Round 7 Results
Jess Pope of Kansas is making a hard charge for the Bareback title, but it’s all uphill. He was 88.5 tonight for his third go-round win. Cue the skullduggery, a few minutes later Kaycee Field rode a mediocre horse to 82.5 points, get this, with an option. Naturally, the Utah resident took a reride and scored 87.5 so Pope only gained minimum dollars in the race. In addition, the guy’s that ended up third through seventh all took a pay cut. Richie Champion scored 87 and was third on 001 Wilson Sanchez. Clayton Biglow scored 86 points on Calgary’s Y-92 Yippee Kibitz and settled for fifth. The Manitoba spur machine Orin Larsen cashed sixth with an 85.5 on Bruce Sundstrom’s 48 Fired Up. Bruce’s other horse in today’s performance 313 Mayhem disposed of three-time World Champion Tim O’Connell. Tilden Hooper was 83 on Calgary’s Z-16 Zig Zag Cherry and R.C. Landingham scored 82 on Calgary’s C-16 Choke Cherry.
Two-time World Champion Steer Wrestler Tyler Waguespack recorded a 3.3 and served notice that he’s in the race. It was the fastest time of the rodeo, so far. Curtis Cassidy struggled to an 8.6 + 10 and Scott Guenthner had no time.
The Team Roping had two winning teams tonight. Dustin Egusquiza/Travis Graves and Clay Tryan/Jake Long posted 3.7 for the split. Rhen Richard and 2016 World Champion Jeremy Buhler were 4.2 seconds and won third. That’s five consecutive money runs for them, and they are currently second in the aggregate. I wouldn’t bet against them in the title race.
Toes Out
Turning your toes out in the Bareback Riding or Saddle Bronc Riding is not a rule or requirement. It’s always been a preferred action used in the evaluation of a ride. Simply put, if riders have equal horses and similar spurring motion, the guy with his toes turned out best wins. I’m not sure why the judges have issued Spencer Wright a ‘Get Out of Jail Free’ card on that preference. I swear he could leave his spurs hanging on the doorknob in his hotel room and make the same ride and I don’t understand how he’s placed in six out of seven rounds with his toes pointing straight ahead.
Tonight, Wyatt Casper won the Saddle Bronc contest with a fine 89-point ride. Sage Newman was second with an 87 on C5’s 00 Double D. In typical fashion Spencer Wright was careful not to spur Calgary’s Z-63 Zastron Acres but was awarded 86.5 points to split third. Cody DeMoss picked up bottom hole with his 83-point ride on B-92 Baby Kibitz. No Canadians placed in the broncs tonight. Layton Green on X-55 Xena Warrior and Dawson Hay on 333- Kitty Whistle were 81.5. Zeke Thurston rode a piece of crap for 74 points and fell from second to fourth in the aggregate. They gave Ben Andersen a miss-out and Kolby Wanchuk bucked off.
More of the same
When they show the score on the broadcast, for a split second they show each judge’s numbers. It’s not up there for long and you really have to bear down to evaluate it. Tonight, for one ‘gifted’ bronc rider’s ride, one judge had it marked 38 while another scored it 45. That means one supposedly-qualified judge saw a 76 and another equally as qualified judge saw a 90. There’s something wrong with this! Remember when the PBR fired and replaced all of their judges?
Montana’s World Champion Tie-Down Roper Haven Meged wrapped one up in 7.1 seconds for the victory. Season Leader Shane Hanchey pulled a sixth-place cheque with a 9.0 time.
Three-time World Champion Hailey Kinsel served notice that she’s the one to beat with a speedy time of 13.45 seconds.
The Bull Riding was wild, about halfway through it Josh Frost had a 52.5 point score with an option for a reride which he turned down. Then the bulls kept disposing of their riders until Stetson Wright climbed into the chute. The gateman opened the gate prematurely, so he
bucked off but was awarded a reride. This time he was fouled before he came down, so he had another reride which he mastered for a totally ridiculous 90.5 score. This was all in about 15 minutes and truly remarkable. Stetson earned over $46,000 and Josh won over $40,000.
Round 8 Draw; It’s the Eliminator Pen in the Bares and Broncs
In Bareback Riding; Manitoba’s Orin Larsen has drawn Stace Smith’s K10 Mr Harry. Richie Champion placed deep on him earlier in the week. Richie has 105 Assault from the Rafter G outfit. Caleb Bennett has Calgary’s S-77 Soap Bubbles. Jess Pope has C5’s rank 144 Black Eye. Tanner Aus will do battle with Legend’s 936 Cool Agent and Tim O’Connell will strap his riggin’ on United Pro Rodeo’s 030 Pow Wow Nights (Raised in the Qu’Appelle Valley by Art, Shawn-Boy and Marnie Francis.)
In Saddle Bronc; Ben Andersen has struggled this week but hopefully, Calgary’s Z-37 Zoaria Hills will be the cure. Layton Green will set his saddle on Vern McDonald’s infamous F13 Virgil, the World Champion Bareback Horse can be spectacular under saddle. Kolby Wanchuk will see if he can get ‘er going again with Sammy Andrews’ A54 Cracker Jack. Hopefully, Dawson Hay can hit the target with 045 Colt 45 from the Rosser outfit. Two-time World Champion Zeke Thurston has the rank 331 Indian Burn from Bridwell Rodeo. This horse is a buck off specialist. The only guy to ride him this year was Layton Green who fit a fabulous 91-point spur ride on him at Salinas this fall. The Calgary Stampede will provide the horsepower for Cody DeMoss and Tegan Smith with Y-38 Yesterday’s Delivery and T-65 Tiger Warrior respectively.
Stay tuned.