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By Johna Cravens and Susan Kanode
Jacobs Crawley took the overall lead in saddle bronc riding at the Cheyenne Frontier Days Rodeo on Saturday with an 86.5-point ride on Stace Smith Pro Rodeo’s Hammer Cocked. (photo by Dan Hubbell)
CHEYENNE, Wyo. — There are few people who like their jobs more than saddle bronc rider Jacobs Crawley. That has been evident at this year’s Cheyenne Frontier Days Rodeo (CFD).
Crawley from Boerne, Texas, has been in the pole position in the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) for most of this season. He became last year’s world champion after coming from behind and winning over $160,000 at the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo (NFR) in Las Vegas.
The 28-year-old Texan holds the lead in the race for the 2016 title and here at Cheyenne. His consistency was on display Friday and Saturday at Frontier Park at the 120th annual “Daddy of ‘em All.” On Friday he scored 86 points, finishing just a half-point behind Louisiana cowboy Heith DeMoss in the first round of bronc riding.
Saturday he was even better, with an 86.5-point effort on Stace Smith Pro Rodeo’s bronc Hammer Cocked. Again, his score was good enough for second place in round two, behind Canadian Zeke Thurston. More importantly, his total of 172.5 gave him the overall lead going into the championship finals on Sunday.
Crawley, who has qualified for the NFR five times, leads both DeMoss and Thurston by 1.5 points. None of the three have won a championship here, an achievement that is on every cowboy’s bucket list. They will have the advantage Sunday over a tough finals’ field that includes three-time CFD champ Cody DeMoss and two-time world champion Cody Wright, among others. Eight of the 12 cowboys riding on Sunday have qualified for the NFR at least one time.
Crawley should be able to get some tips about the horse he’ll be riding in the finals, Korkow Rodeo’s Instant Noodle. His brother Sterling, also an NFR qualifier, won second at St. Paul, Ore., over the Fourth of July this year on the horse with a score of 82.5.
Also on Saturday, world standings leader Tim O’Connell of Zwingle, Iowa, scored 85 points to win the second round of bareback riding and more than $5,500. He’s tied for third overall, five points behind leader Orin Larsen of Canada.
Jake Rinehart of Highmore, S.D., tied for the second round win with an 8.2 on Saturday and won $5,800. But his first round performance will keep him from earning a second CFD steer wrestling title. He was the champion here in 2009.
The rookie saddle bronc riding ended on Saturday with the crowning of the 2016 CFD champion, Blaise Freeman of Snyder, Texas. The 18-year-old cowboy took home the coveted championship buckle for his total score of 139 points and just over $1,900. Freeman, who qualified for the College National Finals Rodeo in June as a freshman, has now earned enough prize money to become a full-fledged PRCA member.
The field for Sunday’s championship finals includes 14 former CFD Rodeo champions. There are also eight world champions that will be competing and only three of them have ever won a title here. That list includes Sherry Cervi, from Marana, Ariz., in the barrel racing, Shane Proctor, from Coulee City, Wash., in bull riding and Dean Gorsuch from Gering, Neb., in steer wrestling.
Competition for the 2016 CFD championships will begin at Frontier Park at 12:15 p.m. on Sunday, July 31. Along with winning the lion’s share of over $831,000 each event winner as well as the all-around champion will receive a winner’s package that includes a saddle and the prestigious and unique CFD trophy buckle.
