By Susan Kanode

CHEYENNE, Wyo. — When the last bull bucked and the last horse left the arena at Frontier Park on Sunday, July 31, the 120^th annual celebration of the Western lifestyle came to a close.

The success of Cheyenne Frontier Days (CFD) is due to the hard working dedication of over 2,500 volunteers who work under 10 different committees. A new record for night show attendance was set on the final Saturday night for Florida Georgia Line with Cole Swindell with 25,011 tickets sold.

Grounds improvements this year saw new sidewalks and redevelopment of the front gate area. This included a new shopping venue and an amphitheater where rodeo announcer Andy Stewart hosted a daily talk show and performed live music. A new stage for Frontier Nights concerts provided greater production capabilities for an improved concert experience.

Also new this year, the Bureau of Land Management, Bravehearts organization and the Mantle Ranch at Wheatland, Wyo., came together at Frontier Park to work with wild horses during the first week. After the military veterans of Bravehearts worked with the horses and burros, all 22 horses and burros were bid on and adopted at a sale on July 29.

Military Monday was larger than last year with 12,374 total rodeo attendance. Additionally, the USAF Thunderbirds and Navy Seals were a popular attraction. CFD honored all branches of the military and active personnel and veterans received free admission in honor of their service.

Sunday’s championship finals drew 13,235 fans to watch cowboys and cowgirls compete for trophy buckles and saddles along with the lion’s share of $831,571 in prize money. Total rodeo attendance through nine Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association and Women’s Professional Rodeo Association sanctioned events as well as the $100,000 Cinch Shoot-out was 98,246.  Teams competed at the Shoot-out for local sponsors and $10,000 was raised for local charities.

The last three performances of the rodeo were broadcast live on the Wrangler Network. The Network reported that the final Sunday was the largest in their history of broadcasting rodeos with viewers from 74 countries.

Additionally, the Championship Bull Riding World Finals was part of Frontier Nights on Monday and Tuesday where Sage Kimzey won the world title and $120,000 in cash. The two nights of bull riding had 13,328 fans in attendance.

Total attendance was 259,193, compared to 266,030 last year. Numbers were slightly down at the Pancake breakfasts and parades, due to inclement weather. The Indian Village had 48,926 visitors. Attendance at the four grand parades was estimated at 65,000 with an additional 23,589 people venturing downtown to participate in the pancake breakfasts.

“We are very pleased with the results of this year’s celebration,” said Bill Berg who is in his first year as General Chairman of Cheyenne Frontier Days. “We depend on our volunteers, not just for 10 days in July, but all year long to orchestrate this huge undertaking. For a community of just over 60,000, this is a tremendous undertaking. We have volunteers from across the country and our family gets larger every year. We couldn’t provide world class entertainment for our guests without each and every one of them.”

Throughout the rodeo, parades and CBR World Finals, more than 6,000 animals were the centerpiece of attractions. Approximately 4,000 of them appeared in the rodeo. An on-site team of veterinarians inspected animals at least twice daily where their comprehensive reports showed 113 of them examined. Fourteen of those were treated for injuries and 11 are expected to make a full recovery.

The D.A. Fort Russell Days open house at F.E. Warren Airforce Base had 20,264 guests. There were 3,386 people who got to see behind the scenes and learn about the rodeo at the Behind the Chutes tours.

The Justin Sportsmedicine Team provided nearly 500 treatments to rodeo and bull riding athletes. A saddle bronc rider was transported and treated at Cheyenne Regional Medical Center and released. There was also a bareback rider who sustained a broken foot and ankle. He will miss the rest of the rodeo season.

During Saturday night’s concert it was announced that Jason Aldean and Thomas Rhett will be part of the lineup for the 2017 Frontier Nights. This year’s celebration will be carefully evaluated and considered as plans are being made for next year, July 21 – 30, 2017.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ht9VYjtZLM0&feature=youtu.be

By Susan Kanode

After 20 years of competing at the Cheyenne Frontier Days Rodeo, Jerome Schneeberger of Ponca City, Okla., won the tie-down roping championship. (photo by Dan Hubbell)

CHEYENNE, Wyo. – When the 2016 Cheyenne Frontier Days Rodeo started, there were 1,216 contestants entered. On Sunday 10 of them earned the coveted buckle that is legendary, prestigious and one of the most sought-after and hard-to-earn championships in the rodeo world.

Case in point, this year’s tie-down roping winner Jerome Schneeberger from Ponca City, Okla., has been coming here for 20 years and finally won the title. This year’s champions ran the gamut of rodeo experience from Schneeberger’s 20 years to a rodeo rookie.

Seven of the ten championships went to first-time winners at the 120^th edition of the “Daddy of ‘em All.”  Texan Jarett Blessing, who won the steer roping in 2014 and again this year, was the only individual to repeat as champion. J.D. Yates of Pueblo, Colo., the steer roping winner here in 1994, earned the all-around title, competing in steer roping and team roping. Early in his career, he was in the team roping here with his father. On Sunday, he roped in front of 13,235 fans with his son Trey Yates. They earned $13,317 each in team roping. J.D. Yates earned additional money in steer roping to give him a total of $24,351 to get the buckle.

The most surprising win of the day was Schneeberger’s victory in the tie-down roping. He did not win money in either of the two preliminary rounds and qualified for the 12^th and last position for the finals. He was the first roper out of the box and put together a 12.4-second run to take the early lead. His total time was 39.1 seconds, but since he came into the finals about four seconds slower than the leader, the odds were stacked against him. He had to wait through 11 ropers before he was announced as the winner.

This was Schneeberger’s 20^th consecutive trip to Cheyenne. He has had success here before and even come close to winning the title but saw it slip from his grasp at the last minute.

“I thought it (winning the title) could happen, but I didn’t think about winning it until the last roper started having a bit of trouble,” he said. The Oklahoma cowboy has qualified for the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo (NFR) in Las Vegas 11 times, but after shoulder surgery earlier this year, he is focusing on rodeos close to home.

At the opposite end of the spectrum was bull rider Roscoe Jarboe. The 20-year-old Idaho cowboy is in his rookie season in the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA). He was ranked 14^th in the world championship standings and led the rookie standings earlier this week. After earning more than $15,000 in Cheyenne, he’s in seventh and in a much better position to qualify for his first NFR. Jarboe is also in the lead in the Resistol Rookie Standings in the bull riding.

Two competitors in their second seasons of pro rodeo took home the coveted CFD trophy buckles. J.D. Struxness of Appleton, Minn., who won the College National Finals Rodeo championship in steer wrestling in June, was much less nervous about competing at storied Frontier Park this year.

“When you are here for the first time, you are a little nervous,” Struxness said. “You hear about all the wrecks people have had and never hear about the good runs. Coming back for a second time, you are not as nervous.” His more than $15,000 payday here gives him a legitimate shot to qualify for his first NFR.

Tillar Murray, a 19-year-old barrel racer from Fort Worth, Texas, also competed here for the second time. “It is such an honor to run in the finals at Cheyenne, no matter how you do,” she said.

Murray, who will start her sophomore year at the University of Texas at Austin next month, has had an up-and-down season. Earlier this year her horse was hurt, then her trainer Ed Wright died in March and she took a break from barrel racing. When she returned to competition, she began riding a different horse, Royal Star Commander, that carried her to the CFD championship.

The biggest single event money winners in Cheyenne were team ropers Tyler Wade and Dakota Kirchenschlager. The Texas duo won more than $17,000 each, not bad for a pair of cowboys who just teamed up four months ago. Kirchenschlager has qualified for the NFR twice with other partners, but he and Wade both missed last year’s NFR by a slim margin. This win puts them both in the top ten and increases their chances to rope in Las Vegas in December.

Reigning world champion saddle bronc rider, and world standings leader, Jacobs Crawley from Boerne, Texas, put another notch in his gun here on Sunday. He won second in both preliminary rounds and was in the lead coming into the finals. He got on Korkow Rodeo’s Instant Noodle and scored 88.5 points to dominate his signature event. He added $16,480 to his earnings to widen the gap in the world standings.

Orin Larsen from Inglis, Manitoba won the bareback riding with 255.5 points. Larsen qualified for his first NFR last December. Then he won the San Antonio Stock Show Rodeo in February and has been among the top three in the world standings since then. He earned $16,331 here.

Blessing had a total time of 53.9 seconds to earn his second steer roping title. The Paradise, Texas, ag teacher won $11,033.

Dates for the 121^st Annual Cheyenne Frontier Days are July 21 – 30, 2017.

2016 Cheyenne Frontier Days Rodeo Champions

Bareback Riding – Orin Larsen, Inglis, Manitoba, 255.5 points, $16,331

Steer Wrestling – J.D. Struxness, Appleton, Minn., 26.7 seconds, $15,583

Team Roping – (header) Tyler Wade, Terrell, Texas, 27.0 seconds, $17,261

(heeler) Dakota Kirchenschlager, Morgan Mill, Texas, $17,261

Saddle Bronc Riding – Jacobs Crawley, Boerne, Texas, $16.480

Tie-Down Roping – Jerome Schneeberger, Ponca City, Okla., 39.1 seconds, $11,434

Barrel Racing – Tillar Murray, Fort Worth, Texas, 52.73 seconds, $16,417

Bull Riding – Roscoe Jarboe, New Plymouth, Idaho, 246 points, $12,512

Steer Roping – Jarrett Blessing, Paradise, Texas, 53.9 seconds, $11,033

All-Around – J.D. Yates, Pueblo, Colo., $24,351 won in team roping and steer roping

Bareback Riding: (final round) 1, Richmond Champion, The Woodlands, Texas, 88.5 points on Korkow Rodeo’s Onion Ring, $1,650. 2, Orin Larsen, Inglis, Manitoba, 86.5, $1,250. 3, Tim O’Connell, Zwingle, Iowa, 86, $900. 4, (tie) Wyatt Denny, Minden, Nev., and Shane O’Connell, Rapid City, S.D., $475 each. 6, Tyler Nelson, Victor, Idaho, 84.5, $250. (total on three) 1, Larsen, 255.5 points, $8,276. 2, (tie) Tim and Shane O’Connell, 250, $5,518 each. 4, Champion, 247, $3,035. 5, Nelson, 246, $1,931. 6, (tie) Wyatt Denny and Tanner Aus, Granite Falls, Minn., 245.5, $1,241 each. 8, Justin Miller, Billings, Mont., 242.5, $828.

