Rusty Wright hopes to be first saddle bronc rider in his family to win “the Daddy”

CHEYENNE, Wyo. — July 26, 2017 — Rusty Wright knows how difficult it is to stand out in a field of professional saddle bronc riders. Eight members of his family –  his father Cody, brother Ryder, four uncles and an uncle by marriage – all competed on Wednesday at the 121^st Cheyenne Frontier Days Rodeo (CFD).

The Wright family saddle bronc accolades are many – four world championships, three national circuit finals championships, three Wrangler National Finals Rodeo (WNFR) titles, 28 WNFR qualifications, plus several circuit championships, etc. Despite their collective saddle bronc riding success, no Wright family member has won coveted CFD saddle bronc riding championship.

Rusty, who lives in Milford, Utah, took the first step to ending that drought when he moved into the lead in the first round on Wednesday. His score of 86 points on Three Hills Rodeo’s bucking horse Jumbo Jet put him one point ahead of Oklahoman Hardy Braden who had held the lead since the first performance. Another ride of that caliber in the second round on Thursday would guarantee Rusty a spot in the finals here on Sunday and a shot at the elusive CFD title.

Two years ago, Tanner Aus won the bareback riding championship here at the “Daddy of ‘em All” and went on to qualify for his first WNFR. This year the Granite Falls, Minnesota, cowboy is ranked third in the world standings and is making a bid for a second Cheyenne Frontier Days Rodeo (CFD) championship.

An 86.5-point ride on Three Hills Rodeo’s horse Just Peachy on Wednesday gave Aus the lead in the first round of CFD bareback riding. He’ll try to take the lead in both the second round and overall when he attempts to ride United Pro Rodeo’s horse Awesome Sauce on Thursday. In the past two years, Aus has won nearly $20,000 at Frontier Park and he’s hoping another big win here will help him toward his first world championship

The sixth performance of the Cheyenne Frontier Days Rodeo is designated “Tough Enough to Wear Pink” Day to raise awareness of breast cancer. When it begins at 12:15 p.m. tomorrow, all contestants will be competing in the second round.

CHEYENNE, Wyo., July 26, 2017 — The following are leaders at the Cheyenne Frontier Days Rodeo.

Bareback Riding: (first round leaders) 1, Tanner Aus, Granite Falls, Minn., 86.5 points on Three Hills Rodeo’s Just Peachy. 2, Jake Vold, 85.5. 3, (tie) David Peebles, Redmond, Ore., and Will Lowe, Canyon, Texas, 84.5. 5, Austin Foss, Terrebonne, Ore., and Clayton Biglow, Clements, Calif., 83.5 (second round leaders) 1, (tie) Luke Creasy, Lovington, N.M., on United Pro Rodeo’s Pow Wow Rocks, and Richmond Champion, The Woodlands, Texas, on Stace Smith Rodeos’ Size Matters, 86 points. 3, Peebles, 84.5. 4, (tie) Trenton Montero, Winnemucca, Nev., and Caleb Bennett, Tremonton, Utah, 84. 6, Jessy Davis, Power, Mont., 83.5. (total on two) 1, Peebles, 169 points. 2, Bennett, 166.5. 3, Montero, 166. 4, (tie) Creasy and Champion, 165. 6, Lane McGehee, Victoria, Texas,164.5.

Steer Wrestling: (first round leaders) 1, Ty Erickson, Helena, Mont., 7.2 seconds. 2, Casey Martin, Sulphur, La., 7.5. 3, Scott Guenthner, Provost, Alberta, 8.0. 4, Clayton Hass, Weatherford, Texas, 8.1. 5, Josh Boka, Dillon, Mont., 8.6. 6, Nick Guy, Sparta, Wis., 8.7. (second round leaders) 1, Chason Floyd, Buffalo, S.D., 9.5 seconds. 2, (tie) Clark and Jacob Shofner, Huntsville, Texas, 10.4. 3, Blair Jones, Colby, Kan., 10.5. 4, Justen Nokes, Juniata, Neb., 10.6. 5, Billy Bugenig, Ferndale, Calif., 10.8. 6, Olin Hannum, Malad, Utah, 11.4. (total on two) 1, Beau Clark, Cheyenne, Wyo., 20.8. 2, Hannum, 22.2. 3, Guy, 23.8. 4, Shofner, 26.0. 5, Erickson, 26.7. 6, Damian Padilla, Rio Rico, Ariz., 26.8.

Tie-Down Roping: (first round) 1, Scott Kormos, Teague, Texas, 9.9 seconds. 2, Lane Livingston, Seymour, Texas, 10.7. 3, Mesquite Kody Mahaffey, Sweetwater, Texas, 11.1. 4, (tie) Jake Hannum, Plain City, Utah; Ryan Jarrett, Comanche, Okla., and Seth Cooke, Weatherford, Texas, 11.5. (second round) 1, Stetson Vest, Childress, Texas, 11.3. 2, Shank Edwards, Tatum, N.M., 11.5. 3, Bryson Sechrist, Apache, Okla., 11.6. Jerome Schneeberger, Ponca City, Okla., 11.7. (total on two) 1, Livingston, 23.7 seconds. 2, Schneeberger, 23.8. 3, Jarrett, 24.8. 4, Sechrist, 25.7. 5, Michael Otero, Lowdesboro, Ala., 25.9.  6, Joe Keating, Sour Lake, Texas, 26.1.