Bareback Riding: (second round winners) 1, Tim O’Connell, Zwingle, Iowa, 85 points on J Bar J Rodeo’s Rodeo Beyond, $5,518. 2, Tanner Aus, Granite Falls, Minn., 84.5, $4,230. 3, Shane O’Connell, Rapid City, S.D., 84, $3,127. 4, Colin Adams, Deloraine, Manitoba, 83, $2,023, 5, Orin Larsen, Inglis, Manitoba, 82, $1,287, 82. 6, Winn Ratliff, Leesville, La., 81.5, $920. 7, Grant Denny, Minden, Nev., 81, $736. 8, Justin Miller, Billings, Mont., 80.5, $556. (finals qualifiers) 1, Larsen, 169. 2, Shane O’Connell, 164.5. 3, (tie) Tim O’Connell and Grant Denny, Minden, Nev. 164. 5, Aus, 162.5. 6, Tyler Nelson, Victor, Idaho, 163.5. 7, Wyatt Denny, Minden, Nev., 160. 8, (tie) Richmond Champion, The Woodlands, Texas, and Miller, 158.5. 10, Adams, 157. 11, Kelly Timberman, Mills, Wyo., 156.5. 12, George Gillespie, Hamilton, Mont., 156.
Steer Wrestling: (second round winners) 1, (tie) Dru Melvin, Hebron, Neb., and Jake Rinehart, Highmore, S.D., 8.2 seconds, $5,842 each. 3, J.D. Struxness, Appleton, Minn., 8.7, $4,619. 4, (tie) Chance Howard, Cedarville, Ark., and Cody Kroul, Solon, Iowa, 9.6, $3,396 each. 6, Jason Lahr, Stephenville, Texas, 10.2, $2,174. 7, (tie) Olin Hannum, Malad, Idaho, and Riley Butler, Blackfoot, Idaho, 10.3, $951 each. (finals qualifiers) 1, Billy Bugenig, Ferndale, Calif., 17.2. 2, Struxness, 17.6. 3, Gary Gilbert, New Underwood, S.D., 19.4. 4, Dean Gorsuch, Gering, Neb., 19.6. 5, (tie) Dirk Tavenner, Rigby, Idaho; Stephen Culling, Fort St. Jon, British Columbia, and Chance Howard, 20.2. 8, Jon Ragatz, Beetown, Wis., 21.8. 9, Jason Thomas, Benton, Ark., 22.2. 10, Rowdy Parrott, Mamou, La., 22.3. 11, Sean Santucci, Prineville, Ore, 22.5. 12, (tie) Dakota Eldridge, Elko, Nev., and Chason Floyd, Buffalo, S.D., 22.6.
Tie-Down Roping: (second round winners) 1, Bryson Sechrist, Apache, Okla., 10.3, $6,488. 2, Marty Yates, Stephenville, Texas, 11.0, $5,641. 3, Josh Peek, Pueblo, Colo., 11.1, $4,795. 4, Matt Shiozawa, Chubbock, Idaho, 11.4, $3,949. 5, Cody McCartney, Ottawa Lake, Mich., 11.5, $3,103. 6, Marcos Costa, Childress, Texas, 11.9, $2,257. 7, Stephen McLauchlin, Rockwall, Texas, 12.2, $1,410. 8, (tie) Adam Gray, Seymour, Texas, and Blake Ash, Aurora, Mo., 29.7, $282 each. (finals qualifiers) 1, Shiozawa, 22.8. 2, Clint Cooper, Decatur, Texas, 24.9. 3, Kyle Lucas, Carstairs, Alberta, 25.2. 4, Reese Reimer, Stinnett, Texas, 25.7. 5, Cory Solomon, Prairie View, Texas, 26.0. 7, Josh Jennings, Glendale, Utah, 26.1. 8, Quay Howard, Canyon, Texas, 26.3. 9, (tie) Trell Etbauer, Goodwell, Okla., and Brice Ingo, Boone, Colo., 26.4. 10, Boe Brown, Valentine, Neb., 26.5. 11, Lane Jeffrey, Wilburton, Okla., 26.6. 12, Jerome Schneeberger, Ponca City, Okla., 26.7.