Steer Wrestling: (final round) 1, Dakota Eldridge, Elko, Nev., 9.0 seconds, $1,829. 2, J.D. Struxness, Appleton, Minn., 9.1, $1,590. 3, Chance Howard, Cedarville, Ark., 9.6, $1,352. 3, Rowdy Parrott, Mamou, La., 10.4, $1,113. 5, Billy Bugenig, Ferndale, Calif., 10.7, $875. 6, Dirk Tavenner, Rigby, Idaho, 10.9, $636. 7, Gary Gilbert, New Underwood, S.D., 11.2, $398. 8, Dean Gorsuch, Gering, Neb., 11.3, $159. (total on three) 1, Struxness, 26.7, $9,374. 2, Bugenig, 27.9, $8,151. 3, Howard, 29.8, $6,929. 4, Gilbert, 30.6, $5,706. 5, Dean Gorsuch, Gering, Neb., 30.9, $4,483. 6, Dirk Rowdy Parrott, Mamou, La., 32.7, $815.

Tie-Down Roping: (final round) 1, Jerome Schneeberger, Ponca City, Okla., 12.4 seconds, $1,702. 2, Cory Solomon, Prairie View, Texas, 14.8, $1,480. 3, Trell Etbauer, Goodwell, Okla., 15.5, $1,258. 4, Josh Jennings, Glendale, Utah, 15.6, $1,036. 5, Brice Ingo, Boone, Colo., 16.5, $814. 6, Reese Riemer, Stinnett, Texas, $592. 7, Lane Jeffrey, Wilburton, Okla., 18.6, $370. 8, Clint Cooper, Decatur, Texas, 19.8, $148. (total on three) 1, Schneeberger, 39.1 seconds, $9,732. 2, Solomon, 40.8, $8,462. 3, Jennings, 41.7, $7,193. 4, Etbauer, 41.9, $5,924. 6, Ingo, 42.9, $4,654. 6, Riemer, 44.1, $3,385. 7, Cooper, 44.7, $2,116. 8, Jeffrey, 45.2, $846.

 Saddle Bronc Riding: (final round) 1, Jacobs Crawley, Boerne, Texas, 88.5 points on Korkow Rodeo’s Instant Noodle, $1,650. 2, Heith DeMoss, Heflin, La., 86, $1,250. 3, Ryder Wright, Milford, Utah, 85.5, $900. 4, Zeke Thurston, Big Valley, Alberta, 84.5, $600. 5, Garet Aldridge, Huntsville, Texas, 82, $350. 6, CoBurn Bradshaw, Beaver, Utah, 81.5, $250.  (total on three) 1, Crawley, 261, $7,334. 2, Heith DeMoss, 257, $5,623. 3, Thurston, 255.5, $4,156. 4, Hardy Braden, Welch, Okla., 249.5, $2,689. 5, Ryder Wright, 246, $1,711. 6, Cody DeMoss, Heflin, La., 242, $1,222. 7, Aldridge, 241, $978. 8, Bradshaw, 240.5, $733.

Steer Roping: (final round) (only 5 times) 1, Troy Tillard, Douglas, Wyo., 18.9 seconds, $1,813. 2, Jarrett Blessing, Paradise, Texas, 20.36, $1,500. 3, J.D. Yates, Pueblo, Colo., 20.7, $1,188. 4, Bobby Joe Hill, Mexia, Texas, 22.2, $875. 5, Chet Herren, Pawhuska, Okla., 22.4, $563. (total on three) 1, Jarrett Blessing, Paradise, Texas, 53.9 seconds, $8,939. 2, Bobby Joe Hill, Mexia, Texas, 58.6, $7,773. 3, J.D. Yates, Pueblo, Colo., $6,607. 4, 37.4. 5, Troy Tillard, Douglas, Wyo., 60.0, $5,441. (on two) 6, Todd Casebolt, Ryan, Okla., 32.8 $3,109. 7, Delon Parker, Worden, Mont., 37.4, $1,943. 8, Darin Suit, Ames, Okla., $39.2, $777. 

Team Roping: (final round) 1, Kaleb Driggers, Albany, Ga., and Junior Nogueira, Burleson, Texas, 8.8 seconds, $1,627 each. 2, Tyler Wade, Terrell, Texas, and Dakota Kirchenschlager, Morgan Mill, Texas, 9.8, $1,415 each. 3, Cole Dorenkamp, Lamar, Colo., and Josh Fillmore, Penrose, Colo., 11.0, $1,203. 4, Aaron Macy, Post, Texas, and Bret Tonozzi, Loma, Colo., 11.1, $991 each. 5, J.D. and Trey Yates, Pueblo, Colo., 11.8, $778 each. 6, Tom Richards, Humboldt, Ariz., and Evan Arnold, Santa Margarita, Calif., 12.8, $566 each. 7, Joe Beaver, Huntsville, Texas, and McCoy Profili, Okeechobee, Fla., 15.2, $354 each. 8, Pace Freed, Chubbuck, Idaho, and Logan Medlin, Stephenville, Texas, 17.6, $142 each. (total on three) 1, Wade and Kirchenschlager, 27.0, $9.,508 each.  2, Driggers and Nogueira, 28.4, $8,268 each. 3, J.D. and Trey Yates, 30.3, $7,027 each. 4, Richard and Arnold, 31.9, $4,547 each. 5, Dorenkamp and Fillmore, 33.3, $3,307 each. 7, Beaver and Profili, 35.4, $2,067. 8, Freed and Medlin, 39.3, $827 each.

Barrel Racing: (final round) 1, Lisa Lockhart, Oelrichs, S.D., 17.42 seconds, $4,601. 2, Amber Leigh Moore, Salem, Ore., 17.50, $3,451. 3, (tie) Jana Bean, Fort Hancock, Texas, and Sherry Cervi, Marana, Ariz., 17.51, $1,725 each (total on three) 1, Tillar Murray, Fort Worth, Texas, 52.73 seconds, $9,318. 2, Cervi, 52.82, $7,987. 3, Lockhart, 52.85, $6,655. 4, Bean, 52.90, $5,768. 5, Sydni Blanchard, Albuquerque, N.M., 53.05, $4,437. 6, Amber Leigh Moore, Salem, Ore., 53.09, $3,550. 7, Sabra O’Quinn, Ocala, Fla., 53.29, $2,662. 8, Tyra Kane, Dublin, Texas, 53.30, $1,775. 9, Brenda Mays, Terrebonne, Ore., 53.36, $1,331. 10, Carley Richardson, Pampa, Texas, 53.43, $887.

Bull Riding: (final round) (five rides) 1, (tie) Jeff Askey, Athens, Texas, on Dakota Rodeo’s Wipeout and Sage Kimzey, Strong City, Okla., on Dakota Rodeo’s Crazy Days, 86 points, $1,450 each. 3, Trevor Reiste, Linden, Iowa, 83, $900. 4, Roscoe Jarboe, New Plymouth, Idaho, 81, $600. 5, Brady Portenier, Caldwell, Idaho, 77, $350.  (total on three) 1, Jarboe, 246, $8,772. 2, Askey, 241.5, $6,725. (on two) 3, Reiste, 169.5, $4,971. 4, Kimzey, 167, $3,216. 5, Eli Vastbinder, Statesville, N.C., 166, $2,047, 6, (tie) Ty Wallace, Collbran, Colo., and Justin Hendrix, Belton, Texas, 160.5, $1,316 each. 8, Freeman Yoder, Zearing, Iowa, 159.5, $877.

Wild Horse Race: (overall winners) 1, Billy Sharton Team, $5,383. 2, Team Allen, $4037, 3, (tie) Team Krack-A-Latch and Dylan Pierce Team, $2,019 each.

 

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 120^th 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.

 

 

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 14^th place with $49,968 in season earnings. Smith is 18^th 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 22^nd 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 7^th 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

https://youtu.be/HJMswzS6GBY

By Susan Kanode

Eli Vastbinder’ s 83.5-point ride on Smith, Harper and Morgan Rodeo’s bull named Kill Switch moved him to first place overall. He has a total of 166 points. (photo by Dan Hubbell)

CHEYENNE, Wyo. — It was a smiling Eli Vastbinder who got off of his second bull at Frontier Park on Thursday.

Vastbinder, from Statesville, N.C., rode Smith, Harper and Morgan Rodeo’s bull named Kill Switch for 83.5 points, the exact same score that he received on his first bull on Wednesday. With the two rides, the 25-year-old cowboy moved to the top of the leaderboard in the overall standings with 166 points. Roscoe Jarboe from New Plymouth, Idaho is in second with 165.

Vastbinder is not ranked in the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA), but Cheyenne’s rodeo could make a big difference for the up-and-coming bull rider. Even though he has a very slim shot of earning enough money between now and the season’s end in September to qualify for the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo (NFR), a win here would be very important for him. The money he earns this year will help him to qualify for rodeos next winter that limit their entries and give him greater opportunities in 2017.

Three-time Cheyenne Frontier Days saddle bronc champion, Cody DeMoss is looking good for a fourth title. He scored 81 points on Thursday to give him a total of 163. The Heflin, La., cowboy is currently second behind Zeke Thurston from Big Valley, Alberta, who has 171.

With eight members of the saddle bronc riding Wright family competing over the last two days, it’s no surprise that some of them are headed to Saturday’s championship finals. The oldest of the clan, Cody Wright and the youngest, his son Ryder Wright are tied for fourth place overall with 160.5 points on two head.

