For the San Antonio Stock Show Rodeo

SAN ANTONIO, Texas (Feb. 12, 2016) — Tim O’Connell is having the ride of his life and that is a good thing for a man who makes a living eight seconds at a time on the back of a bucking horse.

O’Connell is having the best winter of his three years as a member of the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association and leads the world standings. He won the second round of bracket 1 at the San Antonio Stock Show Rodeo and now is assured a spot in the semi-finals. Four contestants out of each bracket in each event will advance based on their earnings. O’Connell has collected $3,136 here so far with one more round to go. He is also just coming off of a big win at the Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo.

“This rodeo is awesome,” he said. “There is so much money up for grabs. I love the format. At other rodeos if you make one mistake, it will take you out. Here, because of the format, there is a better opportunity.”

The former college champion didn’t make any mistakes in the AT&T Center on Friday night. He rode a Beutler and Son horse named Empty Pockets for 87 points and $2,281.

“There is a lot more to that horse than meets the eye,” he said. “I really think she hates men. She tries to bite you when you are getting on. I tried to get out on her as quick as I could. She’s a typical Beutler horse. She just really bucks and that’s the kind of horses they raise.”

It was not the first meeting for O’Connell and Empty Pockets. He had previously ridden the mare to a score of 85 points at a rodeo in Lawton, Okla., and was both excited and prepared for the ride here. After his ride in the third round Saturday afternoon, he will be flying to Marshall, Mo., where he is currently living with his wife Sami who works for Missouri Valley College. The two were married last October and want to spend Valentine’s Day together. After a couple of days at home, he will be headed back on the rodeo trail.

Growing up in Zwingle, Iowa, O’Connell credits much of his success to Three Hills Rodeo Company from Bernard, Iowa. He got on many practice horses at their facility and had some expert advice during the process. Three Hills is just one of 18 stock contractors that are providing livestock here.

There are two performances at the San Antonio Stock Show Rodeo on Saturday. The third round of bracket 1 will start at 1 p.m. The first round of bracket 2 begins at 7:30 p.m.

SAN ANTONIO, Texas (Feb.12, 2016) — The following are results after the second performance of the San Antonio Stock Show Rodeo which features over $1.65 million in cash and prizes.

Bracket 1, round 2 followed by total money —

Bareback Riding: 1, Tim O’Connell, Zwingle, Iowa, 87 points on Beutler and Son Rodeo’s Empty Pockets, $2,281. 2, Kyle Brennecke, Stephenville, Texas, 79, $1,711. 3, (tie) Jamie Howlett, Snyder, Texas, and Luke Creasy, Lovington, N.M., 78 and $855 each. (total money) 1, O’Connell, $3,136. 2, Brennecke, $2,566. 3, Teddy Athan, Livermore, Calif., $2,281. 4, Tyler Waltz, Martin, Tenn., $1,710.

Steer Wrestling: 1, Matt Mousseau, Hensall, Ontario, 4.1 seconds, $2,281. 2, (tie) Nick Guy, Sparta, Wis., and J.D. Struxness, Appleton, Minn., 4.5 and $1,426 each. 4, Blaine Jones, Templeton, Calif., 5.0, $570. (total money) 1, Struxness, $3,421. 2, Mousseau, $2,281. 3, Tommy Cook, McAlester, Okla., $1,996. 4, Guy, $1,426.

Team Roping: 1, Rhen Richard, Ro and Cole Davison, Roosevelt, Utah, 4.7 seconds, $2,281. 2, Joel Bach, San Augustine, Texas, and Kory Koontz, Stephenville, Texas, 4.9, $1,711. 3, (tie) Riley and Brady Minor, Ellensburg, Wash.; and Erich Rogers, Round Rock, Ariz., and Cory Petska, Marana, Ariz.; 5.0 and $855 each. (total money) 1, Bach and Koontz, $3,422. 2, Richard and Davison, $2,851. 3, Garrett Rogers, Baker City, Ore., and Jake Minor, Ellensburg, Wash., $2,281. 4, David Key, Stephenville, Texas, and Travis Woodard, Stockton, Calif., $1,141.

Saddle Bronc Riding: 1, Jacobs Crawley, Boerne, Texas, 81 points on Beutler and Son Rodeo’s Cimmaron Jack, $2,281. 2, Dean Wadsworth, Ozona, Texas, and Clay Elliott, Nanton, Alberta, 78, $1,426 each. 4, (tie) Tyrel Larsen, Inglis, Manitoba, and Curtis Garton, New Zealand, 75, $285. (total money) 1, Larsen, $2,566. 2, (tie) Crawley, and Wadsworth, $2,281. 4, Ben Londo, San Luis Obispo, Calif., $1,711.

                Tie-Down Roping: 1, Randall Carlisle, Athens, La., 8.4 seconds, $2,281. 2, Jesse Clark, Portales, N.M., 8.5, $1,171. 3, Stetson Vest, Childress, Texas, 8.8, $1,141. 4, Chase Williams, Stephenville, Texas, 9.6, $570. (total money) 1, Vest, $3,422. 2, (tie) Carlisle and Williams, $2,281. 4, Clark, $1,710.

Women’s Barrel Race: 1,  Jackie Ganter, Abilene, Texas, 13.78 seconds, $2,281. 2, Kelley Schnaufer, Pueblo, Colo., 13.93, $1,711. 3, Ivy Conrado, Hudson, Colo., 13.96, $1,141. 4, Sherrylynn Johnson, Henryetta, Okla., 13.99, $570. (total money) 1, (tie) Conrado and Schnaufer, $3,421. 3, Ganter, $2,281. 4, Megan Mariluch, Daingerfield, Texas, 14.18, $1,141.

Bull Riding: 1, Joe Frost, Randlett, Utah, 85 points on Beutler and Son Rodeo’s Spin Bo, $2,281. 2, (tie) Adam Jamison, Canada, and Kanin Asay, Powell, Wyo., 78 and $1,426 each. 4, Lane Selz, Bakersfield, Calif., 76, $570. (total money) 1, Frost, $3,422. 2, Cody Rostockyj, Lorena, Texas, $2,281. 3, Dustin Bowen, Waller, Texas, $1,711. 4, (tie) Jamison and Asay, $1,426.

by Susan Kanode

for the Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo

FORT WORTH, Texas (February 5, 2016) — A pair of Clints moved into the overall standings in the tie-down roping on Friday and now have the potential to earn a Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo championship.

Clint Robinson, from Spanish Fork, Utah, and Clint Cooper from Decatur, Texas, are now second and third respectively. They are both second-generation contestants and if either one of them leave here with a buckle, it would be a first for their immediate family members.

Robinson is the son of Lance Robinson, a five-time Wrangler National Finals Rodeo (NFR) qualifier. Cooper is the son of eight-time world champion Roy Cooper, and the brother of three-time world champion Tuf Cooper. With all the accolades won by family members as well as the two Clints, it’s amazing to think that if they won a title here, it would be the first within their families.

Both of these men have made the trip to Las Vegas to compete at the NFR five times and both have won big, traditional rodeos like Cheyenne, Wyo., and Pendleton, Ore.  Horsemanship in the tie-down roping is key and both of them are known for riding great horses as well.

Tim O’Connell from Zwingle, Iowa, is hungry for a world title in the bareback riding. He has qualified for the NFR the past two years and did that while he was still in college. He rode his first horse here Thursday night and his second one Friday night. He is in position to take the overall lead here with his third ride Saturday afternoon.

O’Connell scored 83.5 points on Rafter G Rodeo’s Citation. That finished in second place in the round. He came back Friday night and rode J Bar J Rodeo’s Bar Bandit for 85.5 points. The overall leader here is Orin Larsen from Inglis, Manitoba with 246.5 points on three rides. O’Connell just needs a 78-point score Saturday afternoon to move ahead.

“Fort Worth and I haven’t always seen eye-to-eye in the past,” O’Connell said. “Hopefully the winds are changing. I’ve got one more and hopefully two more horses to get on so we will see what happens.”

The barrel racing is shaping up to be the closest race in the Will Rogers Memorial Coliseum. Kimmie Wall from Roosevelt, Utah leads with 33.53 seconds on two runs. The final spot to qualify for Saturday night’s finals is less than a quarter of a second away at 33.77. With 10 more talented rider and horse combinations left to compete Saturday afternoon, the bottom positions are definitely in jeopardy.

The Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo is sanctioned by the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) and abides by their rules and bylaws. Several of this year’s contestants were eliminated from the rodeo because of an ongoing legal situation between the PRCA and the Elite Rodeo Athletes (ERA). The Honorable Barbara M.G. Lynn, United States District Judge of the Northern District of Texas released an opinion on Feb. 4 denying the Plaintiffs’ (ERA) Motion for a Preliminary Injunction in their suit against the PRCA. With the judge’s decision, the PRCA bylaws at issue were immediately enforced, taking the involved contestants out of the Fort Worth Rodeo.

That opened doors for other contestants here that moved up in the standings and will have a chance to ride for the championship Saturday night. The decision did not affect the Women’s Professional Rodeo Association members as they have different bylaws.

The World’s Original Indoor Rodeo ends its 2016 run on Saturday with performances at 2 and 7:30 p.m. in Fort Worth’s historic Will Rogers Coliseum.

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FORT WORTH. — The following are unofficial results from Friday’s performances of the World’s Oldest Indoor Rodeo® at the Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo, February 5, 2016.

Twenty-sixth Performance

Bareback Riding: (two rides) 1, Caine Riddle, Vernon, Texas, 79 points on Big Rafter Rodeo’s Dirty Jeans. 2, Taylor Price, Huntsville, Texas, 76.

Steer Wrestling:  1, Chris Berry, Valley View, Texas, 5.1 seconds. 2, Austin Eller, Glendo, Wyo., 6.5. 3, Kyle Broce, Cheraw, Colo., 14.6. 4, Dean Stermer, Frisco, Texas, 15.6.

Team Roping:  (two times) 1, Ty Blasingame, Ramah, Colo., and Josh Fillmore, Penrose, Colo., 6.4 seconds. 2, Cole Dorenkamp, Lamar, Colo., and Lance Allen, Orchard, Colo., 10.8.

Saddle Bronc Riding: 1, Sterling Crawley, Stephenville, Texas, 78.5 points on Big Rafter Rodeo’s Marlboro Man. 2, Travis Nelson, Philip, S.D., 77.5. 3, Jacobs Crawley, Boerne, Texas, 73.5. 4, Blaise Freeman, Snyder, Texas, 69.

Tie-Down Roping:  1, Clint Robinson, Spanish Fork, Utah, 8.6. 2, Clint Cooper, Decatur, Texas, 9.0. 3, Matt Kenney, Onawa, Iowa, 9.5. 4, Jody Green, Shakopee, Minn., 10.0.

Barrel Racing: 1, Alexa Lake, Richmond, Texas, 16.88 seconds. 2, Sarah Rose McDonald, Brunswick, Ga., 17.03. 3, Megan McLeod-Sprague, Marsing, Idaho, 17.07. 4, Davie King, Decatur, Texas, 17.09.

Bull Riding: 1, Bayle Worden, Charleston, Texas, 86 points on 4L & Diamond S Rodeo’s Rustler’s Cat. 2, Denton Fugate, Dixon, Mo., 85. 3, Freeman Yoder, Zearing, Idaho, 80. 4, Marcus Mariluch, Daingerfield, Texas, 76.5.

Twenty-seventh Performance

Bareback Riding: (three rides) 1, Tim O’Connell, Zwingle, Iowa, 85.5 points on J Bar J Rodeo’s Bar Bandit. 2, David Peebles, Redmond, Ore., 77.5. 3, Caine Riddle, Vernon, Texas, 75.

Steer Wrestling: (two times) 1, Adam Strahan, Decatur, Texas, 7.7 seconds. 2, Dean Gorsuch, Gering, Neb., 14.10.

Team Roping: 1, Jim Coffman, Decatur, Texas, and J.C. Williams, Bridgeport, Texas, 5.9 seconds. 2, Cody Butler and Chuck Butler, Sanger, Texas, 6.5. 3, Levi Simpson, Panoka, Alberta, and Jeremy Buhler, Abbottsford, British Columbia, 9.9. 4, Cord Crowell, Marion, Texas, and Trey Carter III, Bellville, Texas, 12.8.

Saddle Bronc Riding: 1, Layton Green, Meeting Creek, Alberta, 80.5 on J Bar J Rodeo’s Freckles Remover. 2, Justin Caylor, Sulphur Springs, Texas, 77.5. 3, (tie) Jake Watson, Hudson’s Hope, British Columbia, and Call Marr, Twin Butte, Alberta, 77.

Tie-Down Roping: 1, Scotty Shelton, Avondale, Colo., 13.7. 2, Justin Locock, Jonesboro, Texas, 15.6. 3, Clint Nyeguaard, Cuero, Texas, 17.5. 4, Bryce Ingo, Boone, Colo., 19.9.

Barrel Racing: 1, Carmel Wright, Roy, Mont., 16.87 seconds. 2, McKinley Goodger, Boyd, Texas, 16.90. 3, (tie) Kellie Collier, Hereford, Texas, and Jackie Ganter, Abilene, Texas, 17.05.