Saddle Bronc Riding: (second round winners) 1, Zeke Thurston, Big Valley, Alberta, 87 points on Salt River Rodeo’s Smoke Ring, $4,889. 2, Jacobs Crawley, Boerne, Texas, 86.5, $3,748. 3, Hardy Braden, Welch, Okla., 85, $2,771. 4. Heith DeMoss, Heflin, La., 84.5, $1,793. 5, (tie) Jade Blackwell, Rapid City, S.D., and Dawson Jandreau, Kennebec, S.D., 84, $978 each. 7, Ryder Wright, Milford, Utah, 83.5, $651. 8, (tie) Charlie Kogianes, Provo, Utah, and Nat Stratton, Goodwell, Okla. 83, $244 each. (finals qualifiers) 1, Crawley, 172.5. 2, (tie) Thurston and Heith DeMoss, 171. 4, Braden, 168.5. 5, Cody DeMoss, Heflin, La., 163. 6, Samuel Kelts, Millarville, Alberta, 161. 7, (tie) Ryder Wright and Cody Wright, Milford, Utah, 160.5. 9, Tyrell J. Smith, Great Falls, Mont., 160. 10, (tie) CoBurn Bradshaw, Beaver, Utah, and Garet Aldridge, Huntsville, Texas, 159. 12, Nat Stratton, Goodwell, Okla., 158.5.
Steer Roping: (finals qualifiers) 1, Todd Casebolt, Ryan, Okla., 32.8 seconds. 2, Jarrett Blessing, Paradise, Texas, 33.3. 3, Bobby Joe Hill, Mexia, Texas, 36.4. 4, Delon Parker, Worden, Mont., 37.4. 5, J.D. Yates, Pueblo, Colo., 38.8. 6, Darin Suit, Ames, Okla., 39.2. 7, Troy Tillard, Douglas, Wyo., 41.1. 8, Chet Herren, Pawhuska, Okla., 41.7. 9, Coy Thompson, Whitewood, S.D., 42.5. 10, Vin Fisher, Jr., Andrews, Texas, 43.2. 11, Jim Ward, Pendleton, Ore., 43.3. 12, Dan Fisher, Andrews, Texas, 44.7.
Rookie Saddle Bronc Riding: (second round winners) 1, Josh Davison, Miles City, Mont., 76.5 points, $1,230. 2, Shayde Etbauer, Goodwell, Okla., 76, $932. 3, Blaise Freeman, Snyder, Texas, 74, $671. 4, Jeff Cover, Ashby, Neb., 65.5, $447. 5, William Bagley, Baker, Mont., 65, $261. 6, Clay Stremler, Fallon, Nev., 64, $186. (total on two) 1. Freeman, 139, $1,230. 2, Telden McLain, Tuscarora, Nev., 137, $932. 3, Clay Stremler, 132, $671. 4, McKoy Hugh Christiansen, Emery, Utah, 129, $447. 5, (tie) Ross Griffin, Tularosa, N.M., and Kody Rinehart, Rienzi, Miss., 118, $224 each.
Team Roping: (second round winners) 1, (tie) J.B. Lord and Levi Lord, Sturgis, S.D.; Jr. Dees, Aurora, S.D., and Matt Zancanella, Aurora, S.D.; and J.D. and Trey Yates, Pueblo, Colo., 8.2, $5,512 each. 4, Cale Markham, Vinita, Okla., and Buddy Hawkins, Columbus, Kan., 8.3, $3,858 each. 5, Randon Adams, Logandale, Nev., and Jory Levy, Logandale, Nev., 8.5, $3,031 each. 6, Kaleb Driggers, Albany, Ga., and Junior Nogueira, Burleson, Texas, $2,205 each. 7, (tie) Pate Norell, Delta, Colo., and Joe Roderick, Loma, Colo., and Nathan McWhorter, Telephone, Texas, and Dustin Davis, Terrell, Texas, 9.0, $965 each. (finals qualifiers) 1, Tyler Wade, Terrell, Texas, and Dakota Kirchenschlager, Morgan Mill, Texas, 17.2. 2, J.D. and Trey Yates, 18.5. 3, Tom Richards, Humboldt, Ariz., and Evan Arnold, Santa Margarita, Calif., 19.1. 4, (tie) Driggers and Nogueira and Casey Tew, Billings, Mont., and John Robertson, Polson, Mont., 19.6. 6, McWhorter and Davis, 19.7. 7, Brevik and Teller, 19.9. 8, Rose and Woodard, 20.0. 9, (tie) Joe Beaver, Huntsville, Texas, and McCoy Profili, Okeechobee, Fla., and Aaron Macy, Post, Texas, and Bret Tonozzi, Loma, Colo., 20.2. 11, Pace Freed, Chubbuck, Idaho, and Logan Medlin, Stephenville, Texas, 21.7. 12, Cole Dorenkamp, Lamar, Colo., and Josh Fillmore, Penrose, Colo., 22.3.