Ryder Wright had the highest marked ride in saddle bronc riding Thursday. He rode Three Hills Rodeo’s Prom Nite for 83.5 points. His dad has been competing here since he joined the PRCA in 1998. Ten years later, Cody’s brothers started coming to Cheyenne.  Between the eight family members that competed here, they have 25 NFR qualification and four world titles to their credit. However, none of them have ever won Cheyenne.

Cody Wright’s brother-in-law, CoBurn Bradshaw, moved into seventh place and Spencer Wright is now ninth. They will have to wait through two more days of competition to see if they will get on a third bucking horse here.

Once again, there was a new overall barrel racing leader Thursday. Tillar Murray, from Fort Worth, Texas, who won second in the first round, followed that up with a 17.58. That currently is just sixth in the second round, but put her first overall with 35.14. Sherry Cervi, from Marana, Ariz., is now in second with 35.31.

The sixth performance of the 120^th annual Cheyenne Frontier Days Rodeo starts at 12:15 p.m. on Friday where a new group of contestants will make their first appearance in every event except the barrel racing.

Bareback Riding: (first round) 1, Orin Larsen, Inglis, Manitoba, 87 points on Sankey Pro Rodeo’s Black Tie. 2, Wyatt Denny, Minden, Nev., 84. 3, Grant Denny, Minden, Nev., 83. 4, J.R. Vezain, Cowley, Wyo., 82.5. 5, Richmond Champion, The Woodlands, Texas, 81.5. 6, Chad Rutherford, Lake Charles, La., 80.5. 7, (tie) Wyatt Bloom, Bend, Ore., and Craig Wisehart, Kersey, Colo., 80. (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.

Steer Wrestling: (first round) 1, Billy Bugenig, Ferndale, Calif., 5.9 seconds. 2, Will Stovall, Roberts, Mont., 7.1. 3, Dakota Eldridge, Elko, Nev., 8.0. 4, J.D. Struxness, Appleton, Minn., 8.9. 5, Josh Boka, Dillon, Mont., 9.6. 6, Forest Sainsbury, Camp Crook, S.D., 9.7. 7, Rowdy Parrott, Mamou, La., 9.9. 8, (tie) Chason Floyd, Buffalo, S.D., and Shawn Downing, Silver Star, Mont., 10.9. (second round) 1, Dru Melvin, Hebron, Neb., 8.2. 2, Struxness, 8.7. 3, Cody Kroul, Solon, Iowa, 9.6. 4, (tie) Olin Hannum, Malad, Idaho, and Riley Butler, Blackfoot, Idaho, 10.3. 6, Dean Finnerty, Wheatland, Wyo., 10.5. 7, Weston Taylor, Perryton, Texas, 10.8. 8, Blair Jones, Colby, Kan., 11.0. (total on two) 1, Bugenig, 17.2. 2, Struxness, 17.6. 3, Parrott, 22.3. 4, (tie) Eldridge, and Floyd, 22.6. 6, Sainsbury, 22.9. 7, Scott Guenthner, Consort, Alberta, 24.3.  8, Kroul, 24.4.

Tie-Down Roping: (first round) 1, Timber Moore, Aubrey, Texas, 10.1 seconds. 2, Chase Williams, Stephenville, Texas, 10.3 seconds. 3, Billy Hamilton, Stigler, Okla., 11.0. 4, (tie) Boe Brown, Valentine, Neb.; Clint Cooper, Decatur, Texas; and Tyler Thiel, Belle Fourche, S.D., 11.1 each. 7, Jayce Johnson, Hempstead, Texas, 11.3. 8, Matt Shiozawa, Chubbock, Idaho, 11.4. (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, Zeke Thurston, Big Valley, Alberta, 84 points on Hi Lo Pro Rodeo’s Lulu. 2, (tie) Cody DeMoss, Heflin, La., Cody Wright, Milford, Utah, and Samuel Kelts, Millarville, Alberta, 82. 5, Ben Londo, San Luis Obispo, Calif., 81. 6, (tie) Rusty Wright, Milford, Utah, and Tyrell J. Smith, Great Falls, Mont., 80. 8, Tyrel Larson, Inglis, Manitoba, and Alex Wright, Milford, Utah, 79.5. (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, 160. 7, Bradshaw, 159. 8, Londo, 157.5.

Rookie Saddle Bronc Riding: (first round) 1, Leon Fountain, Socorro, N.M., 80 points. 2, Telden McLain, Tuscarora, Nev., 75. 3, Rhett Fox, Redig, S.D., 73. 4, (tie) McKoy Hugh Christiansen, Emery, Utah, and Hawkins Boyce, Malad, Idaho, 70. 6, Clay Stremler, Fallon, Nev., 68. (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, Stremler, 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. 2, (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., 9.3. 6, Calvin Brevik, Durango, Colo., and Cullen Teller, Pierce, Colo., 9.4. 7, Casey Tew, Billings, Mont., and John Robertson, Polson, Mont., 9.8. 8, Paul David Tierney, Oral, S.D., and Cesar de la Cruz, Tucson, Ariz., 10.1. (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, Tew and Robertson, 19.6. 3, McWhorter and Davis, 19.7. 4, Brevik and Teller, 19.9. 5, Rose and Woodard, 20.0. 6, Cole Dorenkamp, Lamar, Colo., and Josh Fillmore, Penrose, Colo., 22.3. 7, Jr. Dees, Aurora, S.D., and Matt Zancanella, Aurora, S.D., 23.2. 8, J.B. Lord and Levi Lord, 23.8.

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, Amber Leigh Moore, Salem, Ore., 17.45. 5, Tyra Kane, Dublin, Texas, 17.46. 6, Tillar Murray, Fort Worth, Texas, 17.58. 7, (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, Bean, 35.39. 4, Lockhart, 35.43. 5, Kane, 35.57. 6, Korell-Rach, 35.58. 7, Moore, 35.59. 8, (tie) Kennedy-Joseph and Cayla Melby, 35.61.

Bull Riding: (first round) 1, Ty Wallace, Collbran, Colo., 87 points on Rocky Mountain Rodeo’s Captain Crunch. 2, Trevor Reiste, Linden, Iowa, 86.5. 3, (tie) Freeman Yoder, Zearing, Iowa, and Jeff Askey, Athens, Texas, 84.5. 5, Shane Proctor, Grand Coulee, Wash., 84. 6, Dallee Mason, Weiser, Idaho, 83. 7, (tie) Justin Hendrix, Belton, Texas; Jeston Mead, Holcomb, Kan., and Eli Vastbinder, Statesville, N.C., 82.5. (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, Team Allen, $573. 2, Billy Sharton, $430. 3, Gordon Lightfoot, $286. 4, Wagon Burners, $143. (overall money leaders) 1, Team Krak-A-Latch, $1002. 2, Jason Smith, $716. 3, (tie) John Long and Hansen Hauling, $573.

By Susan Kanode

Sherry Cervi took the lead in the overall barrel racing standings here with this 17.42-second run. (photo by Dan Hubbell)

 

CHEYENNE, Wyo. — There have been some changes over the last 20 years at the “Daddy of ‘em All.” Just ask barrel racer Sherry Cervi from Marana, Ariz.

Cervi, who is a four-time world champion, won this rodeo 21 years ago in 1995. At that time the Women’s Professional Rodeo Association part of the competition was held as part of the night show and their entrance into the arena was from the south.

That put the placement of the barrels in the opposite direction as well, but the actual size of the pattern was similar. Cervi has been back to Cheyenne nearly every year since then. In fact, she finished in second place here last year and won $17,320 riding her palomino mare Stingray.

This year, she is on a different horse, a ten-year-old sorrel gelding named Dash Ta Diamonds that is known on the barrel racing circuit as Arson. The duo was one of 193 competitors in the Women’s Professional Rodeo Association barrel race that made their first appearance here over a week ago on July 19. They stopped the clock in 17.89 seconds, not fast enough to get a pay check, but enough to be among the 98 that progressed to a second round.

She competed again here during the fifth performance and improved her time significantly stopping the clock in 17.42 seconds. She now leads the overall standings with 36 more barrel racers to compete.

“I’ll be really happy if I get to make another run there,” Cervi said. “I was excited to come to Cheyenne. It’s a rodeo I look forward to and I hope I get to come back Sunday.”

The 18-time Wrangler National Finals Rodeo (NFR) qualifier is currently in 13^th place in the world standings. If she remains in the top 15 through September she will be making her 19^th trip to Las Vegas in December to compete at rodeo’s championship event.

Timber Moore, from Aubrey, Texas is the new leader in the first round of tie-down roping. He stopped the clock in 10.1 seconds to overtake Chase Williams who has been leading from the first performance. Moore is a four-time Wrangler National Finals Rodeo qualifier.

He is currently second in the world standings behind Hunter Herrin, from Apache, Okla., who also roped here during the fifth performance. Herrin had a time of 17.6. They will both rope in the second round on Thursday. Moore needs to be 12.6 seconds or faster to overtake Matt Shiozawa from Chubbock, Idaho, who has a total of 22.8 seconds on two runs.

There were six bull riders that were successful on Wednesday including the 2011 Cheyenne and world champion Shane Proctor from Grand Coulee, Wash. He and Jeff Askey, from Athens, Texas, had the highest scores of the day at 84 and 84.5 respectively. The other four include: Eli Vastbinder, Statesville, N.C.; Justin Hendrix, Belton, Texas; Jeston Mead, Holcomb, Kan.; and Cain Smith, Pendleton, Ore. If any of these men make qualified rides on Thursday, they will have a good opportunity to qualify for Sunday’s championship finals.

The sixth performance of the 120^th annual Cheyenne Frontier Days Rodeo starts at 12:15 p.m. on Thursday where all of the contestants will be competing in the second round.

