 seconds was fourth, putting her into Championship Sunday where she’ll be trying to win a CFD title like her brother Stephen Canik did in the steer wrestling in 1997.
Although Q Taylor is Canadian, the saddle bronc rider lives in Casper, Wyoming, where he competes on the Casper College Rodeo Team. He had not won much this season in the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) until he rode Summit Pro Rodeo’s horse Dry Creek for 86 points to win Semifinals 2 and $3,051. The Nanton, Alberta, cowboy bested a field that included three world champions.
Paul David Tierney of Oklahoma City and Tanner Braden of Dewey, Oklahoma, were the first team ropers of Semifinals 2. They set the pace with an 8.7-second run that no other team was able to beat. Neither Tierney’s father Paul, a member of the ProRodeo Hall of Fame, nor his brother Jess, who will compete in the Championship Finals in steer roping, have won a CFD title. Paul David is aiming to be the first in his family to win a title at Frontier Park.
The final steer wrestler of the day was Jesse Brown of Baker City, Oregon, and he blew away the rest of the semi-finalists with a 6.9 second run. Brown has qualified for the last two NFRs and is currently ranked 14th in the PRCA standings. A win in the championship round along with the $4,060 he earned on Saturday could virtually guarantee him a return to rodeo’s premiere event in Las Vegas in December.
Leslie Smalygo of Skiatook, Oklahoma, and her horse Gus (registered name Justaheartbeattafame) have been on winning streak during July. So many of her friends made a comment about them being “on fire” that the blonde cowgirl dyed her hair the colors of flames. The duo clocked the fastest time of the six quarter-finals and two semi-finals – 17.16 seconds –to win the day. She is currently ranked 17th in the Women’s Professional Rodeo Association. Like Brown in steer wrestling, a win on Championship Sunday added to the $5,120 she earned today would help her bid to qualify for her first NFR.
Garrett Smith of Rexburg, Idaho, is having his best season since 2019. The three-time NFR bull rider is currently ranked fifth. He topped the bull riding field in Semifinals 2 with an 89.5-point effort on United Pro Rodeo’s bull named Paradise.
Caleb Wareham of Whiting, Kansas, was crowned the 2022 CFD Rookie Saddle Bronc Riding champion at the conclusion of the event on Semifinals 2. The winner in that event is determined by the best total score on two bucking horses.
The 126th Cheyenne Frontier Days Rodeo will determine its 2022 champions in nine events and the all-around on Sunday, July 31, beginning at 12:45 p.m.
CHEYENNE, Wyo. (July 30, 2022)- The following are unofficial results from Semifinals 2 at the Cheyenne Frontier Days Rodeo on Saturday, July 30, 2022.
Bareback Riding: 1, (tie) Jacek Lane Frost, Browns Valley, Calif., on Smith Pro Rodeo’s Neurotic Toddy; Dean Thompson, Altamont, Utah on Sankey Pro Rodeo’s & Phenom Genetics’ Mustard; and Caleb Bennett, Corvallis, Montana on Sankey Pro Rodeo and Phenom Genetics’ Outlaw tunes, 85.5 points and $2,429 each. 4, (tie) Evan Keler Betony, Tonalea, Ariz., and Tim O’Connell, Zwingle, Iowa, 85, $911. 6, (tie) Yance Day, Tahlequah, Okla.; Bronc Marriott, Woods Cross, Utah and Ty Pope, Marshall, Mo., 84, $160.
Breakaway: 1, Alli Masters, Leon, Iowa, 4.2 seconds, $6,088. 2, Bradi Good, Abilene, Texas, 4.4, $4,612. 3, Macy Young, Whittmann, Ariz., 4.8, $3,321. 4, Jennifer Canik, Iowa, La., 5.2, $2,214. 5, Rheagan Cotton, Fairfield, Texas, 5.3, $1,291. 6, Devan McAdow, Hyannis, Neb., 5.9, $922.
Tie Down Roping: 1, Tyson Durfey, Brock, Texas, 10.7, $5,200. 2, Hudson Wallace, George West, Texas, 11.0, $4,300. 3, Blake Ash, Aurora, Mo., 11.5, $3,400. 4, Kase Bacque, Huntsville, Texas, 12.2, $2,500. 5, Trenton Smith, Bigfoot, Texas, 13.1, $1,600. 6, (tie) *Trent Creager, Stillwater, Okla., and Haven Meged, Miles City, Mont., 13.8, $450 each. *advances based on tie-breaker.