Bull Riding: (no qualified rides)

Current Leaders

Bareback Riding: (first round) 1, Jake Brown, Hillsboro, Texas, 86 points on Andrews Pro Rodeo’s Gypsy Rose. 2, Tim O’Connell, Zwingle, Iowa, 83.5. 3, Ty Breuer, Mandan, N.D., 83. 4, Mason Clements, Sandy, Utah, 82.5. 5, Ty Fast Taypotat, Regina, Sask., 82. 6, Cody Kiser, Carson City, Nev., 80. 7, (tie) Caleb Bennett, Tremonton, Utah, and Clint Laye, Pocatello, Idaho, 79.5. (second round leaders) 1, Winn Ratliff, Leesville, La., 87 points on Four Star Rodeo’s Rusty Slim. 2, (tie) Orin Larsen, Inglis, Manitoba, and Caleb Bennett, 86, 4, Tim O’Connell, Zwingle, Iowa, 85.5. 5, Jake Brown, 84. 6, (tie) Tanner Aus, Granite Falls, Minn., and Chad Rutherford, Lake Charles, La., 83.5. 8, Teddy Athan, Livermore, Calif., 83.(third round leaders) 1, Bill Tutor, Huntsville, Texas, 84.5 points on Frontier Rodeo’s Bunny Girl. 2, Chad Rutherford, 83.5.  3, Orin Larsen, 83. 4, Evan Jayne, 82.5. 5, Winn Ratliff, 81. 6, Mason Clements, 80. 7, (tie) Tanner Aus and Caleb Bennett, 79.5.

(total on three) 1, Orin Larsen, 246.5. 2, Caleb Bennett, 245. 3, Winn Ratliff, 242.5. 4, Mason Clements, 241.5. 5, Evan Jayne, 236.5. 6, Clint Laye, 232. 7, Luke Creasy, Lovington, N.M., 231. 8, (tie) Devan Reilly, Sheridan, Wyo.; Justin Pollmiller, Weatherford, Okla., and Bill Tutor, 230.

Steer Wrestling: (second round) 1, (tie) Sterling Lambert, Fallon, Nev., and Jule Hazen, Ashland, Kan., 4.0 seconds. 3, (tie) Chance Campbell, Sinton, Texas, 4.2. and Tyler Waguespack, Gonzales, La., 4.2.  5, (tie) Jake Rinehart, Highmore, S.D., and J.D. Struxness, Appleton, Minn., 4.3. 7, (tie) Cole Fulton, Miller, S.D., and Ty Erickson, Helena, Mont., 4.4. 9, (tie) Clayton Tuchscherer, Dona Ana, N.M.; Chason Floyd, Buffalo, S.D., and Taz Olson, Prairie City, S.D., 4.5.

(total on two) 1, Matt Reeves, Cross Plains, Texas, 8.9 seconds. 2, Brother Loud, Kaufman, Texas, 9.6. 3, Jake Rinehart, 9.8 seconds. 4, Joe Buffington, Wheatland, Wyo., 10.1. 5, Jason Thomas, Benton, Ark., 10.2. 6, (tie) Dirk Tavenner, Rigby, Idaho, and Ty Erickson, 10.4. 8, Clayton Tuchscherer, Dona Ana, N.M., 10.8. 9, Timmy Sparing, Helena, Mont., 10.9. 10, Wade Sumpter, Fowler, Colo., 11.2.

Team Roping: (first round) 1, (tie) Caleb Smidt, Bellville, Texas, and B.J. Dugger, Three Rivers, Texas, and Kolton Schmidt, Barrhead, Alberta, and Shay Carroll, Prineville, Ore., 4.5 seconds. 3, (tie) Nathan McWhorter, Telephone, Texas, and and Dustin Davis, Terrell, Texas; Joel Bach, San Augustine, Texas, and Kory Koontz, Stephenville, Texas, and JoJo LeMond, Andrews, Texas, and Jim Ross Cooper, Stephenville, Texas, 4.7. 6, (tie) Adam Rose, Willard, Mo., and Walt Woodard, Stephenville, Texas, and Ty Blasingame, Ramah, Colo., and Josh Filmore, Penrose, Colo., 4.8. (second round) 1, Clay Smith, Broken Bow, Okla., and Paul Eaves, Lonedell, Mo., 3.9 seconds. 2, Rhen Richard, Roosevelt, Utah, and Cole Davison, Roosevelt, Utah, 4.0. 3, (tie) Matt Sherwood, Pima, Ariz., and Quinn Kesler, Holden, Utah, and Bull Austin, East Bernard, Texas, and Dee Rampey, Bertram, Texas, 4.2. 5, Garrett Tonozzi, Fruita, Colo., and Bret Tonozzi, Loma, Colo., 4.5. 6, (tie) Coleman Proctor, Pryor, Okla., and Buddy Hawkins II, Columbus, Kan.; Cody Snow, Los Olivos, Calif., and Dugan Kelly, Paso Robles, Calif., and Rowdy Rieken, Arp, Texas, and Justin Price, La Veta, Colo., 4.6.

(total on two) 1, Clay Smith and Paul Eaves, 9.4 seconds. 2, Luke Brown, Stephenville, Texas, and Jake Long, Coffeyville, Kan., 9.9. 3, Blaine Vick, Dublin, Texas, and Dakota Kirchenschlager, Morgan Mill, Texas, 10.1. 4, Dylan Gordon, Comanche, Okla., and Austin Rogers, Crescent, Okla., 10.4. 5, Matt Sherwood and Quinn Kesler 10.5. 6, Coleman Proctor and Buddy Hawkins II, 10.6. 7, Colt Fisher, Sulphur, La., and Corey Hendrick, Huntsville, Texas, 10.7. 8, Casey Gattis, Junction, Texas, and Kirt Jones, Hobbs, N.M., 10.8. 9, Zac Small, Welch, Okla., and Wesley Thorp, Stephenville, Texas, 10.9. 10, Rowdy Rieken and Justin Price, 11.0.

Saddle Bronc Riding: (first round) 1, Jake Wright, Milford, Utah, 84 points on Western Rodeo’s Jet Liner, $4,776. 2, (tie) Troy Crowser, Whitewood, S.D., and Sterling Crawley, Stephenville, Texas, 83.5, $3,184 each. 4, Joe Harper, Paradise Valley, Nev., 82.5, $1,751. 5, Charlie Kogianes, Provo, Utah, 81.5, $1,115. 6, (tie) Clay Elliott, Nanton, Alberta, and Joey Sonnier III, New Iberia, La., 81, $716 each. 8, (tie) Kobyn Williams, De Berry, Texas, and Layton Green, Meeting Creek, Alberta, $239 each. (second round) 1, Alex Wright, Milford, Utah, 83 points on Pro Rodeos, Inc.’s Ruby Tuesday. 2, (tie) Jake Wright, Milford, Utah, and Sam Spreadborough, Snyder, Texas, 82.5. 4, (tie) Audy Reed, Spearman, Texas; Dalton Davis, Holcomb, Kan., and Cooper DeWitt, Rio Rico, Ariz., 82. 7, Joey Sonnier III, New Iberia, La., 81. 8, (tie) Cody DeMoss, Heflin, La., Tyrel Larsen, Inglis, Manitoba, and Brady Nicholes, Hoytsville, Utah, 159.5.

(total on two) 1, Jake Wright, 166.5. 2, (tie) Sterling Crawley, Joey Sonnier III and Dalton Davis, 162. 5, Alex Wright, 161. 6, Cody DeMoss, Heflin, La., 160.5. 7, Sam Spreadborough, 160. 8, (tie) Troy Crowser, Tyrel Larsen, Brady Nicholes, 159.

Tie-Down Roping:  (second round) 1, Garrett Hale,Snyder, Texas, 8.1 seconds. 2, (tie) Justin Brinkerhoff, Corinne, Utah, and Ryle Smith, Oakdale, Calif., 8.3. 4, Cheyenne Harper, Iowa, La., 8.4. 5, Ike Fontenot, Ville Platte, La., 8.5. 6, (tie) Bryson Sechrist, Apache, Okla.; Clint Robinson, Spanish Fork, Utah, and Clayton Collmorgan, Lufkin, Texas, 8.6.

(total on two) 1, Jordan Ketscher, 17.0. 2, Clint Robinson, Spanish Fork, Utah, 17.4. 3, Clint Cooper, Decatur, Texas, 17.7. 4, Justin Macha, Needville, Texas, 17.8. 5, (tie) Ryle Smith and Reese Reimer, Stinnett, Texas, 18.1. 7, Jerrad Hofstetter, Shallow Water, Texas, 18.2. 8, Bradley Bynum, 18.4. 9, (tie) Clint Singleton, Comfort, Texas; Cody McCartney, Ottawa Lake, Mich., and Ryan Watkins, Morgan Mill, Texas, 18.5.

Barrel Racing: (second round) 1, Andrea Busby, Brock, Texas, 16.69 seconds. 2, Kimmie Wall, 3, Ashley Day, Volburg, Mont., 16.72. 4, Taylor Jacob, Carmine, Texas, 16.75. 5, Paxton Segelke, Snyder, Colo., 16.78.  6, Tiany Schuster, Krum, Texas, 16.79. 7, Carman Pozzobon, Savana, British Columbia, 16.86. 8, Carmel Wright, Roy, Mont. 16.87.

(total on two) 1, Kimmie Wall, 33.52 seconds. 2, Tiany Shuster, 33.54. 3, Andrea Busby, 33.56. 4, Taylor Jacob, 33.57. 5, Kelly Tovar, Rockdale, Texas, 33.58. 6, Paxton Segelke, 33.64 7, Kellie Collier, Hereford, Texas, 33.65. 8, Danyelle Campbell, Millsap, Texas, 33.69. 9, Dena Kirkpatrick, Post, Texas, 33.70. 10, Sarah Rose McDonald, Brunswick, Ga., 33.74.

Bull Riding: (first round) 1, Trent Jacobson, Irwin, Idaho, 88 points on Pickett Pro Rodeo’s Amplified Howdy. 2, Clayton Savage, Yoder, Wyo., 87.5. 3, Shad Heiner, Morgan, Utah, 86.5. 4, (tie) Tyler Smith, Fruita, Colo.; Sage Kimzey, Strong City, Okla., and Kody DeShon, Helena, Mont., 85.5. 6, (tie) Rocky McDonald, Colonia Juarez, Mexico, and Jeff Askey, Athens, Texas, 84.5. (second round) 1, Bayle Worden, Charleston, Texas, 86 points on 4L & Diamond S Rodeo’s Rustler’s Cat. 2, (tie) Tate Stratton, Kellyville, Okla., on Rafter G Rodeo’s Thunderstruck; Trevor Kastner, Ardmore, Okla., on Rafter G’s Raptor, and Dustin Bowen, Waller, Texas, on Four Star Rodeo’s No Dice,  85.5. 5, (tie) Ednei Caminhas, Denton, Texas, and Denton Fugate, Dixon, Mo., 85. 7, Eli Vastbinder, Statesville, N.C., 84.5. 8, (tie) Cody Rostockyj, Lorena, Texas; Jordan Sammons, Splendora, Texas, and Luke Haught, Weatherford, Texas, 83.

(total on two) 1, Ednei Caminhas, 168.5 points. 2, Trevor Kastner, 164. 3, Freeman Yoder, Zearing, Iowa, 163.5. 4, Shad Heiner, 161.5. 5, (tie) Tyler Bingham and Kody DeShon, 161.  7, Jordan Sammons, 159.5. 8, Riker Carter, Stone, Idaho, 159. 9, Joe Frost, Randlett, Utah, 158. 10, Sage Kimzey, 156.

by Susan Kanode

for the Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo

FORT WORTH, Texas (January 30, 2016) — Other than a gold buckle for being a world champion bareback rider, there is not a rodeo championship that Jake Brown would rather win than the Fort Worth Stock Show.

Last December the former high school rodeo champion qualified for his first Wrangler National Finals Rodeo (NFR) and finished the season in eighth place. Less than a week ago, he won the rodeo at the National Western Stock Show in Denver and took the lead in the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association world standings. He came to Fort Worth this week with momentum on his side and high hopes.

Brown, originally from Hillsboro but now living in Cleveland, Texas, took the lead in the first round of bareback riding here with an 86-point ride on Andrews Rodeo’s Gypsy Rose at the Saturday morning performance.

He had his second round of competition Saturday afternoon and again took the lead, this time with an 84 on Dakota Rodeo’s Hanna Montana. At the Saturday night performance he was poised to take the overall lead and make the trip back here in one week to compete for the championship.

Just over halfway through the ride on Frontier Rodeo’s Bar Fever, Brown’s head connected with the horse’s hip and he was knocked unconscious. He came off early, laid in the arena while the Justin Sportsmedicine Team attended to him. He was carried out of the arena on a backboard but was moving fingers, toes and was alert.

He was evaluated onsite and while he won’t be riding for the championship here, he is likely to get good checks in the preliminary rounds and will be healthy enough to ride again soon. His parents, Paul and Traci Brown along with his sister had made the one-hour trip to Fort Worth to cheer him on.

“I grew up coming to this rodeo,” Brown said. “It’s one I’ve always wanted to win and I thought I was in a good place to do that. Obviously it didn’t go the way I wanted. I’m still happy to be doing so well in the first and second rounds. I’ll just have to come back and try again next year.”

Brown’s traveling partner Bill Tutor, from Huntsville, Texas, did move into a three-way tie for second place overall and is planning his trip back here next week for the championship finals. Tutor took the lead in the third round with an 84.5 point ride on Frontier Rodeo’s Bunny Girl. Combined with his previous rides of 72.5 and 73, he has a total of 230 points on three horses.

It’s been four years since Jake Rinehart from Highmore, S.D., competed in the steer wrestling at the NFR. He’s qualified for rodeo’s championships three times and is hoping for a return to Las Vegas in 2016. A win here would put him well on the way. He didn’t place in the first round but had a solid 5.5-second run. He had his second steer at the Saturday morning performance and stopped the clock in 4.3 seconds.