 

Bareback Riding: (first round) 1, Orin Larsen, Inglis, Manitoba, 87 points on Sankey Pro Rodeo’s Black Tie. 2, Wyatt Denny, Minden, Nev., 84. 3, Grant Denny, Minden, Nev., 83. 4, J.R. Vezain, Cowley, Wyo., 82.5. 5, Richmond Champion, The Woodlands, Texas, 81.5. 6, Chad Rutherford, Lake Charles, La., 80.5. 7, (tie) Wyatt Bloom, Bend, Ore., and Craig Wisehart, Kersey, Colo., 80. (second round) 1, Aus, 84.5 points on Summit Pro Rodeo’s Blind Date. 2, Larsen, 82 points on Sankey Pro Rodeo’s 9 Moons. 2, Grant Denny, 81. 3, (tie) Cody Kiser, Carson City, Nev., Casey Breuer, Mandan, N.D., Clayton Biglow, Clements, Calif., and Justin Pollmiller, Weatherford, Okla., 78. 7, (tie) Champion, Kody Lamb, Sherwood Park, Alberta; Connor Hamilton, Weatherford, Okla., and R.C. Landingham, Hat Creek, Calif., 77. (total on two) 1, Larsen, 169. 2, Grant Denny, 164. 3, Aus, 162.5. 4, Wyatt Denny, 160. 5, Champion, 158.5. 6, J.R. Vezain, Cowley, Wyo., 155.5. 7, Wyatt Bloom, Bend Ore., 154. 8, Jessy Davis, Power, Mont., 153.

Steer Wrestling: (first round) 1, Billy Bugenig, Ferndale, Calif., 5.9 seconds. 2, Will Stovall, Roberts, Mont., 7.1. 3, Dakota Eldridge, Elko, Nev., 8.0. 4, J.D. Struxness, Appleton, Minn., 8.9. 5, Josh Boka, Dillon, Mont., 9.6. 6, Forest Sainsbury, Camp Crook, S.D., 9.7. 7, Rowdy Parrott, Mamou, La., 9.9. 8, (tie) Chason Floyd, Buffalo, S.D., and Shawn Downing, Silver Star, Mont., 10.9. (second round) 1, Dru Melvin, Hebron, Neb., 8.2. 2, Struxness, 8.7. 3, Cody Kroul, Solon, Iowa, 9.6. 4, Riley Butler, Blackfoot, Idaho, 10.3. 5, Weston Taylor, Perryton, Texas, 10.8. 6, Blair Jones, Colby, Kan., 11.0. 7, (tie) Cody Kabral, Hilo, Hawaii, and Cameron Morman, Glenullin, N.D., 11.1. (total on two) 1, Bugenig, 17.2. 2, Struxness, 17.6. 3, Parrott, 22.3. 4, Floyd, 22.6. 5, Sainsbury, 22.9. 6, Scott Guenthner, Consort, Alberta, 24.3.  7, Kroul, 24.4. 8, Justin Simon, Florence, Ariz., 25.2.

Tie-Down Roping: (first round) 1, Timber Moore, Aubrey, Texas, 10.1 seconds. 2, Chase Williams, Stephenville, Texas, 10.3 seconds. 3, Billy Hamilton, Stigler, Okla., 11.0. 4, (tie) Boe Brown, Valentine, Neb.; Clint Cooper, Decatur, Texas; and Tyler Thiel, Belle Fourche, S.D., 11.1 each. 7, Jayce Johnson, Hempstead, Texas, 11.3. 8, Matt Shiozawa, Chubbock, Idaho, 11.4. (second round) 1, Bryson Sechrist, Apache, Okla., 10.3. 2, Marty Yates, Stephenville, Texas, 11.0. 3, Matt Shiozawa, Chubbock, Idaho, 11.4. 4, Marcos Costa, Childress, Texas, 11.9. 5, Stephen McLauchlin, Rockwall, Texas, 12.2. 6, Blake Ash, Aurora, Mo., 29.7. 7, Kyle Lucas, Carstairs, Alberta, 12.6. 8, Lane Jeffrey, Wilburton, Okla., 12.9. (total on two) 1, Matt Shiozawa, Chubbock, Idaho, 22.8. 2, Clint Cooper, Decatur, Texas, 24.9. 3, Lucas, 25.2. 4, Josh Jennings, Glendale, Utah, 26.1. 5, Quay Howard, Canyon, Texas, 26.3. 6, (tie) Trell Etbauer, Goodwell, Okla., and Brice Ingo, Boone, Colo., 26.4. 8, Boe Brown, Valentine, Neb., 26.5.

Saddle Bronc Riding: (first round) 1, Zeke Thurston, Big Valley, Alberta, 84 points on Hi Lo Pro Rodeo’s Lulu. 2, (tie) Cody DeMoss, Heflin, La., Cody Wright, Milford, Utah, and Samuel Kelts, Millarville, Alberta, 82. 5, Ben Londo, San Luis Obispo, Calif., 81. 6, (tie) Rusty Wright, Milford, Utah, and Tyrell J. Smith, Great Falls, Mont., 80. 8, Tyrel Larson, Inglis, Manitoba, and Alex Wright, Milford, Utah, 79.5. (second round) 1, Thurston, 87 points on Salt River Rodeo’s Smoke Ring. 2, Dawson Jandreau, Kennebec, S.D., 84. 3, (tie) Ryan Mackenzie, Homedale, Idaho; Jesse Bail, Camp Crook, S.D., and Tyrell J. Smith, 80. 6, Allen Boore, Axtell, Utah, 79.5. 7, Kelts, 79. 8, (tie) Londo and Schmidt 78.5. (total on two) 1, Thurston, 171. 2, Kelts, 161. 3, Tyrell J. Smith, 160. 4, Londo, 157.5. 5, Schmidt, 156.5, 6, Taos Muncy, Corona, N.M., 155. 7, Jandreau, 155. 8, Boore, 154.5.

Rookie Saddle Bronc Riding: (first round) 1, Leon Fountain, Socorro, N.M., 80 points. 2, Telden McLain, Tuscarora, Nev., 75. 3, Rhett Fox, Redig, S.D., 73. 4, (tie) McKoy Hugh Christiansen, Emery, Utah, and Hawkins Boyce, Malad, Idaho, 70. 6, Clay Stremler, Fallon, Nev., 68. (second round) 1, Shayde Etbauer, Goodwell, Okla., 76 points. 2, Josh Davison, Miles City, Mont., 76.5. 3, Jeff Cover, Ashby, Neb., 65.5. 4, William Bagley, Baker, Mont., 65. 5, Clay Stremler, 64. 6, McKoy Hugh Christiansen, Emery, Utah, 59. (total on two) 1. Stremler, 132. 2, Christiansen, 129. 3, Lockhart, 114. (on one) 4, Davison, 76.5. 5, Etbauer, 76. 6, Fox, 73

Team Roping: (first round) 1, Tyler Wade, Terrell, Texas, and Dakota Kirchenschlager, Morgan Mill, Texas, 7.2. 2, (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., 9.3. 6, Calvin Brevik, Durango, Colo., and Cullen Teller, Pierce, Colo., 9.4. 7, Casey Tew, Billings, Mont., and John Robertson, Polson, Mont., 9.8. 8, Paul David Tierney, Oral, S.D., and Cesar de la Cruz, Tucson, Ariz., 10.1. (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, Jason Thorstenson, Rapid City, S.D., and Paul Griemsman, Piedmont, S.D., 9.3. 5, Casey Tew, Billings, Mont., and John Robertson, Polson, Mont., 9.8. 6, Wade, and Kirchenschlager, 10.0. 7, Levi Simpson, Ponoka, Alberta, and Jeremy Buhler, Abbottsford, B.C., 10.2. 8, Cole Dorenkamp, Lamar, Colo., and Josh Fillmore, Penrose, Colo., 10.4. (total on two) 1, Wade and Kirchenschlager, 17.2. 2, Tew and Robertson, 19.6. 3, McWhorter and Davis, 19.7. 4, Brevik and Teller, 19.9. 5, Dorenkamp and Fillmore, 22.3. 6, Jr. Dees, Aurora, S.D., and Matt Zancanella, Aurora, S.D., 23.2. 7, J.B. Lord and Levi Lord, 23.8. 8, (tie) Caleb Mitchell, Mason, Texas, and Matt Kasner, Cody, Neb., and Tanner Patzke, Klamath Falls, Ore., and Sid Sporer, Cody, Wyo., 25.9.

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, Amber Leigh Moore, Salem, Ore., 17.45. 5, Tyra Kane, Dublin, Texas, 17.46. 6, (tie) Kelly Kennedy-Joseph, Berthoud, Colo., and Romany Gordon, Kaufman, Texas, 17.60. 8, Sara Rose McDonald, Brunswick, Ga., 17.64. (total on two) 1, Cervi, 35.31. 2, Bean, 35.39. 3, Lockhart, 35.43. 4, Kane, 35.57. 5, Korell-Rach, 35.58. 6, Moore, 35.59. 7, (tie) Kennedy-Joseph and Cayla Melby, 35.61.

Bull Riding: (first round) 1, Ty Wallace, Collbran, Colo., 87 points on Rocky Mountain Rodeo’s Captain Crunch. 2, Trevor Reiste, Linden, Iowa, 86.5. 3, (tie) Freeman Yoder, Zearing, Iowa, and Jeff Askey, Athens, Texas, 84.5. 5, Shane Proctor, Grand Coulee, Wash., 84. 6, Dallee Mason, Weiser, Idaho, 83. 7, (tie) Justin Hendrix, Belton, Texas; Jeston Mead, Holcomb, Kan., and Eli Vastbinder, Statesville, N.C., 82.5. (second round) (one ride) 1, Roscoe Jarboe, New Plymouth, Idaho, 85 points on Dakota Rodeo’s Crossfire. 2, (tie) Kurtis Turner, Washington, Utah, and Tyler Smith, Fruita, Colo., 80.5. 4, Rocky McDonald, Colonia Juarez, Mexico, 79.5. 5, Jordan Hansen, Okotooks, Alberta, 78. 6, David Hudson, Grand Saline, Texas, 75.5. 7, Yoder, 75. 8, Wallace, 73.5. (total on two) 1, Jarboe, 165. 2, Wallace, 160.5. 3, Yoder, 159.5. 4, Tyler Smith, 158.5. 5, Hansen, 153.5. (on one) 6, Reiste, 86.5. 7, Mason, 83. 8, (tie) Bertus, Danley and Portenier, 81.