Rookie Saddle Bronc: (Round 1) 1, Isaac Richard, Eunice, La., 83 points on Korkow Rodeo’s Prairie Worm, $1,252. 2, Chance West, Chino Valley, Ariz., 80, $941. 3, (tie) Rowdy Dunklin, Cheyenne, Wyo., and Cable Wareham, Whiting, Kan., 79, $564 each. 5, (tie) Denton Ward, Goodwell, Okla., and Clancy Glenn, Parma, Idaho, 77, $226 each. (Round 2): 1, Reed Neely, Sanger, Calif., 8 on Korkow Rodeo’s What Feathers, $1,242. 2, Ira Dickinson, Rock Springs, Wyo., 81, $941. 3, Carson Bingham, Rigby, Idaho, 77, $677. 4, Lavern Borntreger, Elsmere, Neb., 76, $451. (Total on two): 1, Wareham, 154, $1,242. 2, Q McWhorter, San Luis Obispo, Calif., 150, $941. 3, Bingham, 149, $677. 4, Dunklin, 147, $451. 5, (tie) Jacob Benham, Dodge City, Kan., and Dickinson, 146, $226 each.
Saddle Bronc Riding: 1, Q Taylor, Casper, Wyoming, 86 points on Summit Pro Rodeo’s 86, $3,051. 2, Kade Bruno, Challis, Idaho, 84, $2,312. 3, Stetson Wright, Milford, Utah, 83.5, $1,664. 4, Ross Griffin, Tularosa, N.M., 83, $1,110. 5, Will Pollock, Utopia, Texas, 82.5, $647. 6, Weston Patterson, Waverly, Kan., and Tanner Butner, Daniel, Wyo., 82 and $231 each.
Team Roping: 1, Paul David Tierney, Oklahoma City and Tanner Braden, Dewey, Okla., 8.7 seconds, $5,200. 2, Chad Masters, Cedar Hill, Tenn., and Paul Eaves, Lonedell, Mo., 9.1, $4,300. 3, Turner Harris, Killdeer, N.D., and Matt Kasner, Cody, Neb., 9.3, $3,400. 4, Brayden Parker and Dustin Searcy, Scottsdale, Ariz., 11.0, $2,500. 5, Britt Williams, Hammond, Mont., and Cayden Cox, Arroyo Grande, Calif., 18.0, $1,600. 6, Rio Nutter, Rapid City, S.D., and Daine McNenny, Hereford, S.D., 18.0, $900.
Steer Wrestling: 1, Jesse Brown, Baker City, Ore., 6.9 seconds, $4,060. 2, Will Lummus, Byhalia, Miss., 7.2, $3,360. 3, Bridger Chambers, Stevensville, Mont., 7.6, $2,660. 4, Mason Couch, Bronaugh, Mo., 7.9, $1,960. 5, Trell Etbauer, Goodwell, Okla., 8.9, $1,260. 6, Denton Good, Long Valley, S.D., 9.1, $700.
Barrel Racing: 1, Leslie Smalygo, Skiatook, Okla., 17.16 seconds, $5,120. 2, Taycie Matthews, Wynne, Ark., 17.28, $4,237. 3, Jessica Routier, Buffalo, S.D., 17.36, $3,354. 4, Rachelle Riggers, Lewiston, Idaho, 17.47, $2,472. 5, Presley Smith, Danham Springs, La., 17.50, $1,589. 6, Lisa Lockhart, Oehlrichs, S.D., 17.67, $883.
Bull Riding: (five rides) 1, Garrett Smith, Rexburg, Idaho, 89.5 points on United Pro Rodeo’s Paradise, $3,181. 2, Shad Winn, Nephi, Utah, 86, $2,105. 3, Dawson Gleaves, Amarillo, Texas, 83, $1,216. 4, Jeff Askey, Athens, Texas, 82, $1,216. 5, Jared Parsonage, Maple Creek, Saskatchewan, Canada, 80.5, $748.