Rinehart now leads the overall standings with a total time of 9.8. He is a full second ahead of Clayton Tuchsherer, from Dona Ana, N.M., who has made two runs in 10.8.

The World’s Original Indoor Rodeo continues Sunday with performances at 2 and 7:30 p.m. in Fort Worth’s historic Will Rogers Coliseum.

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FORT WORTH. — The following are unofficial results from Saturday’s three performances of the World’s Oldest Indoor Rodeo® at the Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo, January 30, 2016.

Thirteenth Performance

Bareback Riding: 1, Jake Brown, Hillsboro, Texas, 86 points on Andrews Rodeo’s Gypsy Rose. 2, Marvin Alderman Jr., Idabel, Okla., 73.5. 3, Bill Tutor, Huntsville, Texas, 72.5. 4, Kyle Charley, Lukachukai, Ariz., 72.5.

Steer Wrestling: 1, Jake Rinehart, Highmore, S.D., 4.3 seconds. 2, Kyle Whitaker, Chambers, Neb., 4.9. 3, Wade Sumpter, Fowler, Colo., 6.4. 4, Seth Brockman, Wheatland, Wyo., 6.9.

Team Roping:  1, Colt Fisher, Sulphur, La., and Corey Hendrick, Huntsville, Texas, 5.8 seconds. 2, Tate Kirchenschlager, Yuma, Colo., and Trevor Kirchenschlager, Ranger, Texas, 5.9. 3, Zac Small, Welch, Okla., and Wesley Thorp, Stephenville, Texas, 6.0. 4, Clayton Van Aken, Descanso, Calif., and Cullen Teller, Pierce, Colo., 8.4.

Saddle Bronc Riding: 1, Kobyn Williams, De Berry, Texas, 80.5 on Andrews Pro Rodeo’s Bombie. 2, Jeremy Ray, Huntsville, Texas, 78. 3, Gus Thoreson, Dell, Mont., 77.5. 4, Wyatt Caper, Balko, Okla., 73.5.

Tie-Down Roping: 1, Michael Akins, Whitesboro, Texas, 8.7 seconds. 2, Justin Macha, Needville, Texas, 9.2. 3, Josh Frost, Randlett, Utah, 14.8. 4, Taylor Stout, Justin, Texas, 27.1.

Barrel Racing: 1, Kathy Grimes, Medical Lake, Wash., 16.86 seconds. 2, Jill Wilson, Snyder, Texas, 17.01. 3, Nichole Riggle, Scottsdale, Ariz., 17.09. 4, Debra Cooper, Poolville, Texas, 17.14.

Bull Riding: (one ride) 1, Caleb Sanderson, Hallettsville, Texas, 72 points on Andrews Pro Rodeo’s Ready to Rock.

Fourteenth Performance

Bareback Riding: 1, Jake Brown, Hillsboro, Texas, 84 points on Dakota Rodeo’s Hannah Montana. 2, Kyle Charley, Lukachukai, Ariz., 76.5. 3, Marvin Alderman Jr., Idabel, Okla., 73.5. 4, Bill Tutor, Huntsville, Texas, 73.

Steer Wrestling: (three times) 1, Shawn Dollery, Caldwell, Texas, 5.4 seconds. 2, Justin Morehouse, Cleburne, Texas, 8.1. 3, Heath Thomas, Hemphill, Texas, 14.0.

Team Roping:  (three times) 1, (tie) Justin Davis, Madisonville, Texas, and Zane Bruce, Eldorado, Texas, and Colt Fisher, Sulphur, La., and Corey Hendrick, Huntsville, Texas, and Zac Small, Welch, Okla., and Wesley Thorp, Stephenville, Texas,  4.9 seconds.

Saddle Bronc Riding: 1, Gus Thoreson, Dell, Mont., 77 points on Dakota Rodeo’s 100 Proof. 2, (tie) Jeremy Ray, Huntsville, Texas, and Korbyn Williams, De Berry, Texas, 71.5. 4, (tie) Clint Hopping, Memphis, Texas, and Corey Terry, Brownwood, Texas, 70.5.

Tie-Down Roping: 1, Bryson Sechrist, Apache, Okla., 8.6 seconds. 2, Reese Riemer, Stinnett, Texas, 9.1. 3, Lane Jeffrey, Wilburton, Okla., 9.5. 4, Jess Woodward, Dupree, S.D., 12.9.

Barrel Racing: 1, Shelly Anzick, Shepherd, Mont., 16.69 seconds. 2, Paxton Segelke, Snyder, Colo., 16.86. 3, Laura Lambert, Wiggins, Colo. 17.11. 4, Tyra Kane, Dublin, Texas, 17.16.

Bull Riding: (one ride) 1, Caleb Sanderson, Hallettsville, Texas, 80.5 points on 4L & Diamond S Rodeo’s Midnight Dynamite.

Fifthteenth Performance

Bareback Riding: (three rides) 1, Bill Tutor, Huntsville, Texas, 84.5 points on Frontier Rodeo’s Bunny Girl. 2, Kyle Charley, Lukachukai, Ariz., 78.5. 3, Cody Goodwin, Shepherd, Texas, 64.

Steer Wrestling: 1, Ty Erickson, Helena, Mont., 4.4 seconds. 2, Joe Buffington, Wheatland, Wyo. 5.0. 3, Gary Gilbert, New Underwood, S.D., 6.6. 4, Calder Johnson, Elm Springs, S.D., 17.4.

Team Roping: 1, Kolton Schmidt, Barrhead, Alberta, and Shay Carroll, Prineville, Ore., 4.5 seconds. 2, Adam Rose, Willard, Mo., and Walt Woodard, Stephenville, Texas, 4.8. 3, Luke Brown, Stephenville, Texas, and Jake Long, Coffeyville, Kan., 4.9. 4, Chad Masters, Cedar Hill, Tenn., and Travis Graves, Jay, Okla., 5.2.

Saddle Bronc Riding: 1,Taos Muncy, Corona, N.M., 82 points on Frontier Rodeo’s Cherry Creek. 2, Tyrel Larsen, Inglis, Manitoba, 79. 3, Cody Martin, Pleasant Hope, Mo., 75.5. 4, Isaac Diaz, Desdemona, Texas, 74.5.

Tie-Down Roping: (three times) 1, Ryle Smith, Oakdale, Calif., 8.3 seconds. 2, Jared Kempker, Eugene, Mo., 10.5. 3, Dennis Luetge, Hempstead, Texas, 22.0.

Barrel Racing: 1, Sarah Rose McDonald, Brunswick, Ga., 16.71 seconds. 2, Kaley Bass, Kissimmee, Fla., 16.85. 3, Jaime Hinton, Bulverde, Texas, 16.93. 4, Alicia Stockton, Stephenville, Texas, 17.10.

Bull Riding: (two rides) 1, Jordan Sammons, Splendora, Texas, 76.5 points on Frontier Rodeo’s Sudden Attack. 2, Gannon Ivy, Hampton, Ark., 66.5.

Current Leaders

Bareback Riding: (first round) 1, Jake Brown, Hillsboro, Texas, 86 points on Andrews Pro Rodeo’s Gypsy Rose. 2, Ty Breuer, Mandan, N.D., 83. 3, Mason Clements, Sandy Utah, 82.5. 4, Ty Fast Taypotat, Regina, Sask., 82. 5, Cody Kiser, Carson City, Nev., 80. 6, Justin Pollmiller, Weatherford, Okla., 79. (second round leaders) 1, Jake Brown, 84 points on Dakota Rodeo’s Hannah Montana. 2, Tanner Aus, Granite Falls, Minn., 83.5 points on Pro Rodeos, Inc.’s Belle Star. 3, (tie) Tyler Scales, Severance, Wyo., and Devan Reilly, Sheridan, Wyo., 80. 5, (tie) Ty Breuer, Mandan, N.D., and Mason Clements, 79. 5. (third round leaders) 1, Bill Tutor, Huntsville, Texas, 84.5 points on Frontier Rodeo’s Bunny Girl. 2, Mason Clements, 80. 3, Tanner Aus, Granite Falls, Minn., 79.5. 4, (tie) J.R. Vezain, Cowley, Wyo., and Wyatt Maines, Maple Creek, Saskatchewan, 79. 6, Kyle Charley, Lukachukai, Ariz., 78.5

(total on three) 1, Mason Clements, 241.5. 2, (tie) Devan Reilly, Bill Tutor, Justin Pollmiller, 230. 5, Tanner Aus, 228.5. 6, Ty Fast Taypotat, 227.5.

Steer Wrestling: (second round) 1, Sterling Lambert, Fallon, Nev., 4.0 seconds. 2, Jake Rinehart, Highmore, S.D., 4.3. 3, (tie) Cole Fulton, Miller, S.D., and Ty Erickson, Helena, Mont., 4.4. 5, (tie) Clayton Tuchscherer, Dona Ana, N.M.; Chason Floyd, Buffalo, S.D., and Taz Olson, Prairie City, S.D., 4.5.

(total on two) 1, Jake Rinehart, 9.8 seconds. 2, Joe Buffington, Wheatland, Wyo., 10.1. 3, Ty Erickson, 10.4. 4, Clayton Tuchscherer, 10.8 seconds. 5, Timmy Sparing, 10.9. 6, Wade Sumpter, Fowler, Colo., 11.2.

Team Roping: (first round) 1, (tie) Caleb Smidt, Bellville, Texas, and B.J. Dugger, Three Rivers, Texas; Kolton Schmidt, Barrhead, Alberta, and Shay Carroll, Prineville, Ore., and Colby Lovell, Madisonville, Texas, and Kollin VonAhn, Blanchard, Okla., 4.5 seconds. 4, Kaleb Driggers, Albany, Ga., and Junior Nogueira, Scottsdale, Ariz., 4.6. 5, (tie) Nathan McWhorter, Telephone, Texas, and Dustin Davis, Terrell, Texas, and JoJo LeMond, Andrews, Texas, and Jim Ross Cooper, Stephenville, Texas, 4.7. (second round) 1, Rhen Richard, Blackfoot, Idaho, and Cole Davison, Blackfoot, Idaho, 4.0 seconds. 2, Matt Sherwood, Pima, Ariz., and Quinn Kesler, Holden, Utah, and Bull Austin, East Bernard, Texas, and Dee Rampey, Bertram, Texas, 4.2. 4, Coleman Proctor, Pryor, Okla., and Buddy Hawkins II, Columbus, Kan., 4.6. 5, Ryan Von Ahn, Sac City, Iowa, and J.W. Beck, Moville, Iowa, 4.8. 6, (tie) Justin Davis, Madisonville, Texas, and Zane Bruce, Eldorado, Texas, and Colt Fisher, Sulphur, La., and Corey Hendrick, Huntsville, Texas, and Zac Small, Welch, Okla., and Wesley Thorp, Stephenville, Texas,  4.9

(total on two) 1, Blaine Vick and Dakota Kirchenschlager, 10.1 seconds. 2, Matt Sherwood and Quinn Kesler 10.5. 3, Coleman Proctor and Buddy Hawkins II, 10.6. 4, Colt Fisher and Corey Hendrick, 10.7. 5, Zac Small and Wesley Thorp, 10.9. 6, Clayton Hass and Cody Doescher, 11.3.

Saddle Bronc Riding: (first round) 1, Jake Wright, Milford, Utah, 84 points on Western Rodeo’s Jet Liner. 2, Troy Crowser, Whitewood, S.D., 83.5. 3, Joe Harper, Paradise Valley, Nev., 82.5. 4, Taos Muncy, Corona, N.M., 82. 5, (tie) Clay Elliott, Nanton, Alberta, and Joey Sonnier III, New Iberia, La., 81. (second round) 1, Cort Scheer, Elsmere, Neb., 83.5 points on Frontier Rodeo’s Covergirl. 2, Alex Wright, Milford, Utah, 83 points on Pro Rodeos, Inc.’s Ruby Tuesday. 3, Jake Wright, Milford, Utah, 82.5. 4, (tie) Audy Reed, Spearman, Texas; Bradley Harter, Loranger, La., and Cooper DeWitt, Rio Rico, Ariz., 82.

(total on two) 1, Jake Wright, 168.5. 2, Cort Scheer, 164. 3, Joey Sonnier III, 162. 4, Alex Wright, 161. 5, Cody DeMoss, 160.5. 6, Troy Crowser, 159.5.

Tie-Down Roping: (second round) 1, Ryle Smith, Oakdale, Calif., 10.3 seconds. 2, (tie) Bryson Sechrist, Apache, Okla., and Clayton Collmorgan, Lufkin, Texas, 8.6 seconds. 4, Michael Akins, Whitesboro, Texas, 8.7. 5, (tie) J.D. McCuistion, Collinsville, Texas, and Bradley Bynum, Big Lake, Texas, 9.0.

(total on two) 1, Justin Macha, 17.8. 2,(tie) Ryle Smith and Reese Reimer, 18.1. 4, Jerrad Hofstetter, 18.2. 5, Bradley Bynum, 18.4. 6, Clint Singleton, 18.5.

Barrel Racing: (first round) 1, Michele McLeod, Whitesboro, Texas, 16.58 seconds. 2, (tie) Kelly Tovar, Rockdale, Texas, and Kellie Collier, Hereford, Texas, 16.60 seconds. 4, Shelly Anzick, Shepherd, Mont., 16.69. 6, Sarah Rose McDonald, Brunswick, Ga., 16.71. 6, (tie) Tiany Schuster, Krum, Texas, and Clay Sewalt, Del Rio, Texas, 16.75.