Wild Horse Race: 1, John Long, $573. 2, Randy Stewart, $430. 3Wagon Burners, $286. 4, Billy Sharton, $143. (overall money leaders) 1, Team Krak-A-Latch, $1002. 2, Jason Smith, $716. 3, (tie) John Long and Hansen Hauling, $573.

By Susan Kanode

Billy Bugenig from Ferndale, Calif., took the overall lead in steer wrestling at the “Daddy of ‘em All” on Tuesday. He has a total time of 17.2 on two runs. (photo by Dan Hubbell)

CHEYENNE, Wyo. — Tuesday’s rodeo action at Frontier Park was full of lead changes. Steer wrestlers and team ropers started out the day with slack at 7 a.m. Those events were also part of the rodeo that afternoon.

Billy Bugenig from Ferndale, Calif., had the fastest time of the rodeo so far Monday morning when he stopped the clock in 5.9 seconds. He came back on Tuesday with an 11.3 and now is in the overall lead with a total of 17.2 seconds on two runs.

Bugenig is currently 27^th in the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) world standings. Last year each round winner in the steer wrestling earned $6,088. If Bugenig holds on to his first place position in the round, he should move his season earnings up to over $30,000 and be in reach of the top 15 in the world. Bugenig has finished among those top 15 on three occasions, qualifying for the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo from 2010 – 2012.

He has battled injuries and missed all of last year. His return this year has been a little slow but is definitely starting to pick up. He is also tied for sixth place in the second round.

There is not a hotter saddle bronc rider in the business right now than Zeke Thurston, from Big Valley, Alberta. He took the lead in the first round on Monday with an 84, came back on Tuesday and scored 87 points on Salt River Rodeo’s Smoke Ring. He now has a total of 171 points on two head, 10 points ahead of the man in second place, Sam Kelts, from Millarville, Alberta, who also rode here on Monday and Tuesday.

Four bull riders moved into the top five on Tuesday. At the top of the list is Ty Wallace from Collbran, Colo., who is now second overall. He scored 73.5 points, but when combined with his previous score of 87, he has a total of 160.5. He is very likely to make the finals here for the third time since joining the PRCA in 2013.

Roscoe Jarboe from New Plymouth, Idaho still has the overall lead with 165. Freeman Yoder, from Zearing, Iowa, is third with 159.5. Also moving in on Tuesday were Tyler Smith, Fruita, Colo., and Jordan Hansen from Okotoks, Alberta.

The barrel racing here has been full of surprises. One of those was on Tuesday when Jana Bean from Fort Hancock, Texas, had a second round time that was a full second faster than her time in the first round. She stopped the clock in 17.16 to be winning the second round and leading overall with a total 35.39. Lisa Lockhart is second with 35.43. Tyra Kane from Dublin, Texas, moved into third with 35.57.

There are still 24 Women’s Professional Rodeo Association (WPRA) members left to have their second run here so leads could change. However, Bean’s 17.16 is the fastest run of the rodeo here by two-tenths of a second and she is very likely to keep the lead in the second round. Bean is currently 17^th in the WPRA world standings. Any money that she wins here will help her qualify for her third NFR.

The fifth performance of the Cheyenne Frontier Days Rodeo starts at 12:15 p.m. on Wednesday where the majority of the contestants will be competing in the first round. The barrel racers will be in their second round of competition.

Bareback Riding: (first round) 1, Orin Larsen, Inglis, Manitoba, 87 points on Sankey Pro Rodeo’s Black Tie. 2, Wyatt Denny, Minden, Nev., 84. 3, Grant Denny, Minden, Nev., 83. 4, J.R. Vezain, Cowley, Wyo., 82.5. 5, Richmond Champion, The Woodlands, Texas, 81.5. 6, (tie) Wyatt Bloom, Bend, Ore., and Craig Wisehart, Kersey, Colo., 80. 8, (tie) Tanner Aus, Granite Falls, Minn., and Troy Vaira, Richey, Mont., 78. (second round) 1, Aus, 84.5 points on Summit Pro Rodeo’s Blind Date. 2, Larsen, 82 points on Sankey Pro Rodeo’s 9 Moons. 2, Grant Denny, 81. 3, (tie) Cody Kiser, Carson City, Nev., Casey Breuer, Mandan, N.D., Clayton Biglow, Clements, Calif., and Justin Pollmiller, Weatherford, Okla., 78. 7, (tie) Champion, Kody Lamb, Sherwood Park, Alberta; Connor Hamilton, Weatherford, Okla., and R.C. Landingham, Hat Creek, Calif., 77. (total on two) 1, Larsen, 169. 2, Grant Denny, 164. 3, Aus, 162.5. 4, Wyatt Denny, 160. 5, Champion, 158.5. 6, J.R. Vezain, Cowley, Wyo., 155.5. 7, Wyatt Bloom, Bend Ore., 154. 8, Jessy Davis, Power, Mont., 153.

Steer Wrestling: (first round) 1, Billy Bugenig, Ferndale, Calif., 5.9 seconds. 2, Will Stovall, Roberts, Mont., 7.1. 3, J.D. Struxness, Appleton, Minn., 8.9. 4, Josh Boka, Dillon, Mont., 9.6. 5, Forest Sainsbury, Camp Crook, S.D., 9.7. 6, Rowdy Parrott, Mamou, La., 9.9. 7, Chason Floyd, Buffalo, S.D., 10.9. 8, Ty Lang, Montrose, Colo., 11.1. (second round) 1, Dru Melvin, Hebron, Neb., 8.2. 2, Struxness, 8.7. 3, Cody Kroul, Solon, Iowa, 9.6. 4, Riley Butler, Blackfoot, Idaho, 10.3. 5, Weston Taylor, Perryton, Texas, 10.8. 6, Blair Jones, Colby, Kan., 11.0. 7, (tie) Cody Kabral, Hilo, Hawaii, and Cameron Morman, Glenullin, N.D., 11.1. (total on two) 1, Bugenig, 17.2. 2, Struxness, 17.6. 3, Parrott, 22.3. 4, Floyd, 22.6. 5, Sainsbury, 22.9. 6, Scott Guenthner, Consort, Alberta, 24.3.  7, Kroul, 24.4. 8, Justin Simon, Florence, Ariz., 25.2.

Tie-Down Roping: (first round) 1, Chase Williams, Stephenville, Texas, 10.3 seconds. 2, Billy Hamilton, Stigler, Okla., 11.0. 3, (tie) Boe Brown, Valentine, Neb.; Clint Cooper, Decatur, Texas; and Tyler Thiel, Belle Fourche, S.D., 11.1 each. 6, Jayce Johnson, Hempstead, Texas, 11.3. 7, Matt Shiozawa, Chubbock, Idaho, 11.4. 8, Cody Quaney, Cheney, Kan., 11.6. (second round) 1, Bryson Sechrist, Apache, Okla., 10.3. 2, Marty Yates, Stephenville, Texas, 11.0. 3, Matt Shiozawa, Chubbock, Idaho, 11.4. 4, Marcos Costa, Childress, Texas, 11.9. 5, Stephen McLauchlin, Rockwall, Texas, 12.2. 6, Blake Ash, Aurora, Mo., 29.7. 7, Kyle Lucas, Carstairs, Alberta, 12.6. 8, Lane Jeffrey, Wilburton, Okla., 12.9. (total on two) 1, Matt Shiozawa, Chubbock, Idaho, 22.8. 2, Clint Cooper, Decatur, Texas, 24.9. 3, Lucas, 25.2. 4, Josh Jennings, Glendale, Utah, 26.1. 5, Quay Howard, Canyon, Texas, 26.3. 6, (tie) Trell Etbauer, Goodwell, Okla., and Brice Ingo, Boone, Colo., 26.4. 8, Boe Brown, Valentine, Neb., 26.5.

Saddle Bronc Riding: (first round) 1, Zeke Thurston, Big Valley, Alberta, 84 points on Hi Lo Pro Rodeo’s Lulu. 2, Samuel Kelts, Millarville, Alberta, 82. 3, Ben Londo, San Luis Obispo, Calif., 81. 4, Tyrell J. Smith, Great Falls, Mont., 80. 5, (tie) Chuck Schmidt, Keldron, S.D., and Andy Clarys, Riverton, Wyo., 78. 7, Taos Muncy, Corona, N.M., 77.5. 8, Justin Caylor, Sulphur Springs, Texas, 77. (second round) 1, Thurston, 87 points on Salt River Rodeo’s Smoke Ring. 2, Dawson Jandreau, Kennebec, S.D., 84. 3, (tie) Ryan Mackenzie, Homedale, Idaho; Jesse Bail, Camp Crook, S.D., and Tyrell J. Smith, 80. 6, Allen Boore, Axtell, Utah, 79.5. 7, Kelts, 79. 8, (tie) Londo and Schmidt 78.5. (total on two) 1, Thurston, 171. 2, Kelts, 161. 3, Tyrell J. Smith, 160. 4, Londo, 157.5. 5, Schmidt, 156.5, 6, Taos Muncy, Corona, N.M., 155. 7, Jandreau, 155. 8, Boore, 154.5.