Barrel Racing: (second round winners) 1, Jana Bean, Fort Hancock, Texas, 17.16 seconds, $6,212. 2, Kathy Korell-Rach, Loveland, Colo., 17.29, $5,324. 3, Sherry Cervi, Marana, Ariz., 17.42, $4,437. 4, Sabra O’Quinn, Ocala, Fla., 17.43, $3,845. 5. Amber Leigh Moore, Salem, Ore., 17.45, $2,958. 6, Tyra Kane, Dublin, Texas, 17.46, $2,366. 7, Tillar Murray, Fort Worth, Texas, 17.58, $1,775. 8, (tie) Kelly Kennedy-Joseph, Berthoud, Colo., and Romany Gordon, Kaufman, Texas, 17.60, $1,035. 10, Stevi Hillman, Weatherford, Texas, 17.62, $592. (total on two) 1, Tillar Murray, Fort Worth, Texas, 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, Brenda Mays, Terrebonne, Ore., 35.51. 8, Sydni Blanchard, Albuquerque, N.M., 35.53. 9, Kane, 35.57. 10, Korell-Rach, 35.58. 11, (tie) Carley Richardson, Pampa, Texas, and Amber Leigh Moore, Salem, Ore., 35.59.
Bull Riding: (second round winners) 1, Roscoe Jarboe, New Plymouth, Idaho, 85 points on Dakota Rodeo’s Crossfire, $5,848. 2, (tie) Eli Vastbinder, Statesville, N.C., and Bayle Worden, Charleston, Texas, 83.5, $3,899 each. 4, (tie) Garrett Tribble, Bristow, Okla., Jacob O’Mara, Baton Rouge, La., and Sage Kimzey, Strong City, Okla., 81, $1,494 each. 7, (tie) Kurtis Turner, Washington, Utah, and Tyler Smith, Fruita, Colo., 80.5, $682 each. (total on two) 1, Vastbinder, 166. 2, Jarboe, 165. 3, (tie) Ty Wallace, Collbran, Colo., and Hendrix, 160.5. 5, Yoder, 159.5. 6, Tyler Smith, 158.5. 7, Jeff Askey, Athens, Texas, 155.5. 8, Jordan Hansen, Oktooks, Alberta, 153.5. 9, Garrett Smith, Rexburg, Idaho, 87. 10, Trevor Reiste, Linden, Iowa, 86.5. 11, Shane Proctor, Grand Coulee, Wash., 84. 12, Bayle Worden, Charleston, Texas, 83.5. 13, Dallee Mason, Weiser, Idaho, 83. 14, Jeston Mead, Holcomb, Kan., 82.5. 15, Trevor Kastner, Ardmore, Okla., 82.0. 16, (tie) Sage Kimzey, Strong City, Okla.; Jacob O’Mara, Baton Rouge La.; Garrett Tribble, Bristow, Okla.; Brady Portenier, Caldwell, Idaho; Lon Danley, Tularosa, N.M., and Jeff Bertus, Avon, S.D.
Wild Horse Race: 1, Dylan Pierce, $573. 2, Team Nozie, $430. 3, Team Agin, $286. 4, Gary White, $143. (overall money leaders) 1, (tie) Dylan Pierce and Team Krak-A-Latch, $1002. 3, Jason Smith, $716. 4, (tie) Jason Smith, Billy Sharton, John Long, Harwood Cowboy, Team Allen and Hansen Hauling, $573.