Bull Riding: (first round) 1, (tie) Tyler Smith, Fruita, Colo., on Rafter G Rodeo’s Say It Ain’t So; Sage Kimzey, Strong City, Okla., on Lancaster & Jones Pro Rodeo’s Gas Monkey, and Kody DeShon, Helena, Mont., on Rafter G’s Tahiti Treat, 85.5 points. 4, (tie) Lane Selz, Bakersfield, Calif.; Ednei Caminhas, Denton, Texas, and Tyler Bingham, Honeyville, Utah, 83.5. (second round) 1, (tie) Tate Stratton, Kellyville, Okla., on Rafter G Rodeo’s Thunderstruck and Trevor Kastner, Ardmore, Okla., on Rafter G’s Raptor, 85.5 points. 3, Ednei Caminhas, Denton, Texas, 85. 4, Eli Vastbinder, Statesville, N.C., 84.5. 5, Cody Rostockyj, Lorena, Texas, 83. 6, (tie) Ricky Aguiar, Stephenville, Texas, and Adam Jamison, Okotooks, Alberta, 82.

(total on two) 1, Ednei Caminhas, 168.5 points. 2, Trevor Kastner, 164. 3, (tie) Tyler Bingham and Kody DeShon, 161.  5, Riker Carter, Stone, Idaho, 159. 6, Joe Frost, Randlett, Utah, 158.

Winners of the 2016 NWSS

Bareback Riding – Jake Brown, Hillsboro, Texas, 252 points, $10,620

Steer Wrestling – Baylor Roche, Tremonton, Utah, 13.0 seconds, $10,168

Team Roping – Clay Smith, Broken Bow, Okla., &

Paul Eaves, Lonedell, Mo., 16.7 seconds, $7,006 each

Saddle Bronc Riding – Sam Spreadborough, Snyder, Texas, 246 points, $8,620

Tie-Down Roping – Trevor Brazile, Decatur, Texas, 23.8 seconds, $10,200

Barrel Racing – Shelby Herrmann, Stephenville, Texas, 46.11 seconds, $11,387

Bull Riding – Cody Campbell, Summerville, Ore., 247 points, $10,583

This year’s rodeo paid $466,672.

By Susan Kanode

For the National Western Stock Show

DENVER, (Jan. 24, 2016) — When the 110^th annual National Western Stock Show came to a close on Sunday, there were some very happy contestants in the Denver Coliseum.

A near capacity crowd of over 7,400 people were on hand to see the action. Jake Brown, Baylor Roche and Clay Smith are all coming off of their first Wrangler National Finals Rodeo qualifications and left with National Western titles.

Brown, from Hillsboro, Texas, won the bareback riding with a total score of 252 points. He earned a total of $10,620. He also wowed the crowd earlier in the competition with a 90-point effort on Calgary Stampede’s great bucking horse Reckless Margie. This is the same horse that took Tim O’Connell to an 87-point score at the finals. O’Connell from Zwingle, Iowa tied for the round win with Richmond Champion from The Woodlands, Texas, who rode Cervi Brother’s Rodeo Houston’s Gander Goose.

Roche dominated the steer wrestling earning the title with a total of 13.0 seconds on three runs. His nearest competitor was Colorado’s Josh Peek who made three runs in 14.8. Roche from Tremonton, Utah earned $10,168 here.

“I think that the guys that were at the NFR have an edge at these building rodeos,” Roche said. “I feel like I’m sharper than I have been in the past. I’ve only had two weeks off. I had a pretty good finals and that helps give you momentum going into the new year.”

Clay Smith, from Broken Bow, Okla., roped at the 2015 NFR with Paul Eaves and their team roping partnership has stayed intact. Eaves has been to Las Vegas to compete in rodeo’s championships four times.  Last December was Smith’s first. With Smith doing the heading and Eaves heeling, they roped three steers in 16.7 seconds for a total of $7,006 each.

Shelby Herrmann left Denver last year with a second place finish. This year, the Stephenville, Texas resident got the buckle and $11,387.  She was the high-money winner at the rodeo and had a total time of 46.11 seconds on three runs.

This year’s rodeo paid $466,672. Other winners Sam Spreadborough, Snyder, Texas, saddle bronc riding; Trevor Brazile, Decatur, Texas, tie-down roping; and Cody Campbell, Summerville, Ore., bull riding.

DENVER, (Jan. 24, 2016) – The following are unofficial results from the National Western Stock Show Rodeo.

Bareback Riding: (final round) 1, (tie) Tim O’Connell, Zwingle, Iowa, on Calgary Stampede’s Reckless Margie and Richmond Champion, The Woodlands, Texas, on Cervi Brother’s Rodeo Houston’s Gander Goose, 87 points and $1,450 each. 3, (tie) Austin Foss, Terrebonne, Ore., and Kyle Bowers, Drayton Valley, Alberta, 84.5, $750. 5, Nate S. McFadden, Elsmere, Neb., 82, $350. 6, Wyatt Maines, Maple Creek, Saskatchewan, 81, $250.  (total on three) 1, Jake Brown, Hillsboro, Texas, 252 points, $5,370. 2, Bowers, 249, $4,117. 3, Champion, 248, $3,043. 4, (tie) Foss and Tanner Aus, Granite Falls, Minn., 247, $1,611 each. 6, O’Connell, 242, $895. 7, McFadden, 240, $716. 8, Maines, 237, $537.

Steer Wrestling: (final round) 1, Ty Erickson, Helena, Mont., 4.1 seconds, $1,421. 2, Tanner Brunner, Ramona, Kan., 4.2, $1,176. 3, Baylor Roche, Tremonton, Utah, 4.3, $931. 4, (tie) Dirk Tavenner, Rigby, Idaho and Tyler Pearson, Louisville, Mo., 4.7, $564. 6, Luke Branquinho, Los Alamos, Calif., 5.3, $245.  (total on three) 1, Roche, 13.0, $6,188. 2, Josh Peek, Pueblo, Colo., 14.8, $5,381. 3, Brunner, 15.0, $4,574. 4, (tie) Erickson; Pearson; and Clayton Moore, Pouce Coupe, British Columbia, 15.2, $2,960 each. 7, Tavenner, 16.0, $1,345. 8, Branquinho, 16.2, $538.

Team Roping: (final round) 1, Chase Wiley, Charlotte, Texas, and Ace Pearce, Washington, Texas, 5.8 seconds, $1,435. 2, Levi Simpson, Ponoka, Alberta, and Jeremy Buhler, Abbotsford, British Columbia, 6.1, $1,188. 3, Clay Smith, Broken Bow, Okla., and Paul Eaves, Lonedel, Mo., 6.4, $940. 4, Jake Cooper, Monument, N.M., and York Gill, Stephenville, Texas, 6.7, $693. 5, Will Clark and Kolby Miller, Erin, Tenn., 7.7, $445. 6, Paul Beckett, Laramie, Wyo., and Chad Wahlert, Kersey, Colo., 11.1, $247. (total on three) 1, Smith and Eaves, 16.7, $4,585. 2, Wiley and Pearce, 17.6, $3,987. 3, Cooper and Gill, 18.4, $3,388. 4, Simpson and Buhler, 18.7, $2,790. 5, Clark and Miller, 19.6, $2,192. 6, Beckett and Wahlert, 23.3, $1,594. 7, Aaron Tsinigine, Tuba City, Ariz., and Ryan Motes, Weatherford, Texas, 26.3, $997. 8, Jr. Dees, and Matt Zancanella, Aurora, S.D., 27.9, $399.

Saddle Bronc Riding: (final round) 1, Sam Spreadborough, Snyder, Texas, 89 points on Burch Rodeo’s Lunatic From Hell, $1,650. 2, (tie) Cort Scheer, Elsmere, Neb.;  and Allen Boore, Axtell, Utah;  83, $1,075 each.  4, Chuck Schmidt, Keldron, S.D.; CoBurn Bradshaw, Beaver, Utah; and Jacobs Crawley, Boerne, Texas; 82, $400. (total on three) 1, Spreadborough, 246, $6,336. 2, Crawley, 243, $4,858. 3, Boore, 242, $3,590. 4, Scheer, 239, $2,323. 5, (tie) Bradshaw and Clay Elliott, Nanton, Alberta, 235, $1,267. 7, (tie) Schmidt and Spencer Wright, Milford, Utah, 233, $739.

Tie-Down Roping: (final round) 1, Riley Pruitt, Gering, Neb., 6.9 seconds, $1,435. 2, Trevor Brazile, Decatur, Texas, 7.5, $1,188. 3, Ryan Watkins, Morgan Mill, Texas, 7.9, $940. 4, Justin Macha, Needville, Texas, 8.1, $693. 5, Shane Hanchey, Sulphur, La., 8.2, $445. 6, Jerrad Hofstetter, Shallow Water, Texas, 9.3, $247. (total on three) 1, Brazile, 23.8, $6,281. 2, Pruitt, 24.6, $5,407. 3, Hanchey, 24.7, $4,596. 4, Macha, 26.1, $3,785. 5, Watkins, 26.6, $2,974. 6, Hofstetter, 27.2, $2,163. 7, L.D. Meier, Texhoma, Okla., 28.3, $1,351. 8, (tie) Adam Gray, Seymour, Texas, and Tyson Durfey, Weatherford, Texas, 28.4, $270.

Women’s Barrel Race: (final round) 1, Mary Walker, Ennis, Texas, 15.33 seconds, $2,534. 2, Mary Burger, Pauls Valley, Okla., 15.41, $1,900. 3, Kim Couch, Rattan, Okla., 15.43, $1,267. 4, Shelby Herrmann, Stephenville, Texas, 15.46, $633. (total on three) 1, Herrman, 46.11, $5,132. 2, Ivy Conrado, Hudson, Colo., 46.19, $4,399. 3, Couch, 46.38, $3,665. 4, Walker, 46.44, $3,177. 5, Burger, 46.52, $2,443. 6, Calyssa Thomas, Harrold, S.D., 46.60, $1,955. 7, Cassidy Kruse, Gillette, Wyo., 46.68, $1,466. 8, Jana Griemsman, Piedmont, S.D., 46.76, $977. 9, Lisa Lockhart, Oelrichs, S.D., 47.26, $733. 10, Jackie Jatzlau, Giddings, Texas, 51.40, $488.

Bull Riding: (final round – five rides) 1, Jeff Askey, Athens, Texas, 91 points on JK Rodeo’s Page Break. 2, (tie) Josh Koschel, Nunn, Colo., and Rorey Maier, Timberlake, S.D., 81, $1,075. 4, Cody Campbell, Summerville, Ore., 79, $600. 5, Joe Frost, Randlett, Utah, 75, $350.  (total on three) 1, Campbell, 246.5, $6,517. 2, Askey, 244.5, $4,996. 3, Maier, 242, $3,693. 4, Koschel, 240, $2,390. 5, Frost, 237, $1,520. (on two) 6, Trevor Kastner, Ardmore, Okla., 167, $1,086. 7, (tie) Elliot Jacoby, Fredericksburg, Texas, and Garrett Tribble, Bristow, Okla., 162, $760.

By Susan Kanode

For the National Western Stock Show

DENVER (January 20, 2016) — The tandem event of team roping saw lead changes in both preliminary rounds of competition in the Denver Coliseum on Wednesday.

During the matinee performance, reigning world champion heeler Kollin VonAhn from Blanchard, Okla., and his current partner Kaleb Driggers, from Albany, Ga., had the fast time of 4.5 seconds. While they didn’t have any success here in the first round, that put them in the lead of the second round.

That was also the fastest run of the rodeo here so far – until Wednesday night’s performance. Then it was a former college champion who provided excitement. Billy Bob Brown, from Carbon, Texas, won the team roping title at the College National Finals Rodeo twice and was also crowned all-around cowboy there in 2014.

Brown is heading here for Garrett Jess from Coulee City, Wash. They stopped the clock in 4.4 seconds and now have the fastest time at this year’s rodeo. They lead the first round and will rope their second steer here Thursday. With a solid run they could move into first place overall as well. Coleman Proctor from Coffeyville, Kan., and Buddy Hawkins III, from Columbus, Kan., lead that category with 10.9 on two runs. A 6.4-second or better run for Brown and Jess will move them into first place and see them back here on Sunday for the U.S. Bank Championship Finals.

Trevor Kastner is making plans to be here for that with two successful bull rides under his belt. Kastner is tied for the lead in the second round, thanks to his 84.5-point effort on Cervi Championship’s bull named Big Time. Combined with his previous score of 82.5 he is now second overall with 167. Cody Campbell from Summerville, Ore., still leads the bull riding with 167.5 points.

Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association action continues in the Denver Coliseum on Thursday with performances at 10:30 a.m. and 7 p.m.

###

DENVER (January 20, 2016) — The following are unofficial results from the National Western Stock Show Rodeo sanctioned by the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association.

Tenth Performance —

Bareback Riding: 1, Buck Lunak, Cut Bank, Mont., 77 points on Rocky Mountain Rodeo’s Fleabit. 2, Anthony Thomas, The Kimberly, Australia, 76. 3, Tyler Nelson, Victor, Idaho, 73. 4, Shane O’Connell, Rapid City, S.D., 64.

Steer Wrestling:  1, Mike Garcia, Kaycee, Wyo., 4.8 seconds. 2, Rowdy Parrott, Mamou, La., 6.3. 3, Cody Cabral, Hilo, Hawaii, 7.2. 4, Tyke Kipp, Lordsburg, N.M., 9.9.