Rookie Saddle Bronc Riding: (first round) 1, Rhett Fox, Redig, S.D., 73 points. 2, McKoy Hugh Christiansen, Emery, Utah, 70. 3, Clay Stremler, Fallon, Nev., 68. 4, Triston Eklund, Valentine, Neb., 67. 5, (tie) Tanner Lockhart, Lewis, Colo., and Nick Chew, Maybell, Colo., 60. (second round) 1, Shayde Etbauer, Goodwell, Okla., 76 points. 2, Josh Davison, Miles City, Mont., 76.5. 3, Jeff Cover, Ashby, Neb., 65.5. 4, William Bagley, Baker, Mont., 65. 5, Clay Stremler, 64. 6, McKoy Hugh Christiansen, Emery, Utah, 59. (total on two) 1. Stremler, 132. 2, Christiansen, 129. 3, Lockhart, 114. (on one) 4, Davison, 76.5. 5, Etbauer, 76. 6, Fox, 73.

Team Roping: (first round) 1, Tyler Wade, Terrell, Texas, and Dakota Kirchenschlager, Morgan Mill, Texas, 7.2. 2, (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., 9.3. 6, Calvin Brevik, Durango, Colo., and Cullen Teller, Pierce, Colo., 9.4. 7, Casey Tew, Billings, Mont., and John Robertson, Polson, Mont., 9.8. 8, Paul David Tierney, Oral, S.D., and Cesar de la Cruz, Tucson, Ariz., 10.1. (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, Jason Thorstenson, Rapid City, S.D., and Paul Griemsman, Piedmont, S.D., 9.3. 5, Casey Tew, Billings, Mont., and John Robertson, Polson, Mont., 9.8. 6, Wade, and Kirchenschlager, 10.0. 7, Levi Simpson, Ponoka, Alberta, and Jeremy Buhler, Abbottsford, B.C., 10.2. 8, Cole Dorenkamp, Lamar, Colo., and Josh Fillmore, Penrose, Colo., 10.4. (total on two) 1, Wade and Kirchenschlager, 17.2. 2, Tew and Robertson, 19.6. 3, McWhorter and Davis, 19.7. 4, Brevik and Teller, 19.9. 5, Dorenkamp and Fillmore, 22.3. 6, Jr. Dees, Aurora, S.D., and Matt Zancanella, Aurora, S.D., 23.2. 7, J.B. Lord and Levi Lord, 23.8. 8, (tie) Caleb Mitchell, Mason, Texas, and Matt Kasner, Cody, Neb., and Tanner Patzke, Klamath Falls, Ore., and Sid Sporer, Cody, Wyo., 25.9.

Barrel Racing: (second round) 1, Jana Bean, Fort Hancock, Texas, 17.16 seconds. 2, Kathy Korell-Rach, Loveland, Colo., 17.29. 3, Tyra Kane, Dublin, Texas, 17.46. 4, (tie) Kelly Kennedy-Joseph, Berthoud, Colo., and Romany Gordon, Kaufman, Texas, 17.60. 5, Sara Rose McDonald, Brunswick, Ga., 17.64. 6, (tie) Jeni Cerise, Eckert, Colo., and Sharon Harrell, Wickenburg, Ariz., 17.66. 8, (tie) Molly Childers, Mead, Okla., and Lisa Lockhart, Oelrichs, S.D., 17.72. (total on two) 1, Bean, 35.39. 2, Lockhart, 35.43. 3, Kane, 35.57. 4, Korell-Rach, 35.58. 5, (tie) Kennedy-Joseph and Cayla Melby, 35.61. 7, McDonald, 35.62. 8, Jane Melby, Burneyville, Okla., 35.67.

Bull Riding: (first round) 1, Ty Wallace, Collbran, Colo., 87 points on Rocky Mountain Rodeo’s Captain Crunch. 2, Trevor Reiste, Linden, Iowa, 86.5. 3, Freeman Yoder, Zearing, Iowa, 84.5. 4, Dallee Mason, Weiser, Idaho, 83. 5, (tie) Jeff Bertus, Avon, S.D., Lon Danley, Tularosa, N.M., and Brady Portenier, Caldwell, Idaho, 81. 6, (tie) Roscoe Jarboe, New Plymouth, Idaho, and Joe Frost, Randlett, Utah, 80. (second round) (one ride) 1, Roscoe Jarboe, New Plymouth, Idaho, 85 points on Dakota Rodeo’s Crossfire. 2, (tie) Kurtis Turner, Washington, Utah, and Tyler Smith, Fruita, Colo., 80.5. 4, Rocky McDonald, Colonia Juarez, Mexico, 79.5. 5, Jordan Hansen, Okotooks, Alberta, 78. 6, David Hudson, Grand Saline, Texas, 75.5. 7, Yoder, 75. 8, Wallace, 73.5. (total on two) 1, Jarboe, 165. 2, Wallace, 160.5. 3, Yoder, 159.5. 4, Tyler Smith, 158.5. 5, Hansen, 153.5. (on one) 6, Reiste, 86.5. 7, Mason, 83. 8, (tie) Bertus, Danley and Portenier, 81.

Wild Horse Race: 1, Hansen Hauling, $573. 2, Joe Even, $430. 3, Davis Dental, $286. (overall money leaders) 1, Team Krak-A-Latch, $1002. 2, Jason Smith, $716. 3, Hansen Hauling, $573. 4, (tie) Joe Even and Cowboy’s Dream, $430.

By Susan Kanode

Canadian Zeke Thurston moved to the lead in the first round of saddle bronc riding at the 120^th annual Cheyenne Frontier Days Rodeo with an 84-point ride on Hi Lo Pro Rodeo’s LuLu (photo by Dan Hubbell)

CHEYENNE, Wyo. — Zeke Thurston had a lot to smile about after the third performance of the 120^th annual Cheyenne Frontier Days Rodeo.

Thurston, from Big Valley, Alberta, took the lead in the first round of saddle bronc riding with an impressive 84-point ride on Hi Lo Pro Rodeo’s horse named LuLu. Thurston is following in the footsteps of his father, Skeeter Thurston, who was the rookie saddle bronc riding champion here in 1982. Zeke Thurston qualified for his first Wrangler National Finals Rodeo (NFR) last year and is on pace for another trip to Las Vegas next December.

He finished last season in 11^th place and is hoping to improve that position this year. Like any other cowboy, getting to the NFR and earning a gold buckle is his ultimate goal. He is currently ranked 10^th in the world standings and needs to remain among the top 15 through the end of September to earn his second NFR qualification.

Thurston is coming off of one of the biggest wins of his career in his home country. Just over a week ago, he won the Calgary Stampede Rodeo and the $100,000 bonus that goes with it. Remarkably, this is the second time he has earned that title and while it doesn’t count towards the world standings, it certainly counts in his bank account.

At 22, Thurston is in the early stages of his career. He is traveling with Taos Muncy, who won this rodeo in 2007 when he was just 20 years old. That same year, he went on to win his first of two world titles. Muncy, from Corona, N.M., was also successful here on Monday with a 77.5-point ride. He will need a good score here on Tuesday to have an opportunity to advance to the finals. On the other hand, Thurston will just need a solid effort to take the overall lead which is currently held by Ben Londo. Londo, from San Luis Obispo, Calif., took the lead in the overall standings with a total of 159.5 points on two head. He had his second round horse on Monday because he rode in the finals at the California Rodeo Salinas on Sunday when he was originally scheduled to compete here.

Tyler Wallace is making a bid for his third consecutive NFR qualification in the bull riding. The Collbran, Colo., resident helped his cause significantly on Monday when he scored 87 points on Rocky Mountain Rodeo’s Captain Crunch. All he needs is another eight-second ride on Tuesday and he will be making plans to be back here for the finals next weekend.

Wallace is currently 13^th in the world standings and no matter what happens on Tuesday, his ride on Monday should get him a good check from the first round of competition.

There was a big lead change in the steer wrestling during Monday morning slack. Billy Bugenig, from Ferndale, Calif., nodded his head, let the steer amble out in front of him for 30 feet, rode alongside the steer and did everything just right to stop the clock in 5.9 seconds. The former NFR qualifier was so excited he threw his hat in the air. The arena record here is 5.1 seconds, set by Rick Myhre in 2004.

Lisa Lockhart, last year’s champion here, is the new overall leader in the barrel racing after taking her horse Louie around the pattern in 17.72 seconds. That probably won’t place in the second round, but, because of her first round performance, she moved to the top of the board with a total time of 35.43 seconds.

The fourth performance of the Cheyenne Frontier Days Rodeo starts at 12:15 p.m. on Tuesday where all of the contestants will be competing in the second round.

CHEYENNE, Wyo., July 25, 2016 — The following are leaders at the Cheyenne Frontier Days Rodeo after the second performance.

Bareback Riding: (first round) 1, Orin Larsen, Inglis, Manitoba, 87 points on Sankey Pro Rodeo’s Black Tie. 2, Wyatt Denny, Minden, Nev., 84. 3, Grant Denny, Minden, Nev., 83. 4, J.R. Vezain, Cowley, Wyo., 82.5. 5, Richmond Champion, The Woodlands, Texas, 81.5. 6, (tie) Wyatt Bloom, Bend, Ore., and Craig Wisehart, Kersey, Colo., 80. 8, (tie) Tanner Aus, Granite Falls, Minn., and Troy Vaira, Richey, Mont., 78. (second round) 1, Larsen, 82 points on Sankey Pro Rodeo’s 9 Moons. 2, Denny, 81. 3, (tie) Cody Kiser, Carson City, Nev., and Justin Pollmiller, Weatherford, Okla., 78. 5, (tie) Connor Hamilton, Weatherford, Okla., and R.C. Landingham, Hat Creek, Calif., 77. 7, Mason Clements, Sandy, Utah, 75. 8, Wyatt Bloom, Bend, Ore., 74. (total on two) 1, Larsen, 169. 2, Denny, 164. 3, J.R. Vezain, Cowley, Wyo., 155.5. 4, Wyatt Bloom, Bend Ore., 154. 5, Pollmiller, 149. 6, (tie) Cody Kiser and Landingham, 148. 8, Mason Clements, Sandy, Utah, 145.