Saddle Bronc Riding: (first round) 1, Rusty Wright, Milford, Utah, 86 points on Three Hills Rodeo’s Jumbo Jet. 2, Hardy Braden, Welch, Okla., 85. 3, (tie) Ryder Wright, Milford, Utah, and Brody Cress, Hillsdale, Wyo., 83.5. 5, Jake Wright, Milford, Utah, 83. 6, Colton J Miller, Lance Creek, Wyo., 82.5. (second round leaders) 1, (tie) Andy Clarys, Riverton, Wyo., on Sankey Pro Rodeo & Robinson Bulls’ Con Man; Lufkin on Rocky Mountain Rodeo’s Elvira, and Cort Scheer, Elsmere, Neb., on New West Rodeo Productions’ Barn Dance. 4, Dean Wadsworth, Ozona, Texas, 82. 5, Miller, 81.5. 6, (tie) Sterling Crawley, Stephenville, Texas, and Jacobs Crawley, 80. (total on two) 1, Lufkin, 165 points. 2, Miller, 164. 3, (tie) Jacobs Crawley and Bradley Harter, Loranger, La., 160.5. 5, Braden, 159. 6, (tie) Clarys and Will Smith, Marshall, Mo., 157.

Rookie Saddle Bronc Riding: (first round) 1, Dawson Hay, Wildwood, Alberta, 73.5 points. 2, Houston Garrett Brown, Miles City, Mont., 73. 3, Quincy Crum, McArthur, Calif., 72. 4, Johnny Espeland, Tygh Valley, Ore., 71. 5, Brady Love, Wellington, Colo., 69. 6, Tucker Hill, Klamath Falls, Ore., 66. 6, 60. (second round leaders) 1, Ross Griffin, Tularosa, N.M., 77 points. 2, (tie) Chance Masters, Leon, Iowa, and Holman, 71. 4, (tie) Taylor Tupper, St. Onge, S.D., and Cole Hatcher, Twin Falls, Idaho, 70. 6, Reed Neely, Sanger, Calif., 67. (total on two) 1, (tie) Espeland and Lefty Holman, Visalia, Calif., 131 points. 3, Tegan Smith, Winterset, Iowa, 117.5. 4, Neely, 117. 5, Hill, 115. (on one) 6, Griffin, 77.

Team Roping: (first round) 1, Paul David Tierney, Oral, S.D., and Levi Tyan, Wallace, Neb., 7.3 seconds. 2, (tie) Riley and Brady Minor, Ellensburg, Wash., and Wade and Kyon Kreutzer, La Veta, Colo., 8.7. 4, (tie) Brandon Webb, Carrizo Springs, Texas, and Kollin VonAhn, Blanchard, Okla., and Aaron Macy, Post, Texas and Evan Arnold, Santa Margarita, Calif., 8.8. 6, Andrew and Reagan Ward, Edmond, Okla., 9.0. (second round) 1, Dustin Bird, Cut Bank, Mont., and Russell Cardoza, Terrebonne, Ore., 7.2. 3, Shay Carroll, La Junta, Colo., and Trey Johnson, Burleson, Texas, 8.3. 4, Rhen Richard, Roosevelt, Utah, and Rich Skelton, Llano, Texas, 8.5. 5, (tie) Cody Snow, Los Olivos, Calif., and Wesley Thorp, Throckmorton, Texas; and Jay Tittle, Pueblo, Colo., and Richard Durham, Weatherford, Texas, 8.6. (total on two) 1, Tierney and Tyon, 16.9 seconds. 2, (tie) Yates and Wadhams; and Minor and Minor, 18.7. 4, (tie) Wade and Kyon Kreutzer, and Webb and VonAhn, 18.8. 6, Andrew and Reagan Ward, 18.9.

Barrel Racing: (second round leaders) 1, Carla Beckett, Laramie, Wyo., 17.44. 2, Jana Bean, Fort Hancock, Texas, 17.59. 3, Tiany Schuster, Krum, Texas, 17.69. 4, Brittany Pozzi-Tonozzi, Victoria, Texas, 17.72. 5. Tammy Fischer, Ledbetter, Texas, 17.74. 6, Michele McLeod, Whitesboro, Texas, 17.77. (total on two) 1, Bean, 35.36 seconds. 2, Jackie Ganter, Abilene, Texas, 35.43. 3, Pozzi-Tonozzi, 35.45. 4, Schuster, 35.82. 5, Beckett, 35.96. 6, Fischer, 36.03.

 Bull Riding: (first round) 1, Denton Fugate, Dixon, Mo., 88.5 points on Smith, Harper & Morgan’s Red Cloud. 2, (tie) Elliot Jacoby, Fredericksburg, Texas, and Bayle Worden, Charleston, Texas, 87. 4, Cody Teel, Kountze, Texas, 84. 5, (tie) Boudreaux Campbell, Crockett, Texas, and Brendon Averett, Loranger, La., 83. 5, 82. 6, Tate Smith, Litchville, N.D., 76. (second round leaders) (four rides) 1, Teel, 89 points on Rocky Mountain Rodeo’s Bomb Pop. 2, Clayton Sellars, Fruitland Park, Fla., 3, Jordan Hansen, Okotoks, Alberta, 81. 4, Riley Blankenship, Killdeer, N.D. 67. (total on two) 1, Teel, 173 points. (on one) 2, Fugate, 88.5. 3, Jacoby, 87. 4, (tie) Campbell and Sellars, 83.6, Caleb Sanderson, Hallettsville, Texas, 82.

Wild Horse Race: 1, Billy Sharton Team, $610. 2, Bill Agin Team, $458. 3, Serafin Robles Team, $305. 4, Swagima Team, $152.