Team Roping: 1, Kaleb Driggers, Albany, GA., and Kollin VonAhn, Blanchard, Okla., 4.5. 2, Logan Olson, Flandreau, S.D., and Steve Northcott, Odessa, Texas, 5.4. 3, Chad Masters, Cedar Hill, Tenn., 5.5. 4, Will Clark, Erin, Tenn., and Kolby Miller, Erin, Tenn., 7.0.

Saddle Bronc Riding: 1, (tie) Cody Wright, Milford, Utah on Cervi Championship’s Classic Equine Heartache and Curtis Garton, New Zealand, on Rocky Mountain Rodeo’s Sabre, 77 points each. 3, Spencer Wright, Milford, Utah, 75. 4, Alan Gobert, Browning, Mont., 72.

Tie-Down Roping: 1,  L.D. Meier, Texhoma, Okla., 8.2 seconds. 2, Ryan Canty, Sanford, Colo., 8.4. 3, Justin Macha, Needville, Texas, 8.9. 4, Jerrad Hofstetter, Shallow Water, Texas, 10.1.

Women’s Barrel Race: 1, Mary Burger, Pauls Valley, Okla., 15.61. 2, Hope Delaware, Atwood, Colo., 15.81. 3, Kimmie Wall, Roosevelt, Utah, 15.88. 4, Tracy Nowlin, Nowata, Okla., 15.97.

Bull Riding: (three rides) 1, Trevor Kastner, Ardmore, Okla., 84.5 points on Cervi Championship’s Big Time. 2, Elliot Jacoby, Fredericksburg, Texas, 81. 3, Justin Anderson, Nephi, Utah, 72.

Eleventh Performance —

Bareback Riding: 1, Austin Foss, Terrebonne, Ore., 84.5 points on Cervi Championship’s Vitalix Baby Face. 2, Taylor Price, Huntsville, Texas, 82. 3, Weston Garrett, Gillette, Wyo., 79. 4, George Gillespie, IV, Hamilton, Mont., 77.5.

Steer Wrestling:  1, Cody Pratt, Pueblo, Colo., 4.3. 2, Olin Hannum, Malad, Idaho, 4.5. 3, Riley Duvall, Checotah, Okla., 6.0. 4, Jule Hazen, Ashland, Kan., 10.7.

Team Roping: 1, Billy Bob Brown, Carbon, Texas, and Garrett Jess, Coulee City, Wash., 4.4. 2, Adam Rose, Willard, Mo., and  Walt Woodard, Stephenville, Texas, 4.9. 3, Clay Smith, Broken Bow, Okla., and Paul Eaves, Lonedell, Mo., 5.0. 4, Scott White, Oelrichs, S.D., and Ora Taton, Rapid City, S.D., 5.6.

Saddle Bronc Riding: 1, Colton Miller, Lance Creek, Wyo., 75 points on Rocky Mountain Rodeo’s Honey Buns. 2, Dalton Rixen, Richardton, N.D., 70. 3, Brady Dinwoodie, Westbourne, Manitoba, 69. 4, Whitt Peterson, Torrington, Wyo., 66.

Tie-Down Roping: (three times) 1, Clay Long, San Angelo, Texas, 9.3 seconds. 2, Marty Yates, Stephenville, Texas, 10.0. 3, Jake Pratt, Ellensburg, Wash., 11.1.

Women’s Barrel Race: 1, Calyssa Thomas, Harrold, S.D., 15.54. 2, Benette Little, Ardmore, Okla., 15.75. 3, Kelly Schnaufer, Pueblo, Colo., 15.76. 4, Tisa Kraft-Peek, Berthold, N.D., 15.79.

Bull Riding: 1, Tyler Willis, Laramie, Wyo., 84 points on Summit Pro Rodeo’s Custer. 2, Jordan Hansen, Okotoks, Alberta, 78. 3, Shawn Proctor, Tooele, Utah, 77.5. 4, Adam Jamison, Okotoks, Alberta, 73.5.

Current Leaders —

Bareback Riding: (first round) 1, Tanner Aus, Granite Falls, Minn., 87 points on Summit Pro Rodeo’s Arapahoe. 2, Austin Foss, Terrebonne, Ore., 84.5. 3, (tie) Tim O’Connell, Zwingle, Iowa, and Jake Brown, Hillsboro, Texas, 84 each. (second round) 1, Jake Brown, Hillsboro, Texas, 90 points on Calgary Stampede’s Reckless Margie. 2, Casey Colletti, Pueblo, Colo., 84. 3, Tanner Aus, Granite Falls, Minn., 82. 4, Tyler Waltz, Martin, Tenn., and Teddy Athan, Livermore, Calif., 78. (total on two) 1, Jake Brown, Hillsboro, Texas, 174. 2, Tanner Aus, Granite Falls, Minn., 169. 3, Casey Colletti, Pueblo, Colo., 165. 4, Tim O’Connell, Zwingle, Iowa, 155.

Steer Wrestling:  (first round) 1, Sam Olson, Buffalo, S.D., 4.0 seconds. 2, Baylor Roche, Tremonton, Utah, 4.1. 3, Nick Guy, Sparta, Wis., 4.3. 4, Tanner Brunner, Ramona, Kan., 4.4. (second round) 1, Seth Brockman, Wheatland, Wyo., 3.2. 2, (tie) Kyle Irwin, Robertsdale, Ala., and Jeff Johnston, Thedford, Neb., 3.7 each. 4, Luke Branquinho, Los Alamos, Calif., 3.9. (total on two) 1, Baylor Roche, Tremonton, Utah, 8.7. 2, Nick Guy, Sparta, Wis., 9.2. 3, Clayton Moore, Pouce Coupe, British Columbia, 9.8. 4, Tyler Pearson, Louisville, Miss., 10.5.

Team Roping: (first round) 1, Billy Bob Brown, Carbon, Texas, and Garrett Jess, Coulee City, Wash., 4.4 seconds. 2, Will Clark and Kolby Miller, Erin, Tenn., 4.9. 3, Adam Rose, Willard, Mo., and Walt Woodard, Stephenville, Texas, 4.9. 4, Clay Smith, Broken Bow, Okla., and Paul Eaves, Lonedell, Mo., 5.0.  (second round) 1, Kaleb Driggers, Albany, Ga., and Kollin VonAhn, Blanchard, Okla., 4.5. 2, Riley and Brady Minor, 5.0. 3, Paul Beckett, Laramie, Wyo., and Chad Wahlert, Kersey, Colo., 5.1. 4, (tie) Drew Horner, Plano, Texas, and Trey Johnson, Weatherford, Texas; Brandon Webb, Carrizo Springs, Texas, and Mickey Gomez, Holland, Texas; and Logan Olson, Flandreau, S.D., and Steve Northcott, Odessa, Texas; 5.4 each. (total on two) 1, Coleman Proctor, Pryor, Okla., and Buddy Hawkins, II, Columbus, Kan., 10.9. 2, Paul David Tierney, Oral, S.D., and Trey Yates, Pueblo, Colo., 11.4. 3, Chase Wiley, Charlotte, Texas, and Ace Pearce, Washington, Texas, 11.8. 4, Chad Masters, Adams, Tenn., and Travis Graves, Jay, Okla., 11.9.

Saddle Bronc Riding: (first round) 1, Roper Kiesner, Ripley, Okla., 82 points on Cervi Championship’s Pinball Wizard. 2, (tie) CoBurn Bradshaw, Beaver, Utah, and Cody Wright, Milford, Utah, 81 each. 4, (tie) Jacobs Crawley, Boerne, Texas, and Curtis Garton, New Zealand, 79 each. (second round) 1, Ben Londo, San Luis Obispo, Calif., 83 points on Calgary Stampede’s Umber Bubbles. 2, Jacobs Crawley, Boerne, Texas, 82. 3, Clay Elliott, Nanton, Alberta, 80. 4, (tie) Sam Spreadborough, Snyder, Texas, and Will Smith, Marshall, Mo., 79. (total on two) 1, Jacobs Crawley, Boerne, Texas, 161. 2, Clay Elliott, Nanton, Alberta, 158. 3, (tie) Sam Spreadborough, Snyder, Texas, and Cody Wright, Milford, Utah, 157.

Tie-Down Roping: (first round) 1, Marcos Costa, Childress, Texas, 7.5 seconds. 2, (tie) Trevor Brazile, Decatur, Texas, and Cody McCartney, Ottowa Lake, Minn., 7.6. 4, (tie) Tyson Durfey, Weatherford, Texas; Adam Gray, Seymour, Texas; and Jerrad Hofstetter, Shallow Water, Texas; 7.8. (second round) 1, Sterling Smith, Stephenville, Texas, 7.0 seconds. 2, Timber Moore, Aubrey, Texas, 7.1. 3, Cody Ohl, Hico, Texas, 7.4. 4, Jordan Ketscher, Squaw Valley, Calif., 7.5. (total on two) 1, Sterling Smith, Stephenville, Texas, 15.4. 2, Tyson Durfey, Weatherford, Texas, 15.9. 3, Trevor Brazile, Decatur, Texas, 16.3. 4, Kyle Lucas, Carstairs, Alberta, 17.2.

Women’s Barrel Race: (first round) 1, (tie) Shelby Herrmann, Stephenville, Texas, and Dena Kirkpatrick, Post, Texas, 15.30 each. 3, Ivy Conrado, Hudson, Colo., 15.35. 4, Mary Burger, Pauls Valley, Okla., 15.50. (second round) 1, Kali Parker, Wendell, Idaho, 15.27. 2, Ivy Conrado, Hudson, Colo., 15.33. 3, Shelby Herrmann, Stephenville, Texas, 15.35. 4, Kim Couch, Rattan, Okla., 15.38. (total on two) 1, Shelby Herrmann, Stephenville, Texas, 30.65. 2, Ivy Conrado, Hudson, Colo., 30.68. 3, (tie) Kim Couch, Rattan, Okla.; and Kali Parker, Wendell, Idaho, 30.95.

Bull Riding: (first round) 1, (tie) Joe Frost, Randlett, Utah, on Cervi Championship’s Slim Kitty and Bart Miller, Pleasanton, Neb., on Cervi Championships Slim Kitty, 87 points each. 3, Tyler Willis, Laramie, Wyo., 84. 4, (tie) Dustin Bowen, Waller, Texas, and  Cody Campbell, Summerville, Ore., 83. (second round) 1, (tie) Cody Campbell, Summerville, Ore., on 4L & Diamond S Rodeo’s Sandi’s Dream and Trevor Kastner,  on Cervi Championship’s Big Time, 84.5. 3, Cody Teel, Kountze, Texas, 82.5. 4, Josh Koschel, Nunn, Colo., 82. (total on two) 1, Cody Campbell, Summerville, Texas, 167.5. 2, Trevor Kastner, Ardmore, Okla., 167. 3, (tie) Elliot Jacoby, Fredericksburg, Texas, and Joe Frost, Randlett, Utah, 162.

By Susan Kanode

Photo by Sean Halverson

For the National Western Stock Show

DENVER (January 16, 2016) — With three rodeo performances in the Denver Coliseum on Saturday, the National Western Stock Show Rodeo is well underway even though it has only been going on for two days.

Competition started on Friday with two performances. Saturday night’s was the fifth performances with 13 more to go before the U.S. Bank Finals on Sunday, Jan. 24. Tanner Aus, a bareback rider from Granite Falls, Minn., has every intention of being here and riding for a Denver Championship.

The former college champion is coming off of his first qualification to the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo last December where he finished the year in eighth place. He rode his first of two horses at the 11 a.m. performance and has the high-marked ride of the rodeo so far.

That ride came aboard a mare named Arapahoe owned by Summit Pro Rodeo and was worth 87 points. He came back at the matinee performance and rode Calgary Stampede’s Risque Elsie for 82. He now leads both preliminary rounds and the overall standings. His total of 169 points on two rides is 17 points ahead of the man in second place, Devan Reilly from Casper, Wyo.

“I was really looking forward to that one,” Aus said of Arapahoe. “Horses have a mind of their own and you never know. But usually when a horse has heart like that, you expect it to be good.”

There have been some stellar runs in tie-down roping. Sterling Smith, a WNFR qualifier from Stephenville, Texas, has the overall lead with a total of 15.4 seconds on two runs. His second round time of 7.0 is the fastest of the rodeo. Trevor Brazile, a 23-time world champion from Decatur, Texas, is in second with 16.3 seconds.

Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association action continues in the Denver Coliseum on Sunday at 2 and 6:30 p.m.

###

DENVER (January 16, 2016) — The following are unofficial results from the National Western Stock Show Rodeo sanctioned by the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association.

Third Performance —

Bareback Riding: 1,Tanner Aus, Granite Falls, Minn., 87 points on Summit Pro Rodeo’s Arapahoe. 2, Ty Breuer, Mandan, N.D., 80. 3, Trey Chambliss, III, Fort Davis, Texas, 75. 4, Dylan Wahlert, Casper, Wyo., 69.

Steer Wrestling:  1, Luke Branquinho, Los Alamos, Calif., 3.9 seconds. 2, Jacob Talley, Keatchie, La., 4.2. 3, Clayton Moore, Pouce Coupe, British Columbia, 5.0. 4, Cody Kroul, Solon, Iowa, 9.9.

Team Roping: 1, Brandon Beers, Powell Butte, Ore., and Cesar de la Cruz, Tucson, Ariz., 5.4 seconds. 2, Brooks Dahozy, Warm Springs, Ore., and Casey Cummins, Lodge Grass, Mont., 5.7. 3, Levi Simpson, Ponoka, Alberta and Jeremy Buhler, Abbotsford, British Columbia, 5.8. 4, Ryan Opie, Crane, Ore., and Dalton Pearce, San Luis Obispo, Calif., 7.2.