Steer Wrestling: (first round) 1, Billy Bugenig, Ferndale, Calif., 5.9 seconds. 2, Will Stovall, Roberts, Mont., 7.1. 3, J.D. Struxness, Appleton, Minn., 8.9. 4, Josh Boka, Dillon, Mont., 9.6. 5, Forest Sainsbury, Camp Crook, S.D. 6, Rowdy Parrott, Mamou, La., 9.9. 7, Chason Floyd, Buffalo, S.D., 10.9. 8, Ty Lang, Montrose, Colo., 11.1. (second round) 1, Struxness, 8.7. 2, Riley Butler, Blackfoot, Idaho, 10.3. 3, Weston Taylor, Perryton, Texas, 10.8. 4, Cameron Morman, Glenullin, N.D., 11.1. 5, Trever Nelson, Coleman, Okla., 18.8. 6, Trell Etbauer, Goodwell, Okla., 19.1. 7, Tanner Brunner, Ramona, Kan., 20.0. 8, Jesse Jolly, Agate, Colo., 26.3. (total on two) 1, Struxness, 17.6. 2, Morman, 30.5. 3, Riley Butler, Blackfoot, Idaho, 32.0. 4, Nelson, 37.2. 5, Jolly, 43.0. 6, Weston Taylor, Perryton, Texas, 44.9. 7, Seth Schafer, Yoder, Wyo., 58.0. (on one) 8, Billy Bugenig, Ferndale, Calif., 5.9.

Tie-Down Roping: (first round) 1, Chase Williams, Stephenville, Texas, 10.3 seconds. 2, Billy Hamilton, Stigler, Okla., 11.0. 3, (tie) Boe Brown, Valentine, Neb.; Clint Cooper, Decatur, Texas; and Tyler Thiel, Belle Fourche, S.D., 11.1 each. 6, Jayce Johnson, Hempstead, Texas, 11.3. 7, Matt Shiozawa, Chubbock, Idaho, 11.4. 8, Cody Quaney, Cheney, Kan., 11.6. (second round) 1, Bryson Sechrist, Apache, Okla., 10.3. 2, Marty Yates, Stephenville, Texas, 11.0. 3, Matt Shiozawa, Chubbock, Idaho, 11.4. 4, Stephen McLauchlin, Rockwall, Texas, 12.2. 5, Blake Ash, Aurora, Mo., 29.7. 6, Lane Jeffrey, Wilburton, Okla., 12.9. 7, (tie) Quay Howard, Canyon, Texas, and Cole Bailey, Okmulgee, Okla., 13.0. (total on two) 1, Matt Shiozawa, Chubbock, Idaho, 22.8. 2, Clint Cooper, Decatur, Texas, 24.9. 3, Josh Jennings, Glendale, Utah, 26.1. 4, Quay Howard, Canyon, Texas, 26.3. 5, Trell Etbauer, Goodwell, Okla., 26.4. 6, Brice Ingo, Boone, Colo., 26.4. 7, Boe Brown, Valentine, Neb., 26.5. 8, Lane Jeffrey, Wilburton, Okla., 26.6.

 Saddle Bronc Riding: (first round) 1, Zeke Thurston, Big Valley, Alberta, 84 points on Hi Lo Pro Rodeo’s Lulu. 2, Samuel Kelts, Millarville, Alberta, 82. 3, Ben Londo, San Luis Obispo, Calif., 81. 4, Tyrell Smith, Great Falls, Mont., 80. 5, (tie) Chuck Schmidt, Keldron, S.D., and Andy Clarys, Riverton, Wyo., 78. 7, Taos Muncy, Corona, N.M., 77.5. 8, Justin Caylor, Sulphur Springs, Texas, 77. (second round) 1, Ryan Mackenzie, Homedale, Idaho, on New Frontier Rodeo’s Toy Box and Jesse Bail, Camp Crook, S.D., on Dakota Rodeo’s Double Trouble, 80 points.3, Allen Boore, Axtell, Utah, 79.5. 4, Ben Londo, 78.5. 5, Zachariah Phillips, Rozet, Wyo., 76. 6, Dean Wadsworth, Ozona, Texas, 75.5. 7, (tie) Roper Kiesner, Ripley, Okla., Landon Mecham, Tropic, Utah, and Chanse Darling, Hyattville, Wyo., 75. (total on two) 1, Londo, 159.5. 2, Boore, 154.5. 3, Bail, 154. 5, Mackenzie, 152. 6, Clarys, 150.5. 7, Caylor, 149. 8, Mecham, 147

Rookie Saddle Bronc Riding: (first round) 1, Rhett Fox, Redig, S.D., 73 points. 2, McKoy Hugh Christiansen, Emery, Utah, 70. 3, Clay Stremler, Fallon, Nev., 68. 4, Triston Eklund, Valentine, Neb., 67. 5, (tie) Tanner Lockhart, Lewis, Colo., and Nick Chew, Maybell, Colo., 60. (second round) 1, Shayde Etbauer, Goodwell, Okla., 76 points. 2, Jeff Cover, Ashby, Neb., 65.5. 3, William Bagley, Baker, Mont., 65. 4, McKoy Hugh Christiansen, Emery, Utah, 59. (total on two) 1. Christiansen, 129. 2, Lockhart, 114.

Team Roping: (first round) 1, Tyler Wade, Terrell, Texas, and Dakota Kirchenschlager, Morgan Mill, Texas, 7.2. 2, (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., 9.3. 6, Calvin Brevik, Durango, Colo., and Cullen Teller, Pierce, Colo., 9.4. 7, Casey Tew, Billings, Mont., and John Robertson, Polson, Mont., 9.8. 8, Paul David Tierney, Oral, S.D., and Cesar de la Cruz, Tucson, Ariz., 10.1. (second round) 1, Dorenkamp and Fillmore, 10.4. 2, Whinnery and Younger, 14.6. 3, Brit Ellerman, Ft. Lupton, Colo., and T.J. Watts, Hudson, Colo., 17.4. 4, Ken McKibbin, Windsor, Colo., and C.J. Scheller, Ault, Colo., 21.9. 5, Jake Day, Upton, Wyo., and Lance Allen, Orchard, Colo., 23.2. (total on two) 1, Dorenkamp and Fillmore, 22.3. 2, Whinnery and Younger, 34.1. 3, McKibbin and Scheller, 36.3.

Barrel Racing: (second round) 1, Kelly Kennedy-Joseph, Berthoud, Colo., 17.60 seconds. 2, Sara Rose McDonald, Brunswick, Ga., 17.64. 3, (tie) Jeni Cerise, Eckert, Colo., and Sharon Harrell, Wickenburg, Ariz., 17.66. 5, (tie) Molly Childers, Mead, Okla., and Lisa Lockhart, Oelrichs, S.D., 17.72. 7, Cayla Melby, Burneyville, Okla., 17.75. 8, Kayla Jones, Watkins, Colo., 17.78. (total on two) 1, Lockhart, 35.43. 2, (tie) Kennedy-Joseph and Cayla Melby, 35.61. 4, McDonald, 35.62. 5, Jane Melby, Burneyville, Okla., 35.67. 6, Jones, 35.86. 7, Cerise, 36.08. 8, Brittany Pozzi-Tonnozi, Victoria, Texas, 36.14.

Bull Riding: (first round) 1, Ty Wallace, Collbran, Colo., 87 points on Rocky Mountain Rodeo’s Captain Crunch. 2, Trevor Reiste, Linden, Iowa, 86.5. 3, Freeman Yoder, Zearing, Iowa, 84.5. 4, Dallee Mason, Weiser, Idaho, 83. 5, (tie) Jeff Bertus, Avon, S.D., Lon Danley, Tularosa, N.M., and Brady Portenier, Caldwell, Idaho, 81. 6, (tie) Roscoe Jarboe, New Plymouth, Idaho, and Joe Frost, Randlett, Utah, 80. (second round) (one ride) 1, Roscoe Jarboe, New Plymouth, Idaho, 85 points on Dakota Rodeo’s Crossfire. (total on two) 1, Jarboe, 165.

Wild Horse Race:  No qualified runs.

 

By Susan Kanode

A new crop of cowboys will be sowing their oats in the CFD Arena today! There are a lot of contestants that are making their way here from Salinas including leader for the Rookie of the Year in the bareback riding Clayton Biglow. Biglow and his traveling partner, Wyatt Denny, had success in Wyoming at the College Finals Rodeo in June. Denny earned the title in the bareback riding and Biglow finished second.

They are coming here today with Biglow again adding to his checking account after a second place finish at California Rodeo Salinas yesterday. Last week, Biglow was 11th in the world standings and could very well be headed to his first NFR. Other bareback riders that are making the trip from Salinas to compete in Cheyenne today are Casey Colletti and Kody Lamb who was scheduled to ride his second horse here on Sunday. Colletti, along with Richmond Champion will be trying to earn second CFD championships.

Three of our saddle bronc riders left here after Saturday’s performance to compete in Salinas. Joe Lufkin, Ben Londo and Jesse Bail will ride their second round horses today. Londo, who is the rodeo coach at Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo, had the most success – finishing in second place.

Zeke Thurston has made history in his native land of Canada by winning the $100,000 bonus at the Calgary Stampede for the past two years. His father, Skeeter, earned the saddle bronc buckle here in 1983. Thurston is currently 10th in the world standings and looking for his second NFR qualification. The money he won in Canada doesn’t count in those standings, so any money he wins here is extremely important for his quest to qualify for his second NFR.

Taos Muncy won the saddle bronc riding here in 2007 and went on to win his first of two world titles. He is 7th in the world standings and would love to see that history repeat itself. He, his wife Marisa and daughter Marley, just welcomed a baby boy, Milo, to the family last May.

Today’s bull riding will feature livestock from Rocky Mountain Pro Rodeo and our stock contractor Stace Smith as well as Hi Lo Pro Rodeo from Arkansas. The bull riding field is filled with talented cowboys so expect to see qualified rides. Lon Danley, Ty Wallace, Rocky McDonald and Lon Danley are all busy with ranching chores when they aren’t at a rodeo.

Wyoming’s Bobby Welch is on today’s roster as well. Welch has made it a priority to help young kids who want to rodeo. He has bulls of all levels to help them get started and improve their skills. Welch has come close to winning the title here and would like nothing more than to keep the CFD championship in his home state. He is 21st in the world and a win here would also help him get to his eighth NFR, which would be his first since 2011.

Timed Events – Steer Wrestling, Team Roping, Tie-Down Roping and Barrel Racing:

It is a very happy Cody Kroul that will be competing in steer wrestling here today. He won the Salinas Rodeo yesterday and will be hoping that luck stays with him as he runs his first steer at “the Daddy of ‘em All.” K.C. Jones, the 2014 CFD steer wrestling champion is also on the roster. He was a spectator here yesterday watching his wife Gayle compete in barrel racing.

There should be new leaders in the first round of team roping after today. There will be 10 teams during the performance and seven of those are ranked in the top 50. Former college champions Kolton Schmidt and Shay Carroll are a new duo this year. Schmidt was the National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association champion header in 2015 and Carroll earned the heeling in 2012. They are ranked 4th and 7th respectively in the PRCA and are likely headed to Las Vegas this December to compete for world titles. This would be Schmidt’s first qualification and Carroll’s second.

Another young team to watch will be Jake Orman and Tyler Domingue. They qualified for April’s RAM National Circuit Finals and left Kissimmee, Fla., with the championship each earning $26,601. That was the biggest win of their careers and should be the first of many. Both are talented horseman that are driven and dedicated.

Reigning world champion tie-down roper Caleb Smidt is working hard to get back to Las Vegas and defend his title. He is seventh in the standings coming into Cheyenne. Watch for Marcos Costa, the first Brazilian to qualify for the NFR in tie-down roping to make a move here. He’s been here twice before and made it to the finals both times.

Chase Williams took the lead in the first round here before taking off for Salinas where he finished third. He will be roping his second calf here today and could be the new overall leader.

The barrel racing field is loaded with talent and boasts four former CFD champions. Brittany Pozzi-Tonozzi won here in 2007. Kim Schulze was the champion in 2011 and the next year saw Mary Walker win. Last year’s champion Lisa Lockhart is also on the roster. Walker has the best opportunity after finishing third in the first round with a 17.70 and earning $3,845 here already.

By Susan Kanode

Orin Larsen, from Inglis, Manitoba, took the early lead in the bareback riding with this 87-point ride on Sankey Rodeo’s horse named Black Tie. (photo by Dan Hubbell)

 

CHEYENNE, Wyo. — The first performance of the 120^th annual Cheyenne Frontier Days kicked off with some outstanding bareback and bull rides.

Orin Larsen from Inglis, Manitoba, has worked his way up through the ranks of rodeo to become one of the best in the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association. The two-time college champion qualified for his first Wrangler National Finals Rodeo last December and finished his season in 12^th place.

That motivated him to make it back to Las Vegas again and finish the 2016 season in a higher position. Larsen, who is currently third in the world standings, helped his cause on Saturday at Frontier Park when he had an 87-point ride. The horse he got on, Black Tie, owned by Sankey Pro Rodeo and Larsen had met up prior to Cheyenne’s competition.

Last April at the Logandale, Nev., rodeo Larsen rode Black Tie for 83 points in the final round where he earned the championship. All of the competition here features two full rounds before the finals on July 31. Larsen will ride again here Sunday and is matched up with another horse from Sankey’s named 9 Moons. The horse has a reputation for solid scores, so Larsen could easily be among the top 12 that advance to the finals.

Bull riding fans may not have ever heard of Trevor Reiste from Linden, Iowa, but if he keeps riding like he did at Cheyenne they will be cheering for him across the country. Reiste was one of three men that were successful here on Saturday and took the early lead in the first round with an 86.5-point effort on Dakota Rodeo’s After Party.

He is currently 44^th in the world standings and has a good opportunity to move up with a win here. It will all depend on an eight-second ride on Sunday. He will get on another bull from Chad Berger of Dakota Rodeo. This one is named Dead Calm and Reiste has his work cut out for him. Dead Calm has yet to be ridden in 2016 even though seven men have tried.

However, Reiste’s 86.5 in the first round has given a boost of confidence and has him ready to do it all over again. His Twitter feed is full of Bible verses and motivational quotes including one about himself that says, “My mission: be so busy loving my life that I have no time for hate, regret, worrying, fret or fear.”

There is a new leader in the first round of tie-down roping. Chase Williams from Stephenville, Texas now sets the pace with a 10.3-second run. The three-year member of the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association had his best season last year finishing the season in 43^rd place. He is not currently listed this year, but a big win at the “Daddy of ‘em All” could change that.

The second performance of the Cheyenne Frontier Days Rodeo stats at 12:15 p.m., Sunday.

CHEYENNE, Wyo., July 23, 2016 — The following are current leaders from the 120^th annual Cheyenne Frontier Days Rodeo after the second performance.

Bareback Riding: (first round) 1, Orin Larsen, Inglis, Manitoba, 87 points on Sankey Pro Rodeo’s Black Tie. 2, Grant Denny, Minden, Nev., 83. 3, J.R. Vezain, Cowley, Wyo., 82.5. 4, (tie) Wyatt Bloom, Bend, Ore., and Craig Wisehart, Kersey, Colo., 80. 6, Kody Lamb, Sherwood Park, Alberta, 75. 7, Joe Wilson, Martin, S.D., 73. 8, (tie) R.C. Landingham, Hat Creek, Calif., and Justin Pollmiller, Weatherford, Okla., 71.

Steer Wrestling: (first round) 1, J.D. Struxness, Appleton, Minn., 8.9 seconds. 2, Ty Lang, Montrose, Colo., 11.1. 3, Sam Olson, Buffalo, S.D., 13.3. 4, Jesse Jolly, Agate, Colo., 16.7. 5, Trevor Nelson, Coleman, Okla., 18.4. 6, Wyatt Johnson, Holt, Colo., 19.1. 7, Cameron Morman, Glenullin, N.D., 19.4. 8, Shelton Portwine, Dickinson, N.D., 19.9.

Tie-Down Roping: (first round) 1, Chase Williams, Stephenville, Texas, 10.3 seconds. 2, Billy Hamilton, Stigler, Okla., 11.0. 3, (tie) Boe Brown, Valentine, Neb.; Clint Cooper, Decatur, Texas; and Tyler Thiel, Belle Fourche, S.D., 11.1 each. 6, Jayce Johnson, Hempstead, Texas, 11.3. 7, Matt Shiozawa, Chubbock, Idaho, 11.4. 8, Cody Quaney, Cheney, Kan., 11.6. (second round) 1, Bryson Sechrist, Apache, Okla., 10.3. 2, Marty Yates, Stephenville, Texas, 11.0. 3, Matt Shiozawa, Chubbock, Idaho, 11.4. 4, Stephen McLauchlin, Rockwall, Texas, 12.2. 5, Blake Ash, Aurora, Mo., 29.7. 6, Lane Jeffrey, Wilburton, Okla., 12.9. 7, (tie) Quay Howard, Canyon, Texas, and Cole Bailey, Okmulgee, Okla., 13.0. (total on two) 1, Matt Shiozawa, Chubbock, Idaho, 22.8. 2, Clint Cooper, Decatur, Texas, 24.9. 3, Josh Jennings, Glendale, Utah, 26.1. 4, Quay Howard, Canyon, Texas, 26.3. 5, Trell Etbauer, Goodwell, Okla., 26.4. 6, Brice Ingo, Boone, Colo., 26.4. 7, Boe Brown, Valentine, Neb., 26.5. 8, Lane Jeffrey, Wilburton, Okla., 26.6.

 Saddle Bronc Riding: (first round) 1, Ben Londo, San Luis Obispo, Calif., 81 points on Sankey Pro Rodeo’s Shining Mountain. 2, Andy Clarys, Riverton, Wyo., 78. 3, Justin Caylor, Sulphur Springs, Tex., 77. 4, Allen Boore, Axtell, Utah, 75. 5, Jesse Bail, Camp Crook, S.D., 74. 6, Treyson Antonick, Overton, Texas, 73. 7, (tie) Ryan Mackenzie, Homedale, Idaho, and Joe Lufkin, Sallisaw, Okla., 72.

Rookie Saddle Bronc Riding: (first round) 1, Rhett Fox, Redig, S.D., 73 points. 2, McKoy Hugh Christiansen, Emery, Utah, 70. 3, (tie) Tanner Lockhart, Lewis, Colo., and Nick Chew, Maybell, Colo., 60.

Team Roping: (first round) 1, Cole Dorenkamp, Lamar, Colo., and Josh Fillmore, Penrose, Colo., 11.9 seconds. 2, Ken McKibbin, Windsor, Colo., and C.J. Scheller, Ault, Colo., 14.4. 3, Corey Whinnery, Powderhorn, Colo., and Pake Younger, Grand Junction, Colo., 19.5. 4, Zane Barnson, Washington, Utah, and Cole Wilson, Lake Shore, Utah, 24.5.

Barrel Racing: (second round) 1, Sharon Harrell, Wickenburg, Ariz., 17.66 seconds. 2, Molly Childers, Mead, Okla., 17.72. 3, Erin Wanner, Dickinson, N.D., 18.54. 4, Vickie Carter, Richfield, Utah, 19.01. 5, Jackie Schau, Almont, N.D., 22.70. 6, Samantha Jorgenson, Spearfish, S.D., 22.93.

Bull Riding: (first round – three rides) 1, Trevor Reiste, Linden, Iowa, 86.5 points on Dakota Rodeo’s After Party. 2, Jeff Bertus, Avon, S.D., 81. 3, Roscoe Jarboe, New Plymouth, Ind., 80

Wild Horse Race:  1, Team Krackillac $582. 2, Cowboy’s Dream, $436. 3, Bernt Team, $$291. 4, Jason Smith, $145.