Saddle Bronc Riding: 1, (tie)  Sam Spreadborough, Snyder, Texas, on Summit Pro Rodeo’s Bullfrog and Clay Elliott, Nanton, Alberta, on Summit Pro Rodeo’s Spider Woman, 78 points each. 3, Keith Allen Brauer, Jr., Belleville, Ill., 75. 4, Audie Reed, Spearman, Texas, 73.

Tie-Down Roping: 1, Ryle Smith, Oakdale, Calif., 7.9. 2, Trevor Brazile, Decatur, Texas, 8.7. 3, Jayce Johnson, Hempstead, Texas, 11.0. 4, Robert Mathis, Mart, Texas, 13.8.

Women’s Barrel Race: 1, Dena Kirkpatrick, Post, Texas, 15.30. 2, Carlee Pierce, Lowndesboro, Ala., 15.52. 3, Kim Couch, Rattan, Okla., 15.57. 4, Megan Mariluch, Daingerfield, Texas, 15.65.

Bull Riding: No qualified rides.

Fourth Performance —

Bareback Riding: 1, Tanner Aus, Granite Falls, Minn., 82 points on Calgary Stampede’s Risque Elsie. 2, Dylan Wahlert, Casper, Wyo., 77. 3, Casey Breuer, Mandan, N.D., 72. 4, Trey Chambliss, III,  Fort Davis, Texas, 69.

Steer Wrestling:  1, Kyle Irwin, Robertsdale, Ala., 3.7 seconds. 2, Brad Johnson, Reva, S.D., 4.0. 3, (tie) Tyler Pearson, Louisville, Miss., and Nick Guy, Sparta, Wis., 4.9.

Team Roping: 1, Riley and Brady Minot, Ellensburg, Wash., 5.0 seconds. 2, Levi Simpson, Ponoka, Alberta and Jeremy Buhler, Abbotsford, British Columbia, 6.8. 3, Ryan Opie, Crane, Ore., and Dalton Pearce, San Luis Obispo, Calif., 10.8. 4, Caleb Smidt, Bellville, Texas, and B.J. Duggar, Three Rivers, Texas, 14.5.

Saddle Bronc Riding: 1, Clay Elliott, Nanton, Alberta, 80 points on Calgary Stampede’s Shoshone Mountain. 2, Sam Spreadborough, Snyder, Texas, 79. 3, Keith Allen Brauer, Jr., Belleville, Ill., 76. 4, (tie) Audy Reed, Spearman, Texas, and Dalton Davis, Holcomb, Kan., 75.

Tie-Down Roping: 1, Sterling Smith, Stephenville, Texas, 7.0 seconds. 2, Jordan Ketscher, Squaw Valley, Calif., 7.5. 3, Kyle Lucas, Carstairs, Alberta, 7.8. 4, Brandon Neugebauer, La Junta, Colo., 8.9.

Women’s Barrel Race: 1, Kim Couch, Rattan, Okla., 15.38 seconds. 2, Megan Mariluch, Daingerfield, Texas, 15.66. 3, Lisa Thornton, Plumb, Texas, 15.67. 4, Lisa Maribito, Granby, Colo., 15.78.

Bull Riding: (one ride) John Young, Orient, Iowa, 79 points on 4L & Diamond S’s Oh-No.

Fifth Performance —

Bareback Riding: 1, (tie) Jake Brown, Hillsboro, Texas, on Calgary Stampede’s Turkish Whiskey, and Tim O’Connell, Zwingle, Iowa, on Cervi Championship’s Vitalix Hell’s Fire Hostage, 84 points each. 3, Casey Colletti, Pueblo, Colo., 81. 4, Kyle Brennecke, Stephenville, Texas, 76.

Steer Wrestling:  1, Dean Gorsuch, Gering, Neb., 5.4. 2, Carson Johnston, Elm Springs, S.D., 6.6. 3, Calder Johnston, Elm Springs, S.D., 9.2. 4, Sean Santucci, Prineville, Ore., 14.7.

Team Roping: 1, Coleman Proctor, Pryor, Okla., and Buddy Hawkins, II, Columbus, Kan., 5.4. 2, Trevor Brazile, Decatur, Texas, and Patrick Smith, Lipan, Texas, 6.1. 3, (tie) Ty Hale, Faith, S.D., and Tee Hale, White Owl, S.D.; and Tait Gurney, Lost Creek, Utah and Chase Sullivan, Dammeron Valley, Utah, 14.9 each.

Saddle Bronc Riding: 1, Roper Kiesner, Ripley, Okla., 82 points on Cervi Championship’s Pinball Wizard. 2, CoBurn Bradshaw, Beaver, Utah, 81. 3, Ryan Mackenzie, Homedale, Idaho, 78. 4, (tie) Jake Wright, Milford, Utah and Joe Lufkin, Sallisaw, Okla., 72.

Tie-Down Roping: 1, Cody McCartney, Ottowa Lake, Minn., 7.6 seconds. 2, Cody Quaney, Cheney, Kan., 8.6. 3, Dennis Luetge, Hempstead, Texas, 9.9. 4, Ike Fontenot, Ville Platte, La., 13.2.

Women’s Barrel Race: 1, Jaime Hinton, Bulverde, Texas, 15.71. 2, Paige Conrado, Hudson, Colo., 15.80. 3, Kelly Kennedy-Joseph, Berthoud, Colo., 15.97. 4, Fonda Galbreath, Oakes, N.D., 15.98.

Bull Riding: (three qualified rides) 1, Bart Miller, Pleasanton, Neb., 87 points on Cervi Championships Slim Kitty. 2, Rylan Wright, Heber City, Utah, 79. 3, Tag Elliott, Thatcher, Utah, 74.

LAS VEGAS – The 2015 edition of the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo presented by Polaris RANGER got off to a historical start.

Trevor Brazile, the 22-time world champion, won the tie-down roping with a 6.8-second run – the fastest Round 1 time in WNFR history.

“That’s sweet, I had no idea,” Brazile said of setting the record.

Matt Shiozawa posted a 6.9-second time tonight, which tied the previous Round 1 record set by Cody Ohl in 2004. Brazile wasted little time taking the record for himself.

“I’m going to stay aggressive,” Brazile said. “Some people will be wondering about me taking a risk by only taking one wrap (instead of two) so early in the week. You just have to go with your gut. I’ve been to a few National Finals, and when I feel like the risk is necessary I will try it. I’ve had it go both ways. I’ve reaped the benefits and suffered the consequences.”

Brazile set the record with a little help from his No. 1 sorrel horse, Deputy. “He’s the reason I’m still competitive at 39,” said Brazile, who’s now won a record 60 National Finals go-rounds in tie-down roping, team roping and steer roping.

While Brazile made a statement at the timed-event end, bull rider Parker Breding did the same on the roughstock side.

The 23-year-old from Edgar, Mont., rode for 86.5 points on Smith, Harper and Morgan’s Magic Bullet – but it came with a price.

Breding took a horn under his protective vest to his ribs and needed attention at the Justin Sportsmedicine room after the rodeo.

“I’ve had cracked ribs before, but I’ve never had a bull’s horn get up in my vest like that,” he said. “It’s a scary deal, because people have been killed that way before. I was dang sure blessed tonight, that the bull didn’t stay with me too long.”

Sage Kimzey, the defending world champion and world standings leader, was bucked off, allowing Breding – who entered Las Vegas second – to gain $26,231 on Kimzey in the world standings. Breding now trails Kimzey by less than one round win. However, his competing status for the rest of the WNFR is in doubt.

“He’s OK right now; we’re keeping an eye on him,” said Dr. Tandy Freeman of the Justin Sportsmedicine team. “He’s got some abdominal tenderness, but not anything to suggest he’s got a major injury. He’s probably got a couple of fractured ribs. He’ll probably end up getting some X-rays, and we’ll see how he’s doing tomorrow.”

Bareback rider Tim O’Connell knows about injuries at the WNFR. After suffering several of them during the 10 nights of the 2014 WNFR, he started his second Las Vegas trip in a much better way tonight. O’Connell rode for 84.5 points on D&H Cattle’s Dilly Bar to earn $26,231. It was his second round win, but first outright – he split the Round 4 victory with four-time World Champion Bobby Mote in 2014.

However, O’Connell, the 24-year-old from Zwingle, Iowa, isn’t satisfied with one big check and one victory lap.

“I have Kaycee Feild and five other guys ahead of me and I’m here to win a world title,” O’Connell said. “I’m going to press every night and ride all of them like it’s for the world title. I wrote down my goals when I left this arena last year, and I went and evaluated what I did wrong and what I could do better. My goal is to be the 2015 world champion, and I’m planning on riding like it.”

It was a big night for the team roping duo of Aaron Tsinigine and Ryan Motes. Their 4.1-second time was good enough for the victory. The 4.1 tied for the second-fastest Round 1 time ever at the WNFR.

This was the fourth times Motes has won or split a round win in Las Vegas in 21 runs, which is a success rate of 19 percent – not too shabby.

He said the competition was stiff, making the round win all the more satisfying.

“It’s got to be the toughest first round we’ve ever had,” Motes said. “Right from the beginning it was fast. Normally, there are several misses in the first round – a lot of legs and stuff. Tonight, people were on point and sharp. It’s a lot easier to get going when it is semi-tough. You know people are taking chances and being aggressive.”

For Tsinigine, it was more of the same at the WNFR – cashing a check. Going back to Round 6 of the 2014 WNFR, the 29-year-old from Tuba City, Ariz., has been in the money in six straight rounds – including two victory laps.

Getting to compete with Motes for the first time in the Thomas & Mack Center was something Tsinigine was thrilled about.

“Last year, I was kind of bummed out Ryan didn’t get to come with me (after they roped together during the regular season),” Tsinigine said. “Being here with him this year means everything to me. We are best friends and we get along real good.”

A man familiar with the Thomas & Mack Center, steer wrestler K.C. Jones, found immediate success. Jones began his ninth appearance in Las Vegas by picking up the fourth WNFR round win of his career, and the first in Round 1.

The 44-year-old from Decatur, Texas, posted a 3.4-second time to edge Kyle Irwin’s 3.5 and collect $26,231. The time tied for the third best time ever in Round 1, and it’s one of only seven times that’s been under 3.5 in the round.

“That was a red steer that I didn’t think we would be that fast on, but that little black mare I rode (Smoker, owned by Jud Little), is just so fast, and it worked out,” Jones said.

The big payday was something the 20-year veteran was fired up about.

“It’s so exciting this year with $10 million dollars,” he said. “There are a lot of people who worked hard to get that purse up there for the contestants and we’re really thankful to them. It makes it really exciting when you win $26,000 in (just under) 3.5 seconds.”

Saddle bronc rider Wade Sundell continued his tradition of getting off to a fast start in Las Vegas. Sundell rode for 86.5 points on Andrews Rodeo’s Fire Lane to win, and it was the sixth time in seven first rounds that Sundell has earned a check.

“They normally win a round on that horse every year here,” Sundell said of Fire Lane. “I knew I had a good chance. That horse is really snappy and I had to keep my chin down. I just let it all hang out.”

It was a tough night for the saddle bronc riders, as it was the first time since 1985 – the first year the WNFR was held in Las Vegas – that fewer than 11 riders recorded a score.

“I didn’t know what was going on at first,” Sundell said of the first three riders being bucked off.  “Nobody was making the whistle. This is a good pen of horses.”

This was the tenth time Sundell has at least split a round win at the WNFR. Sundell has drawn Frontier Rodeo’s Tip Off for Round 2 on Friday night.

“I’ll come gassin’ and I’m due to ride him,” Sundell said of his strategy. “I’ve been on him three times for a total of about eight seconds.”

The 57th annual Wrangler NFR continues Friday with the second round at the Thomas & Mack Center. The action will be televised live and in HD on CBS Sports Net (DirecTV channel 221 and DISH Network channel 158) from 7-10 p.m. PT.

First Performance Results, Thursday, Dec. 3, 2015

Thomas & Mack Center, Las Vegas, Nev.

Bareback riding:

1. Tim O’Connell, Zwingle, Iowa, on D&H Cattle’s Dilly Bar, 84.5 points, $26,231; 2. Evan Jayne, Marseille, France, 83, $20, 731; 3. Kaycee Feild, Spanish Fork, Utah; Will Lowe, Canyon, Texas; Orin Larsen, Inglis, Manitoba; and Steven Peebles, Redmond, Ore., 81, $9,413 each; 7. Seth Hardwick, Laramie, Wyo., 80; 8. Winn Ratliff, Leesville, La., 79; 9. Tanner Aus, Granite Falls, Minn., 76; 10. Austin Foss, Terrebonne, Ore., 75; 11. Caleb Bennett, Tremonton, Utah, 71.5; 12. Bobby Mote, Stephenville, Texas, 67; 13. (tie) Jake Brown, Hillsboro, Texas; Clint Cannon, Waller, Texas; and Clint Laye, Cadogan, Alberta, NS.

World standings: 1. Kaycee Feild, $137,559; 2. Evan Jayne, $123,751; 3. Tim O’Connell, $122,795; 4. Austin Foss, $108,741; 5. Jake Brown, $107,994; 6. Will Lowe, $102,396; 7. Orin Larsen, $101,041; 8. Steven Peebles, $99,499; 9. Bobby Mote, $98,486; 10. Clint Cannon, $96,686; 11. Tanner Aus, $95,660; 12. Caleb Bennett, $91,302; 13. Seth Hardwick, $90,639; 14. Clint Laye, $90,307; 15. Winn Ratliff, $85,754.

Steer wrestling:

1. K.C. Jones, Decatur, Texas, 3.4 seconds, $26,231; 2. Kyle Irwin, Robertsdale, Ala., 3.5, $20,731; 3. Ty Erickson, Helena, Mont., 3.6, $15,654; 4. (tie) Dakota Eldridge, Elko, Nev., and Casey Martin, Sulphur, La., 3.8, $8,885 each; 6. Baylor Roche, Tremonton, Utah, 3.9, $4,231; 7. (tie) Clayton Hass, Terrell, Texas, and Trevor Knowles, Mount Vernon, Ore., 4.4; 9. (tie) Nick Guy, Sparta, Wis., and Seth Brockman, Wheatland, Wyo., 4.5; 11. Hunter Cure, Holliday, Texas, 4.7; 12. Blake Knowles, Heppner, Ore., 4.8; 13. Tyler Waguespack, Gonzales, La., 5.2; 14. Tanner Milan, Cochrane, Alberta, 6.1; 15. Luke Branquinho, Los Alamos, Calif., 6.3.

World standings: 1. Ty Erickson, $115,433; 2. Kyle Irwin, $107,317; 3. K.C. Jones, $107,216; 4. Clayton Hass, $105,181; 5. Hunter Cure, $102,393; 6. Nick Guy, $93,288; 7. Dakota Eldridge, $86,438; 8. Luke Branquinho, $86,191; 9. Baylor Roche, $85,786; 10. Tyler Waguespack, $85,245; 11. Casey Martin, $84,041; 12. Seth Brockman, $81,559; 13. Trevor Knowles, $81,128; 14. Tanner Milan, $76,327; 15. Blake Knowles, $74,747.

Team roping:

1. Aaron Tsinigine, Tuba City, Ariz./Ryan Motes, Weatherford, Texas, 4.1 seconds, $26,231; 2. Luke Brown, Stephenville, Texas/Kollin VonAhn, Blanchard, Okla., 4.2, $20,731; 3. Colby Lovell, Madisonville, Texas/Kory Koontz, Stephenville, Texas, 4.3, $15,654; 4. Clay Tryan, Billings, Mont./Jade Corkill, Fallon, Nev., 4.4, $11,000; 5. (tie) Nick Sartain, Dover, Okla./Rich Skelton, Llano, Texas, and JoJo LeMond; 7. (tie) Erich Rogers, Round Rock, Ariz./Cory Petska, Marana, Ariz., and Coleman Proctor, Pryor, Okla./Jake Long, Coffeyville, Kan., 4.7; 9. (tie) Jake Cooper, Monument, N.M./Russell Cardoza, Terrebonne, Ore., and Clay Smith, Broken Bow, Okla./Paul Eaves, Lonedell, Mo., 5.0; 11. Matt Sherwood, Pima, Ariz./Travis Woodard, Stockton, Calif., 6.4; 12. Trevor Brazile, Decatur, Texas/Patrick Smith, Lipan, Texas, 9.7; 13. Chad Masters, Cedar Hill, Tenn./Travis Graves, Jay, Okla., 10.6; 14. Riley Minor, Ellensburg, Wash./Brady Minor, Ellensburg, Wash., 14.6; 15. Derrick Begay, Seba Dalkai, Ariz./Clay O’Brien Cooper, Gardnerville, Nev., NT.

World standings (headers): 1. Clay Tryan, $151,497; 2. Aaron Tsinigine, $119,999; 3. Derrick Begay, $104,868; 4. Colby Lovell, $104,484; 5. Luke Brown, $103,140; 6. Chad Masters, $102,658; 7. Trevor Brazile, $102,268; 8. Jake Cooper, $90,933; 9. Nick Sartain, $89,579; 10. Erich Rogers, $88,669; 11. Clay Smith, $81,228; 12. Coleman Proctor, $80,130; 13. Riley Minor, $77,592; 14. Matt Sherwood, $77,436; 15. JoJo LeMond, $76,303. World standings (heelers): 1. Jade Corkill, $151,497; 2. Ryan Motes, $118,867; 3. Kollin VonAhn, $109,755; 4. Clay O’Brien Cooper, $105,988; 5. Kory Koontz, $104,121; 6. Patrick Smith, $102,268; 7. Travis Graves, $95,265; 8. Rich Skelton, $89,579; 9. Travis Woodard, $88,519; 10. Paul Eaves, $87,430; 11. Junior Nogueira, $86,833; 12. Cory Petska, $84,827; 13. Jake Long, $78,344; 14. Brady Minor, $76,263; 15. Russell Cardoza, $76,080.

Saddle bronc riding:

1. Wade Sundell, Coleman, Okla., 86.5 points on Andrews Rodeo’s Fire Lane, $26,231; 2. Heith DeMoss, Heflin, La., 86.0, $20,731; 3. Jake Wright, Milford, Utah, 83.5, $15,654; 4. Jacobs Crawley, Boerne, Texas, 82.5, $11,000; 5. Cody DeMoss, Heflin, La., 82.0, $6,769; 6. CoBurn Bradshaw, Beaver, Utah, 81.5, $4,231; 7. Cort Scheer, Elsmere, Neb., 81.0; 8. Isaac Diaz, Desdemona, Texas, 79.5; 9. Zeke Thurston, Big Valley, Alberta, 74.5; 10. Taos Muncy, Corona, N.M., 72.0; 11. (tie) Rusty Wright, Milford, Utah; Chuck Schmidt, Keldron, S.D.; Spencer Wright, Milford, Utah; Bradley Harter, Loranger, La.; and Tyrel Larsen, Inglis, Manitoba, NS.

World standings: 1. Cody DeMoss, $136,166; 2. Wade Sundell, $130,911; 3. Jacobs Crawley, $129,862; 4. Rusty Wright, $125,987; 5. Isaac Diaz, $113,566; 6. Jake Wright, $111,078; 7. Taos Muncy, $108,654; 8. Heith DeMoss, $99,085; 9. Cort Scheer, $98,737; 10. Chuck Schmidt, $94,910; 11. Spencer Wright, $84,338; 12. Zeke Thurston, $82,278; 13. Bradley Harter, $81,310; 14. CoBurn Bradshaw, $80,377; 15. Tyrel Larsen, $71,172.

Tie-down roping:

1. Trevor Brazile, Decatur, Texas, 6.8 seconds, $26,231; 2. Matt Shiozawa, Chubbuck, Idaho, 6.9, $20,731; 3. (tie) Timber Moore, Aubrey, Texas, and Cade Swor, Winnie, Texas, 7.1, $13,327 each; 5. Shane Hanchey, Sulphur, La., 7.5, $6,769; 6. Caleb Smidt, Bellville, Texas, 8.0, $4,231; 7. Ryan Jarrett, Comanche, Okla., 8.2; 8. Monty Lewis, Hereford, Texas, 9.0; 9. Marcos Costa, Childress, Texas, 9.2; 10. Marty Yates, Stephenville, Texas, 9.5; 11. Cory Solomon, Prairie View, Texas, 9.7; 12. Hunter Herrin, Apache, Okla., 10.0; 13. Tuf Cooper, Decatur, Texas, 12.0; 14. (tie) Sterling Smith, Stephenville, Texas, and Tyson Durfey, Savannah, Mo., NT.

World standings: 1. Tuf Cooper, $140,803; 2. Timber Moore, $136,125; 3. Trevor Brazile, $128,209; 4. Matt Shiozawa, $115,720; 5. Marty Yates, $109,281; 6. Hunter Herrin, $103,813; 7. Caleb Smidt, $101,681; 8. Cade Swor, $101,200; 9. Ryan Jarrett, $95,967; 10. Marcos Costa, $94,343; 11. Monty Lewis, $92,903; 12. Cory Solomon, $92,483; 13. Shane Hanchey, $87,226; 14. Sterling Smith, $82,297; 15. Tyson Durfey, $82,060.

Barrel racing:

1. Cassidy Kruse, Gillette, Wyo., 13.84 seconds, $26,231; 2. Lisa Lockhart, Oelrichs, S.D., 13.90, $20,731; 3. Mary Walker, Ennis, Texas, 13.96, $15,654; 4. Michele McLeod, Whitesboro, Texas, 14.07, $11,000; 5. Callie duPerier, Boerne, Texas, 14.08, $6,769; 6. Jackie Ganter, Abilene, Texas, 14.09, $4,231; 7. Sherry Cervi, Marana, Ariz., 14.13; 8. Jana Bean, Fort Hancock, Texas, 14.17; 9. Fallon Taylor, Whitesboro, Texas, 14.21; 10. Carley Richardson, Pampa, Texas, 14.24; 11. Nancy Hunter, Neola, Utah, 14.27; 12. Sarah Rose McDonald, Brunswick, Ga., 18.89; 13. Taylor Jacob, Carmine, Texas, 19.06; 14. Vickie Carter, Richfield, Utah, 19.16; 15. Deb Guelly, Okotoks, Alberta, 19.29.

World standings: 1. Callie duPerier, $183,692; 2. Lisa Lockhart, $182,251; 3. Sarah Rose McDonald, $144,599; 4. Mary Walker, $135,759; 5. Cassidy Kruse, $117,577; 6. Sherry Cervi, $114,744; 7. Nancy Hunter, $106,686; 8. Fallon Taylor, $96,828; 9. Michele McLeod, $91,397; 10. Taylor Jacob, $90,508; 11. Carley Richardson, $87,820; 12. Jackie Ganter, $83,550; 13. Vickie Carter, $72,768; 14. Jana Bean, $70,162; 15. Deb Guelly, $69,769.

Bull riding:

1. Parker Breding, Edgar, Mont., 86.5 points on Smith Harper & Morgan’s Magic Bullet, $26,231; 2. Shane Proctor, Grand Coulee, Wash., 81.5, $20,731; 3. Cody Teel, Kountze, Texas, 78, $15,654; 4. Caleb Sanderson, Hallettsville, Texas, 74.5, $11,000; 5. (tie) Sage Kimzey, Strong City, Okla.; Wesley Silcox, Santaquin, Utah; Brennon Eldred, Sulphur, Okla.; Chandler Bownds, Lubbock, Texas; Joe Frost, Randlett, Utah; Kody DeShon, Helena, Mont.; Brett Stall, Detroit Lakes, Minn.; Dustin Bowen, Waller, Texas; Ty Wallace, Collbran, Colo.; Reid Barker, Comfort, Texas; Clayton Foltyn, Winnie, Texas, NS.

World standings: 1. Sage Kimzey, $184,601; 2. Parker Breding, $158,477; 3. Brennon Eldred, $120,041; 4. Wesley Silcox, $115,778; 5. Shane Proctor, $109,744; 6. Cody Teel, $108,672; 7. Chandler Bownds, $98,441; 8. Joe Frost, $93,812; 9. Caleb Sanderson, $86,114; 10. Brett Stall, $86,089; 11. Dustin Bowen, $75,250; 12. Clayton Foltyn, $75,227; 13. Ty Wallace, $73,905; 14. Reid Barker, $73,847; 15. Kody DeShon, $72,633.

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Back in 1951, at the age of 16, Mel Potter began his journey in the Rodeo Cowboys Association, now known as the PRCA.

Fast-forward 65 seasons, and Potter, 80, is still competing as a team roping header.

At his peak, back in 1959, Potter competed in the inaugural National Finals Rodeo in Dallas as a tie-down roper, finishing 14^th in the final standings. He is now the only original NFR competitor still active in the PRCA.

As recently as 2010, he qualified for the RAM Great Lakes Circuit Finals Rodeo as a team roper and on July 17, 2013, Potter and partner Garrison Dixon won the Green County Fair ProRodeo in Monroe, Wis. He also won a team roping check at a Great Lakes Circuit event this year.

Combine Potter’s longevity as a competitor with his decade of success – 1964-73 – as a stock contractor with Rodeos Inc., and his time served on the PRCA Board of Directors and it adds up to his being selected Oct. 5 by the ProRodeo Hall of Fame as the 2015 Legend of ProRodeo.

“I was very surprised to get this honor,” said Potter, who also is a highly-successful businessman. “Being involved with rodeo was one of the neatest things of my life because all of the great people I’ve gotten to know and be good, good friends with all over the country. We also put together a heck of a string of livestock (at Rodeos Inc.) and we treated the cowboys as good as any stock contractor there was. I’m also going to keep competing in rodeos as long as I can get on a horse and stay on a horse when he runs out of the barrier.”

Potter is the 10^th man to be honored with the award, following Jake Barnes, Jim Shoulders, Clem McSpadden, Harry Vold, Larry Mahan, Dean Oliver, Shawn Davis, Donnie Gay and Benny Binion.

“Since joining the PRCA in 1951, Mel Potter’s career has been one of longevity and consistency. He has competed for an amazing 65 seasons and has gone from an NFR qualification in 1959 to earning a check this year at a Great Lakes Circuit event at the age of 80,” said Kent Sturman, director of the ProRodeo Hall of Fame. “Mel has also given back to the sport in many ways and he cares deeply for the PRCA and its success. His talents, experience and knowledge of the sport helped raise a four-time World Champion Barrel Racer, his daughter Sherry Potter Cervi. Mel has done a lot for the professional rodeo industry and we are honored to have him as this year’s Pro Rodeo Legend.”

In addition to qualifying for the first NFR, Potter also won some big rodeos in his prime in tie-down roping, including the Calgary Stampede (1962), National Western Stock Show Rodeo in Denver (1959), SandHills Stock Show & Rodeo in Odessa, Texas (1958), Helldorado Days Rodeo in Las Vegas (1957-58), and the Klamath Falls (Ore.) Great Northwest Rodeo (1957).

Potter has competed in tie-down roping, steer wrestling and team roping during his PRCA career. As a team roper, he has paired with guys like Bum Post, Bob Padilla, Eddie Schell and Dale Smith.

Although Potter had some solid success as a PRCA rookie in 1959, he knew he had to have a back-up plan for work. His family had been cranberry farmers since his grandfather started the family business in Wisconsin Rapids, Wis., in 1880. The Potters are one of the largest producers for the Ocean Spray co-operative of growers.

Potter and his wife of 59 years, Wendy, also operate the Potter Ranch in Marana, Ariz., with their middle daughter, Jo Lynn, and her husband, George Alexander. The ranch has produced some of the sport’s top timed-event horses since 1973. Wendy competed in the NFR in barrel racing in 1970 and ’72.

“I’ve had an interesting life, and it has been like an 80-year vacation,” said Potter, who was an airplane pilot for 50 years before he stopped flying in 2011. “Everything I’ve done I have enjoyed doing and I have just had fun. I have a great family, and I’ve gotten to know so many great people. To me, the best thing in my whole life is all the people who I’ve met and become friends with. It’s hard to believe it has happened this way for me.”

Evan Jayne is living a dream he’s had since he was a child growing up in France. Jayne is a ProRodeo cowboy who has qualified for the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo for the first time in a career that has seen him so close numerous times. He moved to the United States as a junior in high school in the foreign exchange program. He found a way to stay after that and graduated from Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, Texas. He and his family now live in Rockwall, Texas.

ROCKWALL, Texas – As a boy growing up in France, Evan Jayne fell in love with rodeo.

He and his father had stopped at a friend’s house, where they watched a recording of the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo, ProRodeo’s grand championship.

“I saw my first NFR on TV, and I was completely hooked from there,” he said. “All of my energy after that was leaving France and coming to the United States to be a rodeo cowboy.”

It worked, and Jayne has earned his first qualification to the NFR. He parlayed an incredible 2015 season into a No. 4 finish through the regular season, which ended in September. Now he’ll make the rides of his life during the 10-day finale, which takes place Dec. 3-12 in Las Vegas.

“It’s a dream come true,” said Jayne, who lives in Rockwall with his wife, Kristin, and their daughter, Sienna. “It’s everything I’ve been working toward the last 17 years. Ever since I came to the United States, that was my goal and what I’ve trained for.

“When I saw the yellow bucking chutes on TV, this is what I wanted to do. I feel like I’m in an unreal parallel world. When you’ve wanted something so bad for so long, I can imagine my heart is going to be beating outside of my chest in that first round.”

Jayne became interested in the Western world as a youngster when he would follow his father, Jean Pierre Jayne, a trick rider who performed for a rodeo/Wild West show. He even helped his dad. Once he was bitten by the rodeo bug, he found his way across the Atlantic Ocean as an exchange student. He landed in the tiny community of Magnolia, Texas, just outside Houston.

“I moved in with the Rigby family my junior year,” Jayne said. “Within two months of me being there, I had such a good relationship with my American dad that he said, ‘Why don’t we try to get you to come back next year and get you to graduate high school and go to college.’

“It’s all thanks to him that I’m actually still here.”

The cowboy returned to Texas for his senior year. Because he had exhausted the exchange student program, Jayne enrolled in a private school, where he graduated in 2000.

“It was a little school,” he said. “I was eating lunch with 5-year-olds. I had 10 people in my class I was the weird kid, because I wore boots and jeans, and they were all city kids. I won the high school championship that year in bareback riding.”

He then carried over to Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, Texas, where obtained a bachelor’s degree in agriculture. He also chased his gold buckle dreams in the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association, the premier rodeo organization. He’s been a member for 13 years.

Each year, he battled and learned and progressed so that he could eventually make it among the top 15 in the world standings and compete at Las Vegas in December.

“I had to change some things in my riding,” Jayne said. “I wanted to give my rodeo career one more year, but with that, I knew I was going to give myself the tools to succeed. I changed the way I worked out, the way I ate, the way I thought about it.

“I improved the technical aspects of my riding, and it just clicked. It was a little bit rough at first, because I had to adjust some things I was doing. Once I hit San Antonio (in February), it all started being in the right spot.”

As the year progressed, his riding and his self-confidence just continued to improve. By early April, he was among the top five on the bareback riding money list. After a great run over the Fourth of July, he moved to No. 1 and remained atop the world standings for several weeks.

“The big thing this year was consistency,” he said. “It’s always been a problem to utilize your horse. That’s how guys get to the finals, and that’s what worked: Utilizing every horse I had. Even if I wasn’t winning first or second, I was always sneaking in there and catching a check. I didn’t have any huge wins, but I was catching second place a lot. I utilized the horses that I had to the best that I could.”

He also leaned on those closest to him to grow as a professional cowboy. Last December, he and Kristin went to the NFR to cheer on friends Austin Foss and Richmond Champion, and Jayne introduced his bride to the biggest event in the sport.

“When we left, she told me, ‘I know why you want to come here,’ ” he said. “She was pushing me. She said, ‘I’m not holding you back. You quit working three years ago as a school teacher, so just go do it. It’s within your reach. You’re good enough.’

“You don’t have a lot of people that can understand that you have to leave for 200 days a year to be on the road. Rodeo is dangerous on its own, but I think the road is more dangerous. For her to be supportive of me living this lifestyle means the world to me.”

But being on the road means he’s away from Kristin and Sienna, now 3. That makes it tough on anybody, and it’s why he leans on his traveling partner, Clint Cannon, a five-time NFR qualifier from Waller, Texas.

“I’ve had a lot of traveling partners, and they’re just like a wife,” Jayne said. “You’re with them more than you are with your own wife. You’ve got to get a long, and Clint is the guy I will finish my career with. We’re best friends. We tell each other things that nobody else knows.”

It helps, too, that Cannon is a veteran. When Jayne needed a boost, Cannon provided it.

“He’s one of the main reasons I’m at the finals this year,” Jayne said. “He told me that if I stayed healthy and kept going it would come. At one point, he told me, ‘You’re one rodeo away from winning a lot of money.’ The next weekend, I won $22,000.”

He kept adding to it. He finished the regular season with $93,020 in earnings. Now he’ll ride for the biggest purse in the history of rodeo. The NFR will pay out $8.8 million over 10 December nights. Go-round winners will earn more than $26,000.

That will pay a lot of bills, but there’s more to it. In rodeo, dollars also equals championship points. The contestants in each event who finish the year with the most earnings will be crowned world champions.

“I think what drives me is the habit of being competitive and always trying to be the best; that’s just my DNA,” he said. “I’m not going thinking about the gold buckle. If it happens, that’s great. I’m just going to enjoy it every night, have the biggest smile on my face and a warm heart. I’ve always had a fear of being 55 or 60 and thinking that I should’ve kept going.

“That’s one thing I’ll never have to say. That’s one of the greatest feelings in the world.”

He’ll share those emotions with not only his wife and daughter, his American family and a host of family members coming over from France just for this experience. They’ll relish in every moment as Evan Jayne battles for big money in the Nevada desert.

He’s worked awfully hard to be in this position, and he deserves to be there.

DALLAS – November 9, 2015 – The Elite Rodeo Association (ERA) and three of the top cowboys in the world today were forced to bring an antitrust class action lawsuit challenging unfair and illegal bylaws passed by the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA).  These anticompetitive PRCA bylaws were enacted in October 2015 to try to shut down or harm ERA before its inaugural 2016 season.

“This suit is bigger than PRCA and ERA,” Said Tony Garritano, President and CEO of Elite Rodeo Athletes. “It’s about everyone that sits on state, or regional rodeo boards and from the grass roots level have helped rodeo throughout the country – all of those people will be unable to get their PRCA card – it’s much bigger than the three guys in this room – it’s about those that don’t have a voice. The PRCA should not be calling balls and strikes on who calls the shots.”

“ERA’s goal is simple: better the sport of rodeo for everyone – fans, professional athletes, rodeo associations, stock contractors, sponsors and venues,” said Tony Garritano, CEO and President of ERA. “We are filing this lawsuit on behalf of professional cowboys and cowgirls who have devoted their lives to rodeo and are truly the best in the sport, in order to make rodeo stronger and create opportunities for everyone who dreams of being a rodeo champion, not only today but for generations to come.”
ERA was announced earlier this year to create a new, nationally televised stage where fans get to see the best rodeo talent compete in a regular season culminating with a World Championship Rodeo at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas.  ERA seeks to expand audiences for the sport and elevate the world of professional rodeo. PRCA responded to an announcement that top cowboys would focus their 2016 “tour” schedules on ERA events by enacting new bylaws that retaliate against almost anyone who participates in, or has any connection with, an ERA rodeo, including athletes, rodeo committees, facilities and vendors.

“PRCA is unlawfully exercising its monopoly power in the rodeo industry and organizing a group boycott to prevent free competition in the sport,” said Jim Quinn, one of the country’s preeminent sports law attorneys and a partner with the law firm of Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP, which is representing the cowboys and ERA in the lawsuit along with antitrust law partner Eric Hochstadt and sports law attorney John Gerba. “PRCA’s bylaws are clearly anticompetitive on their face, and should be declared illegal by the court, just as other courts have done when PRCA tried these same unfair tactics in the past.”

The class action lawsuit seeks a court order to temporarily and permanently stop PRCA from enforcing the new bylaws. The case was filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas in Dallas on behalf of all current and future athletes who are or will be an officer, board member, employee of ERA or have or will have an ownership or financial interest of any form in ERA.

“We aren’t asking for any money in this lawsuit, just the opportunity to compete in ERA events without being retaliated against by PRCA,” said Trevor Brazile, a 21-time World Champion Cowboy, ERA Board Member and shareholder, and one of the named plaintiffs in the lawsuit. “We believe PRCA and ERA can – and should – work together on behalf of the sport, just as PRCA has successfully done with the Professional Bull Riders (PBR) and other rodeo associations.”

PRCA and ERA are two different organizations with different missions. Where PRCA is driven by member dues and sanctions hundreds of rodeo events that include competitors of any skill level, ERA was founded to create a “League of Champions” and a true national championship to increase excitement and benefit the entire industry.

“It’s unfortunate that after participating loyally in PRCA events across the country as a professional for nearly 20 years that PRCA has responded this way,” said Plaintiff  Bobby Mote of Stephenville, Texas, who holds four world titles, is a founder and shareholder of ERA, and another of the named plaintiffs in the lawsuit.  “We designed ERA as an additional tour for competitors, not as a replacement, and it has always been my intention to participate in both ERA and PRCA events next season.”

ERA is open to every cowboy and cowgirl who can demonstrate that they have the ability and dedication to be one of the very best athletes in the sport.

“Current and future generations of rodeo athletes will see a stronger career path that allows the very best competitors to concentrate on their profession and be able to end their careers on their own terms,” said Ryan Motes, of Weatherford, Texas, the current co-holder of the world record in team roping, a founder and shareholder in ERA, and the third named plaintiff in the litigation.
“ERA is committed to working with the entire rodeo industry, including PRCA, to bring added vitality, growth, and value to the sport,” continued Garritano. “But we can’t stand aside and let PRCA break the rules and play Monopoly with rodeo. The free market gets to decide what competitions take place, not the PRCA.”

Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP is well-known for their representation of the Players’ Associations of most major U.S. professional sports leagues. Quinn, the head of the firm’s Sports Law Practice, has more than 40 years of experience in the field, and is credited with developing the collective bargaining process in most major U.S. professional sports leagues today.

The antitrust class action lawsuit is The Elite Rodeo Association, Trevor Brazile, Bobby Mote, and Ryan Motes v. Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association, Inc.  A copy of the complaint is available on the website. 

In a conference call held today, more details about the suit and what will happen were shared. Trevor Brazile, 22 time world champion, and shareholder in the ERA talked about his position. “We are taking the step today to strengthen the sport of rodeo for everyone. Given the chance, this will work, as clearly seen with the impact the PBR has had. I’ve been loyal to the PRCA and I’ve joined this to stop the PRCA from moving forward block the ERA.”

Bobby Mote, 4 x world champion bareback rider also shared. “We tried to work with the PRCA to establish a better understanding of this. Right now careers are being shortened by the way the rodeos are run. We are trying to make a living with no guarantees of anything. Our honest efforts were rejected and that’s why we formed the ERA. The new bylaws set up by the PRCA passed just a week before we launched our plans for the 2016 season. We reached the conclusion that a lawsuit is the only way we could be heard.”

“The anti-trust laws set forth in the United States are set up to protect competition – making sure the sport is open to everyone,” said Jim Quinn, one of the country’s preeminent sports law attorneys. “#1 the PRCA bylaws passed are a boycott against the cowboys that have formed the ERA and been willing to participate. Under the US antitrust laws, this boycott is illegal. We are also fighting what is clearly and admittedly a monopoly and monopolies are not good for customers or fans. The focus is on the group boycott and preventing their continued ability to monopolize the rodeo industry.”

Ryan Motes, a professional rodeo athlete for 14 years added his thoughts. “We are not asking for money – we just want to be able to compete in the ERA and this lawsuit will help everyone that is affected by the new bylaws. We think the PRCA and ERA could work together to promote the rodeo. ERA was designed as an additional tour for competitors, not a replacement. We plan to participate in both.”

Jim is planning to get into the court system quickly to seek a preliminary injunction that would allow the 2016 Elite Rodeo Tour to continue and allow the cowboys to continue to participate in PRCA events.

The schedule for the 2016 tour is in the final stages, and will be announced soon.